Bobby Kunhu “Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated. We must realise that our people have yet to learn it. Democracy in India is only a top-dressing on an Indian soil which is essentially undemocratic.” ~ Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste The jurisprudence around reservations and affirmative action …
Tribals Boycott Census and National Population Register (NPR)
Neetisha Xalxo Tribal groups in a meeting in the Indian Social Institute, Delhi on 23rd February 2020 expressed their concern that the Indian government is determined to mark Tribals as Hindu. And with the same agenda only mainstream religions are mentioned in the census 2020. Sarna, Koytur and other Tribals’ religions have got no …
The Other Silences to the Marginalisation of Catholics in Goa
Jason Keith Fernandes Bosco de Sousa Eremita’s article, “The Silent Ethnic Cleansing of Catholics in Goa,” published earlier this month was widely shared on social media. At about the same time that I read a Hindu friend informed me that he is often accosted thus when he extends professional services to Catholics in Goa: “Arrey! …
The Urgency of Bahujan Solidarity
Trevor Jeyaraj While there is no dearth of critique of the religious Majoritarianism, the view that comes harsh on the sacred for intruding into the public sphere, there is really a lacuna in terms of the dissent from the religious and even the few attempts to do the same is forestalled. This piece is …
Political Economy of Ghar Wapsi: A perspective from below
Nikhil Walde After its electoral victory, BJP’s entire politics revolves around the Hindu religion which has brought about a dismal political scenario in India. The state seems to be departing from constitutional democracy- from the modern function of a state to the traditional monocratic form of state. All this is quite evident, for instance, …
‘Ghar Wapsi’: Owner of the house or servant?
Dale Luis Menezes and Amita Kanekar With the BJP coming to power in the last Lok Sabha elections, we have witnessed increasing violence against religious minorities and their places of worship. There has been no action to curb the violence, nor even a statement of condemnation from the Centre. Instead, in the last few months, …
Goans, Films, and their worlds – Putting Nachom-ia Kumpasar in context
Jason Keith Fernandes I am always afraid when I go to watch a film that features Goa or Goans, because of the host of problems that plague their representation. These problems were more than painfully obvious in the recent films Finding Fanny (2014) and The Coffin Maker (2011). As in these films Goa is …
No ghar, so no ghar wapsi
Kancha Ilaiah The Sangh Parivar is conducting the so-called “ghar wapsi” programmes all over the country. According to a newspaper report, about 8,000 people have been brought back to “ghar” from Christianity in newly formed Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The reconversion of some dalit Christians in Kerala is also widely reported. Nobody knows when …
On what we eat
Nidhin Shobhana In this essay, I am re-reading two stories from my life. I think such an exercise is meaningful – especially when we are debating the protocols of food. I will try to weave an argument with the help of my stories. My argument is not original. It simply plays a supportive role …