Chandrakant Kamble Famous Hindi writer Munshi Premchand’s (1881-1936) story Sadgati (‘deliverance’ in the religious sense of the term) was picturized by legendary Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray (1921-1992) in a 1981 movie with the same name. India is celebrating Ray’s 100th birth anniversary in 2021. In academia and curriculum, Ray’s many films are considered masterpieces and …
Beyond Dalitness: Start Annihilating Caste and Claiming Humanness
Milind Thokal The process of learning and unlearning is inevitable and will continue forever but some basic concepts must always remain at the core where we must never have any confusion, keeping it more simple, straightforward, and to the point. Let’s start with the very basic word ‘Dalit’. Dalit is a Sanskrit word that means …
How to turn a murder into suicide: Sumitra Bhave’s ‘Kasav’
Rahul Gaikwad Every now and then one comes across some or the other celebrated so-called progressive leader/writer/activist who turns out to be absolutely shallow, superfluous and even hypocritical upon closer examination. This has been the case with Vijay Tendulkar and his Kanyadaan drama; or Pandit Anand Patwardhan’s Jai Bhim Comrade where he portrayed Ambedkarite assertion …
Myth of Brahmin Merit: Refutation of Superiority
Pranav Jeevan P We have been hearing arguments that try to justify the superiority and monopoly of Brahmins and savarnas in the fields of education and governance based on genetics. Their argument is that generations of endogamy and access to education has created a group of people who are better at learning (Brahmins). They …
Why inflation is not diminishing BJP’s electoral performance?
Arvind Kumar The soaring prices of petrol, diesel and LPG have been regularly creating public outrage among a section of Indian society, but this issue seems to be unaffecting electoral performance of the BJP. The results of previously held assembly elections and the stunning performance of the party in local body elections of Gujarat and …
Federalism and Punjab
Jaspal Singh Sidhu First of all, it is my reservation, most people might not like that, I don’t call India a country. I call it a subcontinent, South Asia. In history, it has never been one country, if we go back. Nehru said, India has been one country (‘unity in diversity’), it was a 5000 …
Politics beyond Pity: Looking at the condemnation of the events of Republic Day, 2021
Naichashakh (नैचाशाख) The farmer’s protests which managed to persuasively register themselves in early November as the farmer groups and unions moved past the barricades, heavy police deployment, water cannons, and several other obstacles to lodge themselves firmly at the seat of political power have opened up the many contradictions which make or rather un-make …
শাসক বর্ণের পরিবর্তনশীল প্রাধান্য ও কৃষক অসন্তোষ
অনসুল কুমার ভাষান্তর- বিধান চন্দ্র দাস “এটা ঐতিহাসিক ভাবে সত্য যে ব্রাহ্মণ সবসময়ই অন্যান্য শ্রেণীদের সহযোগী হয়েছে এবং তারা তাদের তখনই শাসক শ্রেণীর মর্যাদা দিয়েছে, যখন সেই শ্রেণীগুলো তাদের অধীনে থেকে সহযোগিতা করতে রাজি হয়েছে। প্রাচীন এবং মধ্যযুগে এই রকম জোট তারা করত ক্ষত্রিয় অথবা যোদ্ধা শ্রেণীদের সঙ্গে এবং দুজনে মিলে রাজত্ব করত বাকি জনগণের …
Why so Serious Men?
Ankit Ramteke Oh, it is a movie about caste issues, progress, and all that. How nice! Do you know the talented Siddiqui is playing an assertive but cunning Tamil Dalit? Wow, As a caste-less, conformist, populist liberal, I am already experiencing a filmgasm. After years of rottenly skewed representation of these Achut, Neech, Bangi, …