Lakshmi KTP In a deepening environment of utter dissatisfactions, depression, and negativity with the present state of affairs in the country with the Hindu state and its Brahmanic rule, it is important to talk about what solidarities should mean. It is very natural for one to stay back and say that there is nothing …
Dalits and Social Media
Anitya Sanket Since the commencement of social networking and its popularization in India, the Indian masses have successfully exploited it, so much so that today we are the third largest online population in the world with 73.9 million people. Out of all, this has benefitted the marginalized communities the most. The Dalit community which …
‘Lal Salaam aur Nila Salaam’: A call for new pathways to social movement
Suhas Bhasme Comrade Kanhaiya’s last words in the speech given at JNU before he was arrested under the sedition act were ‘Lal Salaam aur Nila Salaam’. The slogan denotes a significant ideological shift that the country has been witnessing in the last few years and in particular, the last few months, after the incident …
Death every night: Travails of an Ambedkarite in the Corporate Sector
The Guilty Warrior To begin with, I work in the so-called “Corporate” sector in India. I was brought up in a small town, in a Mahar stronghold in Maharashtra and grew up under the strong influence of the philosophies of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. I was fortunate in academics to do well, mostly with the …
Place and Time… Not a Single Story
Noel Didla Recently, I was asked to be a panelist at a policy conference. I seldom participate in conferences when invited because I’m a Dalit who’s part of a black cooperative community. I believe my living and growing in this community is a conscious, lifelong commitment that is not to be tokenized by anyone. …
Ek Hota Jija: Once lived a man called Jija
Nilesh Kumar “If you can’t be the master of your landlord, it is alright, Stop being their slaves.” ~ Eknath Awad The world has seen numerous social movements on a range of issues. The culture of resistance is part of the everyday life of most of the oppressed communities in the world, as is …
Bhagana’s Dalits: From struggle for justice to conversion to Islam
Bhanwar Meghwanshi For nearly four months they were subjected to social boycott, economic blockade and mental torture. They were not allowed to fill water from public taps, they couldn’t use the common space for defecation in the village, the only non-Dalit doctor had stopped their treatment, and they could not use the village land …
Politicising the personal: Who am I, Who are ‘we’ as people?
Sinthujan Varatharajah Few diasporans will today come to talk about how caste practices in regards to marriage respond to larger political dynamics and power relations. Endogamy, as the most common marriage practice amongst Hindus, necessarily leads to social exclusion and discrimination. Marriage is traditionally assumed to be the foundation of a political institution, the family. …
Voices of dissent in atrocities-ridden Beed
Yogesh Maitreya In April 2014, Beed district in Maharashtra seemed to plunge into political campaigning for the forthcoming national elections. The strong waves of politics are apparent everywhere – on its roads, flags of political parties, posters, flex hoardings with peculiar faces printed on them caught the eye. And, in the local newspapers, busy with …