Sharda Navale The Vijay Sthamb (Victory Pillar) at Bhima Koregaon, is a symbol of pride and self-esteem for Bahujan Samaj. It’s the source of inspiration for many. To pay homage and respect to the ancestors and great martyr soldiers of the Bhima Koregaon Battle and also to participate in ‘Rajya-sthariya Bouddha Sahitya Sammelan’ (State-level …
Battle of Bhima Koregaon, Mahar Legacy and Contemporary Politics
Nitin Dhaktode It is to rvieting to witness the ‘Akhil Bhartiya Brahman Mahasangh (ABBM) and Udaysinh Peshwa, a descendant of the Peshwas, ask the Pune police to deny permission for the Shaniwar Wada (‘Elgar Parishad’)event. Despite the fact that permission was granted by the Pune Municipal Corporation and Police Department, the Brahmanical organisations submitted their …
The Great Gamble: Dr Ambedkar on Parliamentary Democracy (With transcript of his 1953 BBC interview)
Prameya M Why did parliamentary democracy collapse so easily in Italy, Germany and Russia? Why did it not collapse so easily in England and the U.S.A? To my mind, there is only one answer. It is that there was a greater degree of economic and social democracy in the latter countries than existed in …
Embracing my Dalit-hood while rejoicing in accomplishments
Chandramohan S During the award ceremony of M. Harish Govind Prize, many asked me why I need a “Dalit Poet” labeling. They were shocked that there were just a handful of Dalit poets who write in English and have registered their visibility. The English literary gathering seems to be so ignorant of the girth …
Why Dalits in Pakistan are reluctant to convert to Islam en masse!
Sufi Ghulam Hussain Mukhi, the panchayat headman of Oad [Dalit] community begged in the name of holy Gita and even threw his turban at Seetal’s feet, but Seetal just didn’t care much and replied:“Mukhi! Do whatever you like, but I shall change my religion.Mukhi: “But why after all you do, you want to change your …
Defining Ambedkar: Icon or Ideal?
B. Prabakaran Every year Ambedkar is celebrated and remembered across the globe, at least twice a year, on his birth and death anniversary by the political parties, social movements, NGOs and committed individuals at different venues. Of late, the dates are being observed in various international forums too. For the very first time, in …
From Brahmanism to Ambedkarism: An Ongoing Ontological Expedition
Yashwant Zagade I was raised in the suburbs of Mumbai in the 90s, at a time when Hindutva politics reached its peak for the first time after independence. I still remember how this political atmosphere influenced my childhood — I grew up sloganeering “Tai, Mai-Aakka vichar kara pakka ani magach dhanushybaanavar mara shikka” (sister, …
Journey of a Dalit corpse
Ganpat Rai Bheel In district Badin, a corpse of a young Bheel was exhumed out of the grave and thrown in the open. Sahib-i-Iman (true believers of Islam) performed that inhuman act with the religious fervor of utmost sanctity. On the pages of daily Sindh Express, that photo and report were published with some detail. …
The merits ascribed to the castes of merit in Indian textbooks
Anitya Sanket Apologist arguments in favor of the caste system have not been a recent phenomenon in India. For a deeply oppressive system of social division to have survived more than 3,000 years, it was indispensable to have exponents of Brahmin-Savarna supremacy at successive stages to suppress any sign of a revolt to challenge …