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Liberal Anxieties on Caste: Incorrigible corrosion of Pratap Bhanu Mehta’s limited Cognition

Anshul Kumar “A deputation of Harijans waited on Gandhiji at Sevagram with the request that members of the castes grouped under the head of ‘Scheduled Castes’ should be allowed representation on the governing body of the Harijan Sevak Sangh. Gandhiji is reported to have replied that the Sangh is meant to help Harijans and was …

Features

Chai, Cups, and Caste: Everyday Observations of Inequality

Ritika Srivastava This article is based on my everyday observations and interactions in various social spaces. It focuses on three specific contexts that show how caste-based practices remain prevalent in society. This write-up does not claim any generalisations. Instead, the episodes highlight how caste discrimination and segregation are perpetuated through the use of utensils, food, …

Features

Savarna Saviors and Subaltern Stereotypes: The Caste Problem in ‘Panchayat’  

neeraj bunker 2020

Neeraj Bunkar In a previous article for Round Table India, I analysed the depiction of caste dynamics in Season 2 of the web series ‘Panchayat’. The series portrayed a village dominated by ‘upper caste’(Brahmins), while Dalits are depicted as struggling to secure basic amenities, such as toilets. This is exemplified through the character of Vinod, …

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The Many forms of Brahmin Self fashioning: Victimhood, Superiority and Negations

Sumeet Samos Introduction During a conversation with a friend recently, he suggested I check out the Gates Cambridge Scholarships. Casually, I checked into LinkedIn, and immediately three to four names popped up: one Tamil Brahmin and the other three Bengali Brahmins. We smiled at each other and said, “Of course, who else?” without being surprised …

Assertion

Ambedkarite Questions for Neeraj Ghaywan’s ‘The Heart Skipped A Beat’

Snehashish Das Ambedkarite Questions to the Neeraj Ghaywan directed episode ‘The Heart Skipped A Beat’ in Made in Heaven Although there are indeed the portraits of Buddha and Babasaheb portrayed in the Neeraj Ghaywan-directed episode ‘The Heart Skipped a Beat’ in the 2nd season of Made in Heaven, we must examine what is really Ambedkarite …

Assertion

Caste-based Discrimination and Suicides in Navodaya Vidyalayas: A Grave Concern

neeraj bunker 2020

Neeraj Bunkar Navodaya Vidyalayas, established under the vision of the former Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi, were conceived to ensure holistic development of underprivileged children from rural areas and promote social justice. Presently, there are around 700 such residential schools across India, aiming to provide quality education to marginalized students. However, instances of caste-based discrimination …

Assertion

Reading Kanthapura: The Curious Case of the Cat’s Asceticism

Ankit Ramteke Raja Rao wrote Kanthapura in the 1930s when he was a twenty-one-year-old, living “in a 13th-century old castle in the French Alps belonging to the Dauphins of France” (Naik 60). It was first published in 1938, and since then, starting from E.M. Forster’s famous remark — that it was one of the finest …

Features

Contextualising Manu as a ‘hireling’: A Critical Analysis of Chapter VII in the Manusmriti

Somnath Pati “It has an affirmation of life, a triumphing, agreeable sensation in life, and that to draw up a lawbook such as Manu means to permit oneself to get the upper hand, to become perfect, to be ambitious of the highest art of living.” – Friedrich Nietzsche (attributed) Finding Manu’s verses “inspiring” and acting …