Bhanwar Meghwanshi For nearly four months they were subjected to social boycott, economic blockade and mental torture. They were not allowed to fill water from public taps, they couldn’t use the common space for defecation in the village, the only non-Dalit doctor had stopped their treatment, and they could not use the village land …
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, …
In the conversion noise, the silence
Sumit Baudh Let me start on a personal note. I am seeking funds for my doctoral research and am tempted to apply to government schemes for Scheduled Caste (SC) scholars. There is just one problem: I do not have an SC certificate. Long ago, my Dalit parents decided not to get SC certificates for …
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 …
Hindustan vs India
Kancha Ilaiah Ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has come to power, issues related to Muslims in India are zooming into focus. Though during the election campaign Narendra Modi indirectly talked about “appeasement”, “votebank” politics and the preferential treatment meted out to Muslims by the Congress Party, he did not make their identity …
Lok Sabha Elections 2014 and Pasmanda Muslims
Draft Note circulated by National Alliance of Pasmanda Organizations (NAPO) for discussion in its inaugural meeting to be held in Lucknow on June 30, 2013. ~ National Alliance of Pasmanda Organizations (NAPO) The key personalities (L to R): Fakhr-e-Qaum Abdul Qaiyum Ansari, Maulana Ateeq-ur-Rehman Mansuri, Baba Kabir, Dr. Ejaz Ali, Ali Anwar Introduction Caste …
‘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 …
Caste and Caste-Based Discrimination among Indian Muslims – Part 11
Caste and Caste-Based Discrimination among Indian Muslims – Part 11: Hindutva, Gandhism, and the Caste Question Continued from here. Masood Alam Falahi (Translated by Yoginder Sikand for NewAgeIslam.com) [Part 6 of Masood Alam Falahi’s Urdu book Hindustan Mai Zat-Pat Aur Musalman (‘Casteism Among Muslims in India’)] ~ The Hindu Mahasabha and the RSS Faced …
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 …