Anoop Kumar (This is the transcipt of his speech at the celebrations of the 126th Birth Anniversary of Dr. Babasaheb Amebdkar in Ras Al Khaimah organised by Ambedkar International Mission, UAE, on 21st April, 2017. It was translated from Hindi by Abhishek Juneja) Jai Bhim. I am very happy to be among you all. I …
Affirmative Action & The Concept of Merit: An Indian Experience
Raju Chalwadi Affirmative action and Merit are two concepts on which every Indian has an opinion, especially, the former. Affirmative action policy is always seen in a negative light because of the ambiguity regarding the rationale for such a policy and its effect on social relations. And the term merit in the Indian context …
The Janeyu in My News Story
Rahi Gaikwad Years ago, while studying journalism, a remark made by a foreign national classmate during a class discussion on caste has stuck in my mind till date. From what I remember, she said that she had many Indian friends who told her they did not believe in caste, but somehow mentioned they were …
Caste, Gender, and the Feasibility of Education: The Case of Apu and Dhania
Tuhin Bhattacharjee “If you wish to bring about a breach in the system, then you have got to apply the dynamite to the Vedas and the Shastras, which deny any part to reason; to the Vedas and Shastras, which deny any part to morality. You must destroy the religion of the shrutis and the …
Reserved about Reservation
Periyar Bhim Vemula I had an interesting conversation on Facebook, triggered by a small LinkedIn post that I shared on the social media website. The article was related to how Tina Dabi, the first rank holder in India’s qualifying exam for its civil services, was a beneficiary of ‘reservation,’ a mode of positive discrimination …
Merit of ‘Vision’ groups and ‘Knowledge’ commissions in Karnataka
Dr. Sylvia Karpagam and Sridhar Gowda In an unequal society, the fittest will always be on top and their survival is almost certainly guaranteed. How is fitness determined and survival ensured? At the level of schools, colleges and workplaces, are some groups invariably ‘fitter’ than others? If yes, can fitness automatically be attributed to …
Understanding Caste & Casteism in Higher Education and Academic Institutions (Part II)
Continued from here Lata Pratibha Madhukar What is casteism? The systemic discrimination, inequalities, repression, atrocities, targeting, snatching livelihood options, exclusions, various types of humiliation aimed at making members of the lower and lowest castes psychologically, physically, socially and economically vulnerable–allowed and sanctioned by Brahminism to each higher caste in the hierarchy of caste system …
Death of Merit or Merit of Death
T. Sowjanya “I came here through reservations and I sustain myself through the political solidarity of my dalit community!” is my firm answer to questions such as “Are you a dalit?” “Do you belong to category?” “Do you have any reservation?” These are the questions any dalit invariably faces one time or the other at …
The Question of Reservation and the Future of the Dalit-Bahujanas in India
Mahitosh Mandal Everyone who feels moved by the deplorable condition of the Untouchables begins by saying: ‘We must do something for the Untouchables’. One seldom hears any of the persons interested in the problem saying: ‘Let us do something to change the Hindu’. ~ B R Ambedkar, ‘Untouchables or the Children of India’s Ghetto’ …