Parakh Chouhan On 26 January, during a literary festival in Jaipur, Ashish Nandy told the audiences what he really feels about the majority of the country (dalits, adivasis, and bahujan), who have been kept at the bottom, and out of the social order for the last four thousand years. Here is his statement: “How …
‘Castration’ as a hegemonic form of punishment: A Legal History Point of View
Sophy Joseph “There should be maximum punishment to the rapists, death penalty or castration” This incantation got huge endorsement from political parties, civil society organizations, the middle class and some activists from India and abroad during the aftermath of the insensate Delhi gang rape incident and subsequent death of ‘Nirbhaya’ who fought to survive till …
Fresh Bout of Caste Violence within Muslims in Allahpur
(This is the English version of the press-note circulated by the All India Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz (AIPMM). Translated by Khalid Anis Ansari) In a village in Bihar’s East Champaran district the lives of the poor Muslims belonging to backward castes has been under continuous threat from the dominant caste Muslims for the last seven …
Caste and Caste-Based Discrimination among Indian Muslims – Part 10
Caste and Caste-Based Discrimination among Indian Muslims – Part 10: Transformations in the Colonial Period Continued from here. Masood Alam Falahi (Translated by Yoginder Sikand for NewAgeIslam.com) [Part 10 of Masood Alam Falahi‘s Urdu book Hindustan Mai Zat-Pat Aur Musalman (‘Casteism Among Muslims in India’)] ~ Caste and Religion With the onset of British …
The murder of a Dalit girl and the silence over it
Ravi Chandran (This article talks about the alleged murder of a Paraiyar girl, Gogila, by her family because of her love marriage with an Arunthathiyar boy, Karthikeyan, in a village in Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu. Apart from a small report in Junior Vikatan, the Tamil magazine, there has been absolute silence in the media …
Triumph of the spirit over injustice
P. Dayanandan Sixty years ago I learned to write Tamil alphabet on sand, in a remote Dalit village. It was at Bertram Hall, Loyola College, that I wrote my TOEFL (English test) in 1970 before I went on a Fulbright Scholarship to study in the US. It was a great privilege indeed to participate in this celebration …
Caste and Caste-Based Discrimination among Indian Muslims – Part 4
Caste and Caste-Based Discrimination among Indian Muslims – Part 4: Early Anti-Aryan Movements in India Continued from here. Masood Alam Falahi (Translated From Urdu by Yoginder Sikand, for NewAgeIslam.com) [Part 4 of Masood Alam Falahi‘s Urdu book Hindustan Mai Zat-Pat Aur Musalman (‘Casteism Among Muslims in India‘)] ~ It is a law of nature …
Hindutva and ethnicity
Gail Omvedt (First published in February 2003) The antagonism to conversion rests on an ideological foundation which takes ethnicity, that is a presumed community of blood and heritage, as central. IN 1996, during a six-month employment in Bhubaneshwar, fascinated by the beauty and antiquity of the area, I travelled with friends to Konarak and to …
“I am not a slave and don’t make me a slave”- Annan Pasupathi Pandian, a tribute
Ravi Chandran (With editorial suggestions from Kuffir) This article is an attempt to bring together information about the Dalit revolutionary leader Pasupathi Pandian, who was brutally murdered a couple of days ago (January 10, 2012). Since only bits and pieces of news material is available on him, I tried to gather some information from the …