Dr. SPVA Sairam Religion has played a significant role throughout the human history and its legacy is mixed. As a means of social control, it not only divided people and subjected them to the ignominies of the worst sort, but also, at times, it acted as a unifying force, unleashing the tremendous potential within humans …
Why and How the Government Fails to Remove Caste-Based Manual Scavenging in India!
Ajay Rahulwad Introduction Manual scavenging is a caste-ridden occupation done by manual scavengers, workers who clean human excreta manually, meaning, with hands. If one would want to understand why these workers have to do this job, one has to look at its genesis in the caste-based occupational stratification in India. It is said that, “All …
Mahatma Phule’s Thoughts on Caste-Patriarchy: A Critical Evaluation
Sachin Garud It is a well-known fact that at the time of India’s national movement, there was another movement known as the movement of social engineering or social revolution, led by Mahatma Phule, who had pioneered the foundation of a social revolution in India. Although contemporary thinkers like Ram Mohan Roy, Justice M.G. Ranade …
Jotirao Phule: Shetkaryaca Asud (Introduction)
Translated by Gail Omvedt and Bharat Patankar A brief introduction to Phule: Jotirao Phule (1827-1890) is considered a founder not only of the anti-caste movement; in Maharashtra he is also looked upon as father of the farmers’ movement, the women’s movement, and a bahujan-oriented environmental movement. He was born in a Mali (gardener jati) …