Shahnawaz Ahmad Ansari Shahnawaz Ahmad Ansari, National Spokesperson, All India Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz (AIPMM) In a nation where diversity is our strength, the struggle for social justice remains an ongoing battle. The recent landmark decision by the Supreme Court, allowing sub-classification within Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), is a beacon of hope for …
Missing or Excluded?
Dr Santhosh J & Benish Ali Dalits, tribals, and people from other backward classes form the majority of the Indian population. However, their presence in government educational institutions and top government posts is extremely scarce. This has become rather a longtime trend in India. However, the successive governments claim otherwise, their own data proves the …
COVID-19 and the failures of India’s healthcare system
Dr Manisha Bangar (Round Table India has been hosting a series of online talks by activists and thinkers on issues of importance to the Bahujan. This is the transcript of Dr Manisha Bangar’s talk on July 25th, 2020) Thank you so much for inviting me to give this very important talk, ‘COVID-19 and the failures …
Economic criteria in reservation: An invitation to counter-revolution
Suresh Mane Rahul Gaikwad: Sir, I would like to know, in the present context, the implications of 10% reservations that is being given to the upper castes and how this particular kind of reservation come about? Dr. Mane: To understand the Reservation policy, one needs to have a comprehensive understanding. When I …
Shahu Maharaj, the original champion of right to education
Ram Gaikwad Introduction Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj was the great king (1894–1922) of the princely state of Kolhapur of Maharashtra. Chh. Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj realized the importance of education for all. At present, the Government of India and state governments have adopted the same strategy of providing free primary education to all. But even …
The landless will now receive no land
Santosh Kumar Thomas Isaac, the Finance minister of Kerala had declared in the budget that flats/apartments shall be constructed within a year and given to one lakh people in Kerala who do not have a proper home. This was also one of the budget declarations that were celebrated quite a lot in the media …
Rise of Modi and Anti-Muslim Politics: A Critical Reading of the Left
K K Baburaj After hearing the news of BJP securing individual majority in parliament, I visited a friend of mine. His father, a retired teacher and a well-known leftist locally being an ex-leader of a left wing teachers’ association, started talking to me enthusiastically about the election results. “This result is a reply to the …
A case for caste census
Era Sezhiyan As the Supreme Court has ruled that conducting a caste-based census is against the law, the people would like to know what steps the Prime Minister will take to sustain the policies of reservation. By Era Sezhiyan In its judgment of November 7, 2014, the Supreme Court set aside two orders of …
Duddu Prabhakar: Dalit movement at a crossroads
Dalit Camera: Through Un-Touchable Eyes [In this interview Duddu Prabhakar, veteran Dalit rights activist and President of the ‘Kula Nirmoolana Porata Samithi’ (‘Struggle Committee for Eradication of Caste’, roughly), traces the history of the Dalit movement in Andhra Pradesh from Karamchedu in 1985 to Lakshimpeta in 2012, and says the movement now has to decide …