Akhilesh Kumar People are talking about the movie 12th Fail and its emotional scenes. As a Dalit, I felt the need to write and raise some critical points about the portrayal of the movie. Emotionally, this movie tried to connect with the audience. This movie depicts the struggle of a person to crack the UPSC …
The Tyranny of Merit
Pranav Jeevan P Being born with talent is a genetic lottery, especially if it is with a talent that is rare and uncommon and if there is any market or public demand for it during their lifetime. Similar stochasticity is present in the social and economic position we are born into, as that defines whether …
What is stopping ‘Dalit scholars’ from submitting their PhDs?
donna Competing ‘merit’ is cultural violence- ‘Merit as pus’[1] On March 29, 2023, the Union Minister of State for Education shared with the Rajya Sabha the number of dropouts among SC, ST, and OBC students in the educational institutions of India. The debate still revolves around the kind of schemes offered and the funds/fee waivers …
The fake glitter of meritoriousness
Dr.Bhushan Amol Darkase Merit, the discussion about merit in India is remarkable; it is crucial to understand its various aspects. When talking about merit, one must first know its philosophical nature. After examining the definitions of merit, it is clear that it consists of two parts in particular, ‘the quality of being good or …
Dalit movement must provide our students a positive identity: Anoop Kumar
Anoop Kumar (This is the transcript of his speech at an international conference on Babasaheb Ambedkar in Tokyo, Japan, in October 2018) Thank you very much. Jai Bhim and good morning to all. My name is Anoop and I’ve been teaching for the past 5-6 years in Wardha. Today, I am going to speak …
Raising a Buddhist generation
Chanchal Kumar Our parents shielded us from any candid discussion on caste while growing up, perhaps believing that if the monster was not mentioned, it would simply cease to exist. Another way to look at it could be that they tried to warn us but we were too busy to pay attention and too …
Life of Bahujans in Brahminical Schools
Pranav Jeevan P Schools are one of the primary places where the functioning of caste is passed on to the next generation. Savarna kids are indoctrinated of their superiority and Bahujan kids are shown their place in the varna system here. The trauma they suffer at a very young age from school they carry …
Casteism in City Colleges and Classrooms
Aarushi Punia It is a common myth perpetrated by upper caste faculty, students, politicians, and media that caste superiority and casteism is exercised amongst uneducated people in the villages, and not amongst the educated in urban and academic spaces. The myth of city colleges and classrooms being caste-free stems from the unidentifiability of the conventional …
Outlook magazine’s duplicity
JS Vinay Recently, there was a controversy when the Outlook magazine released an issue with a cover story on “50 Dalits remaking India”. [1] Many anti-caste activists raised questions about the issue. Some were talking about the usage of the word “Dalit” since a court had ruled against the usage of the term in previous …