Book Review: “Babasaheb My Life with Dr. Ambedkar” by Dr. Savita Ambedkar translated from the Marathi by Nadeem Khan Rajesh Chandra Kumar & Vinay Damodar Dr. Savita Ambedkar, formerly known as Dr. Sharada Kabir, was born into a middle-class Saraswat Brahmin family and met Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar while he was a patient suffering from a …
Say No to Dowry
Bushra Afreen We celebrate Women’s Day every year with different themes. This year, the theme is #chooseTochallenge so I #chooseTochallenge. If marriage is a vehicle, where male and female are two equals, why is dowry given by the bride’s family? While both males and females make equal efforts to nurse their families; in married life, …
Dealing with old foes: Perpetual Exclusion and Loneliness
Akshit Sangomla My name is Akshit Sangomla. I work as a senior reporter at the Down To Earth magazine in Delhi. I report and write stories on climate change, natural disasters, astronomy, artificial intelligence and other science (and technology) related topics – something that Rohith Vemula would have loved to do but was not allowed …
Coronavirus may leave soon, but when will the caste virus leave?
Keerthi Nathan During the first week of April, there was a news report about a man who was reportedly killed for allegedly marrying outside his caste. The incident was reported to have taken place in a village in Tiruvannamalai district in Tamil Nadu. This alleged honor killing was carried out when the state was amidst …
Rajputanis’ revolt against patriarchy, and the fake valor of Rajput patriarchy
Ratnesh Katulkar The Rajputs from medieval times (which is the actual period of their appearance in Indian soil) portray their patriarchal male valor and military dominance through various folklore. In the recent Padmavati protest, the Karni Sena- the new outfit of Rajputs once again showed their bravery by attacking a bus carrying school going …
Love and Marriage: Caste and Social Spaces
Kadhiravan ~ An ideal society should be mobile, should be full of channels for conveying a change taking place in one part to other parts. In an ideal society there should be many interests consciously communicated and shared. There should be varied and free points of contact with other modes of association. In other …
मुलगा पहायला आला
Vidya “मुलगा पहायला आला” मुलगा पाहायला येतो तेव्हा मुलीला काय वाटत असेल? आज मला मुलगा पाहायला आलेला. मुलगा पाहायला येणं म्हणजे नेमकं काय? जेव्हा मुलगी “वयात येते”, म्हणजे कि ती प्रेम किंवा मुलांशी मैत्री वगैरे करायला लहान असते मात्र लग्न करून संसार करायला समर्थ असते, तेव्हा तिचा बाप (किंवा घरचा करता पुरुष,..हो फक्त पुरुषच ..कारण हा …
Brahmins preferred: The Caste of Sexuality
Akshay Pathak Advancing the most penetrative and succinct theory of caste, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar had this to say in 1916 when he first presented his paper ‘Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development’: This sub-division of a society is quite natural. But the unnatural thing about these sub-divisions is that they have …
Politicising the personal: Who am I, Who are ‘we’ as people?
Sinthujan Varatharajah Few diasporans will today come to talk about how caste practices in regards to marriage respond to larger political dynamics and power relations. Endogamy, as the most common marriage practice amongst Hindus, necessarily leads to social exclusion and discrimination. Marriage is traditionally assumed to be the foundation of a political institution, the family. …