Saroj Kumar On the night of March 3, 2016, after his release, JNU Students’ Union President Kanhaiya Kumar made an impressive speech. The nation loves speeches, the people had also liked Modi’s speeches in the past. Kanhaiya’s speech was not only telecast on TV channels but it was the lead news for newspapers the …
What Bihar means for Dalit parties and their narrow vision
Ravi Chandran The Bihar election is a blow to the ruling BJP and the Hindutva parties associated with it. It should further upset those who came with the exit poll results, including the CSDS. The media, especially the English press and electronic media should be ashamed of talking against the alliance of RJD, JD …
BJP’s way is highway
Arvind Kumar (JNU) Amid the numerous speculations, finally the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies have arrived on a seat sharing formula for the upcoming Bihar assembly election. The BJP has kept the lion’s share by retaining 159 seats out of 243 whereas its three principal allies namely the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), …
The representation gap
Christophe Jaffrelot, Gilles Verniers Decline in number of OBC MPs shows that the classic tropes of backward class politics — quotas and simple descriptive representation — no longer work. The 2014 Lok Sabha elections produced an assembly where many voices can hardly be heard. The representation of Muslims, for instance, is at a historical …
From Victimhood to Power: Dalit Mahila Swabhiman Yatra at Hyderabad
Pradnya Jadhav Dalit women’s battle to survive with dignity and security is extremely challenging. Dalit Mahila Swabhiman Yatra has been initiated by All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch (AIDMAM) as an attempt to bring to the notice the realities of Dalit women; it is a quest for justice. It is a broad set of …
Saving Modi’s Image, BJP’s Way
Vivek Kumar BJP is very, very weak in Delhi elections? This can be proved on the basis of the fact that it has inducted individuals who do not have any party experience and who have crossed over from other political parties. Kiran Bedi has no political experience. However she has been declared as CM …
On the violence in a Muzaffarpur village: Some Untold Stories
Mohammad Sajjad On 18 January 2015, in the Ajitpur-Bahilwara, near Saraiya, in the district of Muzaffarpur in north Bihar, violence broke out. It killed nearly five people and almost all the 56 Muslim (Pasmanda) households in the village were looted and burnt. The immediate provocation was an inter-faith love affair: to the Hindutva zealots, …
Of Caste Massacres and Judicial Impunity: Bloodstains in Bathani Tola and Laxmanpur Bathe…
Anand Teltumbde (Text of the Third Comrade Naveen Babu Memorial Lecture, delivered by Anand Teltumbde) At the outset let me thank DSU for giving me this opportunity to pay my homage to comrade Yalavarthi Naveen Babu, who was martyred at the young age of 35 in Andhra Pradesh. I personally knew Naveen as a …
Arundhati Roy’s ‘Introduction’ to Ambedkar: Inside one Misogynistic & Xenophobic Dalit’s mind
Anoop Kumar I, Ravidas, proclaim all Vedas are worthless. ~ Sant Ravidas. Nishan Singh was a freedom fighter, a martyr who fought against the British to gain freedom for the country. A Rajput whose memory must be cherished, his life celebrated. Therefore we have statues, a memorial, a school and other government buildings named …