Vivek Kumar This election is historical because, once again, upper castes have been kept out of power. This has been the trend in the state for the past two-and-a-half decades. Secondly, this election can also be seen as a backlash of upper castes against the consolidation of Dalit power in Uttar Pradesh. Dalit workers and a …
The Chamcha Age (An Era of the Stooges) – Preface
by Kanshi Ram (Released on 24th September, 1982, on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of Poona Pact) ~~~~~ Dedicated to Mahatma Jotirao Phule Whose initiation of cultural revolt in colonial India, later taken up by Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Periyar E.V. Ramaswamy and many other rebellious spirits brought us …
Caste atrocity in Lathor: Over 50 Dalit homes burnt by upper castes
Jadumanilion Boudha & Dhammachari Ratnakumar An incident involving a small boy led to horrific caste violence in Lathor, Balangir district of Odisha, leaving 50 Dalit families homeless and destitute. On January 22, 2012, at around 3.00pm, Ganesh Suna, a 9th class dalit boy went to a shop to buy a new shirt, which he …
Alienation, consciousness and assertion: an interpretation of Oriya Dalit narrative
by Raj Kumar Abstract The objective of this paper is to discuss the historical context of the emergence of a new literary genre called “Oriya Dalit literature” which reflected the growing identity, awareness and consciousness of the Oriya Dalits during the colonial period and post-independence days. Although there was no literary genre distinctively known as …
Dalit woman leader not allowed to lead
Translation by Lavanya Raj Bharathi An atrocity such as this continues unstopped, only in Tamilnadu. This atrocity is yet another example for how caste inequalities run strong and deep in the state’s soil, like the roots of the Banyan. On Wednesday, the Kayaththar panchayat (near Kovilpatti) committee meeting took place in the panchayat committee office. …
RTI activist targeted in Orissa for exposing ‘ghost ponds’
Asian Human Rights Commission Statement Orissa is one of the states in India that has failed to assimilate the spirit of the 73rd amendment of the Indian constitution, which provides a constitutional framework to the Panchayat Raj. The state has also failed to appreciate the Right to Information Act, 2005. The state’s bureaucracy behaves as …
A Journey to Kundeshwar
Ravindra Kumar Goliya One must be wondering at the title: what is this place, why the journey? What is special about this place? Kundeshwar is a small village in Tikamgarh district in a backward area of Bundelkhand in Madhya Pradesh. It is special because of a boy named Bal Mukund Bharti who was the first …
My name Is memory
Thenmozhi Soundararajan “A race of people is like an individual man; until it uses its own talent, takes pride in its own history, expresses its own culture, affirms its own selfhood, it can never fulfill itself.” — Malcolm X Story. Story. Story is the shortest distance between two people. This piece of wisdom has stayed …
Untouchability Declassified
by Pallavi Polanki, Discrimination is a dynamic industry in India. A survey recorded an astonishing 80-odd practices of untouchability—new, bizarre, vintage. Two thousand years and counting. We must hold the record for perpetuating one of the worst crimes on humanity for the longest time running. The practice of untouchability has an unbroken history. A record the …