Dr. K. Jamanadas (First Published in September 2001) General Review About Bal Gangadhar Tilak, he was a great scholar of Sanskrit. He was a great leader of RADICALS, they used to call themselves “Nationalists” and leaders of whole country. He was called “Lokmanya” meaning “recognized by the people” and was projected as leader of …
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 …
The Rise of BJP: Bitter Fruits of Fertile Brahminical Soil
Nidhin Sowjanya The 16th Lok Sabha elections have culminated in something that anyone who looks closely at the history and functioning of this Brahminical Hindu nation could have easily expected. These elections announced the victory, however incomplete, of the right wing Hindutva party- BJP. The sheer number of seats (282 on its own) and …
Father, Sons and the Holy Nation
Bobby Kunhu The progenitor of “everyday Hindu nationalism” is Mohandas Gandhi as much as Hedgewar or Savarkar. In fact Gandhi is much more dangerous than the latter as the core of his ideology, which is sanatana dharma and varnashrama, is well couched in liberal language, well packaged and propagated internationally and successfully by his …
On how Arundhati Roy introduces AoC without losing her upper hand
Murali Shanmugavelan In 1936, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, fondly called as Babasaheb, wrote an un-delivered lecture called Annihilation of Caste (AoC) for a Hindu reform group called Jat-Pat Todak Mandal (Society for the Abolition of Caste system). The group rejected Ambedkar’s text as too radical as it made the case for the fundamental destruction of …
Democratic Debate on Appropriation of Ambedkar’s Writings
~ Democratic debate on the appropriation of ‘Annihilation of Caste’ by Navayana on 10th April, 5 p.m., at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram, Hyderabad ~ Dear Friends, All of you are aware about the ongoing discussion on the issue of publication of Dr B.R.Ambedkar’s “Annihilation of Caste” by Navayana Publications with an introduction of Arundhati Roy …
Stigmatizing Dalits, From the Wadas to the Web
Nilesh Kumar My father was fortunate that there was a Government press just next to his work place. Once a presswala got to know that my father is an ardent reader of Ambedkarite literature. He started delivering Ambedkarite literature to him. When we had all this voluminous literature available at home, my father insisted …
Without Arundhati Roy and Gandhi, the book had its own value: Bojja Tharakam
Dalit Camera: Through Un-Touchable Eyes Dalit Camera talked recently to veteran human rights activist Bojja Tharakam on the new edition of ‘Ännihilation of Caste’ introduced by Arundhati Roy. The text below is a transcript of the interview. BojjaTharakam, senior advocate in the AP High Court, was the founding president of Andhra Pradesh Dalit Maha …
The Not-So-Intimate Enemy: The Loss and Erasure of the Self Under Casteism
Gee Imaan Semmalar “In my judgment, it is useless to make a distinction between the secular Brahmins and priestly Brahmins. Both are kith and kin. They are two arms of the same body, and one is bound to fight for the existence of the other.” ~ Babasaheb Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste, 1936. Babasaheb Ambedkar, …