James Michael and Akshay Pathak “His statues—dressed in garish blue, holding a copy of the Constitution—have been put up in city after city” ~ Arun Shourie, Worshipping False Gods “All the same, Ambedkar’s followers have kept his legacy alive in creative ways. One of those ways is to turn him into a million mass-produced …
Without Arundhati Roy and Gandhi, the book had its own value: Bojja Tharakam
Dalit Camera: Through Un-Touchable Eyes Dalit Camera talked recently to veteran human rights activist Bojja Tharakam on the new edition of ‘Ännihilation of Caste’ introduced by Arundhati Roy. The text below is a transcript of the interview. BojjaTharakam, senior advocate in the AP High Court, was the founding president of Andhra Pradesh Dalit Maha …
The Not-So-Intimate Enemy: The Loss and Erasure of the Self Under Casteism
Gee Imaan Semmalar “In my judgment, it is useless to make a distinction between the secular Brahmins and priestly Brahmins. Both are kith and kin. They are two arms of the same body, and one is bound to fight for the existence of the other.” ~ Babasaheb Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste, 1936. Babasaheb Ambedkar, …
Riddle No. 2: The Origin of the Vedas – The Brahminic Explanation Or an Exercise in the Art of Circumlocution
(From ‘Religious Riddles’ in Part I of the book ‘Riddles in Hinduism’ by Babasaheb Dr. B. R. Ambedkar) There is hardly any Hindu who does not regard the Vedas as the most sacred Book of his religion. And yet ask any Hindu what is the origin of the Vedas and it would be difficult …
Riddle No. 1: The difficulty of knowing why one is a Hindu
(From ‘Religious Riddles‘ in Part I of the book ‘Riddles in Hinduism‘ by Babasaheb Dr. B. R. Ambedkar) India is a congeries of communities. There are in it Parsis, Christians, Mohammedans and Hindus. The basis of these communities is not racial. It is of course religious. This is a superficial view. What is interesting to …
Countering Hindu Morality – A Tale of Conversion
Rahul Sonpimple “The history of India is nothing but a history of mortal conflict between Buddhism and Brahmanism”. ~ Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. Once again, my city Nagpur will be the hotspot of two contrasting realities. One will be the show of arrogance by caste Hindus through their religious practices and other will be the …
Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Birthday as National Holiday – 2
Neel Kranti Media Neel Kranti Media has been talking to a few Ambedkarites on the significance of Babasaheb B. R. Ambedkar’s birth anniversary for them. Here, in the featured video, you can watch Moggallan Bharti, Assistant Professor – Department Of Political Science, Gargi College, University Of Delhi, shares his views on what the day means …
V.T. Rajshekar on Jati Identity
~ Understanding the significance of Jati identity in selected prose writings of V.T. Rajshekar ~ Grishma Manikrao Khobragade Abstract Dalit-Bahujan-Ambedkarite writers have come to the fore of literary studies and culture studies in the recent years. These writers reveal in their writings various factors that propel actions like caste hegemony, caste discrimination and caste …
Political Philosophy of B.R. Ambedkar: A Critical Understanding
Dr. P. Kesava Kumar (This is the first part of the paper first published in International Research Journal of Social Sciences, Vol.1 No.2. Pp.193-210, 2008, Pondicherry University, Puducherry) Abstract The political philosophy of Ambedkar may help in renegotiating the crisis of western political theory in particular and leading the struggles of the masses in general. …