Umar Nizar The allegation that was levelled against Socrates was that of corrupting the young. Similarly present day philosophers such as Zizek and Badiou has a huge following among the youth. But there are controversially radical figures like Jordan Peterson who dehumanises victims of violence, who also attract the minds of the young in large …
Public statement against denial of reservation in Calicut University
Round Table India Calicut University must give immediate appointments to Dalit candidates as per reservation norms, based on the verdict of the Honourable Supreme Court and the order of Kerala State Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Dr. T.S. Syamkumar, Dr. Tara, and Dr. Suresh Kumar Puthanparambil lost their chances of getting appointed as …
Homogenizing Muslims
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 …