Brahmanism and Politics of Production of Muslimophobia – II This is the second of a two-part series of examples of the production of Muslimophobia in India and its hegemonic linkages. The first part is here. Bobby Kunhu The people themselves are not a homogeneous cultural collectivity but present numerous and variously combined cultural stratifications which, …
Kerala coastal highway: Fisherfolk without land rights are sitting ducks for corporate land grabs
Ibin Nayakam My friends and I, youngsters from the fishing community, were playing football on the shore as we often do. Suddenly, we saw a line of pink stones on the shore. We used them as goalposts for our game that day. But the pink stones revealed a great injustice that was about to befall …
Sociopolitical Economy of The Kerala Story
Brahmanism and Politics of Production of Muslimophobia – I Bobby Kunhu This is the first of a two-part series of examples of the production of Muslimophobia in India and its hegemonic linkages. The second part is here. “It would not be impossible to prove with sufficient repetition and a psychological understanding of the people concerned …
Vernacular ‘Modernity’ as Caste Monopoly
Umar Nizar The Malayalam novelist NS Madhavan claims that James Joyce was a major influence on his writings. But that leaves one wondering about the fact that Madhavan’s works bear none of the labyrinthine complexities of Joyce. His short stories have been celebrated in Kerala. Perhaps Madhavan is referring to Joyce’s `Dubliners’, a magisterial collection …
Entitlement and the Global Art Bourgeois
Umar Nizar (DEUS ABSCONDITUS AT THE KOCHI-MUZIRIS BIENNALE) `I am not your data’ -Abhay Xaxa Saddam Hussein, the erstwhile dictator of Iraq, was executed on a local holy day. The imperial revenants always make it a point to make their emergence on such occasions. Such was the case of a hatchet job perpetrated by the …
The Superstitious Malayalee!
Bobby Kunhu “Man is certainly stark mad; he cannot make a worm, and yet he will be making gods by dozens.” – Michel de Montaigne, The Complete Essays “Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.” ― Bertrand Russell, Unpopular Essays “Since man …
Growing Up With Caste: Experiences Of Caste In Rural And Urban Kerala
Meera and Pranav Jeevan P ‘Mukkuva’ denotes ‘fisherman’ caste in Kerala, considered among Other Backward Castes (OBC) in the National list and Other Eligible Castes (OEC) in the State List. Most of this community is limited to coastal areas of the state, and engage in the occupation of fishing. Here, it was caste that determined …
Hegemony of Sexual Violence
Bobby Kunhu While, sexual intercourse in dominant discourse is located foundationally within a heterosexual patriarchal paradigm and rape is a violent extension of the same. The act is deeply orchestrated by existing hegemonies that define the society in which it is enacted. This is the reason that women’s bodies and sexualities are often primary targets …
‘What kind of untouchability is this?’
A folk song from Kerala translated by Sreekala Sivasankaran What kind of untouchability is this? The untouchability of the lords! Go away, go away The stumbling block, go away Go away, go away Even Pakkanar* has to go away! If the salt is sown, Would it sprout? And creep onto the fence? Then, what is …