Bansidhar Deep “When equality is denied everything is denied. There is no equality in M.Phil/Ph.D admission, there is no equality in viva-voce, there is only denial of equality, denying prof. SukhadeoThorat recommendation, denying students protest places in Ad-block, denying the education of the marginals.”~ Muthukrishnan’s (Rajni Krish) last FB post. Caste system in India …
Even my children used to get assaulted: Chithralekha
Eramangalathu Chitralekha On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Bahujan Students’ Front salutes all Bahujan revolutionaries who fought for gender equity in the oppressive casteist patriarchal system. It is due to the efforts of these valiant souls that we are here today, enabled to pen these very lines. We would like to share today …
Caste discrimination in daily life: Is it a thing of the past?
Chanchal Kumar This essay shows with examples that incidents of caste discrimination have only proliferated instead of stopping in any way in modern towns and even in the national capital Delhi. I have been personally affected by it in my adult life. The only people for whom caste does not exist is savarnas, who …
The Death of Merit – Dr. V. Ajay Sree Chandra
Gurinder Azad On 27th August 2007, V. Ajay Sree Chandra hanged himself in one of the hostel rooms of the famed IISc, hostel room number F002 to be precise, leaving his father and two younger brothers behind. Yet another prey to the brahmanical devil which lurks around to kill anyone it finds. It doesn’t discriminate …
Caste discrimination in Institutions of Higher Learning: Lessons unlearnt
Wesly Kumar Even though the Indian constitution has many safeguards and provisions, the Dalits are still being discriminated against, and excluded in the universities. The Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, prescribe punishments for crimes against Dalits that are much more stringent than corresponding offences under the …
A place called Kranti
Pradnya Jadhav A place called Kranti-Chowk in Aurangabad city is an extremely important site. This place is famous for numerous reasons, most importantly for Shivaji’s statue. The localities around this Chowk primarily comprises of Muslim and Dalit population. Historically, this area was considered to be the outer part of the town. This area would …
The “Cultures of Violence” in CSSSC, Kolkata
Koonal Duggal I am writing this public note in the light of a recent incident of casteism that I, along with others, have faced from the organisers of the Cultural Studies Workshop at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata (CSSSC henceforth). The call for participation in the workshop titled ‘Cultures of Violence’ highlighted …
Condemning the shrinking democratic spaces in educational institutions
From the National Law School of India University, Bangalore We, the concerned students, researchers and teaching faculty, of the National Law School of India University, Bangalore express deep condolences on the sad demise of Mr. Rohith Vemula, a PhD scholar in Science, Technology and Society Studies Programme at the University of Hyderabad (UoH). Rohith …
Death of Merit or Merit of Death
T. Sowjanya “I came here through reservations and I sustain myself through the political solidarity of my dalit community!” is my firm answer to questions such as “Are you a dalit?” “Do you belong to category?” “Do you have any reservation?” These are the questions any dalit invariably faces one time or the other at …