Atul Anand The film ‘Revolver Rani’ is about a Chambal based female dacoit/politician Alka Singh (Kangna Ranaut). She takes up arms after her father is killed by his upper caste brethren. She dresses up like a cross between Michael Jackson and Phoolan Devi. Unlike Phoolan Devi she wasn’t compelled to take up arms because …
We have cleansed our eyes and tongues: On diasporic denials and revisionism
Sinthujan Varatharajah He sat down in the crammed living room of a flat in a low-income suburb in Toronto, Canada. Every weekend he would travel to the other end of the city to enter the 12th floor of a high rise complex in the immigrant area. He would arrive at 11 AM and sit …
Another ‘Dharmapuri’ in Theni district: Dalit colony attacked for inter-caste marriage
தமிழ்வாணன், VCK – Theni District Secretary April 9th. Melmangalam village, near Periyakulam, Theni district. A Dalit youth Suresh (30) eloped with a caste hindu girl Muthulatchumi (25) on 30th March, 2014. Fearing for their life, it is said they fled to Kerala. No complaint was pressed by the girl’s family, instead the caste hindu …
The Semiotics of Fandry
Nilesh Kumar “Wisdom is born in pain, suppression and insult. Experiences lead to the creation of best works” Kannada poet Mudnakudu Chinnaswamy said in a speech at Akhila Bharatha Kannada Sahitya Sammelana in Madikeri, early this year. Director/writer Nagraj Manjule too, in his debut feature film ‘Fandry’ (pig in Kaikadi language), with his indelible …
Chithralekha Attacked Again by CPM Goons
Eramangalathu Chitralekha On January 31, 2014, Chitralekha (the dalit woman autorickshaw driver from Payannur, Kerala, who has been fighting CITU/CPM men and who has faced repeated attacks from them in the past) and her family were again attacked at her home by a group of CPM goons belonging to its youth wing. Her husband is …
Maha Rally Held at Jantar Mantar to Support Dalit Agenda
All India Confederation of SC/ST Organizations New Delhi, 16 December, 2013. A massive rally was held today at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, in which a large number of SC/ST employees and sympathizers from all over the country, under the banner of All India Confederation of SC/ST Organizations, participated. The rally was mainly held for …
Caste Atrocities and the Quest for Justice
Harish S. Wankhede In any normal political chat, the general upper caste tendency is to accuse the Dalits of politicizing the lower caste identity against the nationalist concerns of citizenship and secularism. This is an easy option to hide the actual domination of brahmanical culture over the public institutions. The social psyche of ‘governamentality’ …
SC/ST budget bill in the winter session: Jairam Ramesh assures
Date: December 4, 2013 Minister also promises to add strong gender component [Via NCDHR] New Delhi. Jairam Ramesh has assured to bring the bill for the Central legislation on Special Component Plan (SCP) and Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) in the coming winter session of the parliament itself. Union Minister for Rural Development made this …
Report on Recent Dalit Student Suicides at University of Hyderabad
“Raju-Venkatesh Solidarity Committee” Report on Recent Dalit Student Suicides at University of Hyderabad On 24th November 2013, Madari Venkatesh (student ID: 11ACPA02), a 3rd year PhD scholar, from Advance Centre for Research in High Energy (ACRHEM), University of Hyderabad (UoH), committed suicide in his hostel room in the campus. Venkatesh came from a Dalit …