Milind Thokal The process of learning and unlearning is inevitable and will continue forever but some basic concepts must always remain at the core where we must never have any confusion, keeping it more simple, straightforward, and to the point. Let’s start with the very basic word ‘Dalit’. Dalit is a Sanskrit word that means …
Millennials and Jotiba Phule
Pavankumar Shinde 300, the movie The Hollywood movie, which depicts how 300 Spartan soldiers fought hard with thousands of Persian troops, arrived in 2006. It was such a popular movie among the youth of India. 137 years ago, in 1883, Jotiba (Krantiba) Phule had in the book ‘Shetkaryancha Asud’ (‘Cultivators Whipcord’) written that the …
Do ideas of Phule-Shahu-Ambedkar matter anymore?
Shailesh Narwade Jayanti, for many, is merely a celebration of the birth anniversaries of socio-political thinkers who were instrumental in bringing social change of which our generation is a beneficiary. Some people see it as an occasion to eulogize and recollect the contributions of these great leaders. Though these modes of celebrating and remembering …
Religion and other aspects of Feminism
Mook Nayak 2.0 Preliminary Observations A lot of debates are going on about Feminism, its origin and its ideals etc. It is said that the main objective of feminism is to promote equality between the sexes. For a moment, let’s leave the counter arguments made on feminism (1) and look at one profound link which …
The Origin of Dalit Feminist Literature: Mukta Salve, the First Voice of Dalit Feminism
Shivani Waldekar 165 years ago, one young Dalit girl strongly criticised brahminical hegemony and the hierarchal oppressive social structure. She questioned and critically examined caste, class, gender and religion and that empirical data continues to remain very relevant today, as they were in 1855. She strongly believed that education is the only path which …
Climate Justice in India: A Critical Overview
Pradnya Mangala Background: Global climate strike led by Greta Thunberg and youth around the world has trigged climate justice debates in the mainstream. In India, from the past few weeks, we have witnessed climate protests in major metropolitan cities demanding governments to act on the current climate crisis to ensure a livable future for the …
Dalits and dichotomy of the Ganesh festival
Kavita Chohan I am from Haryana. I have been living in Ambedkar’s bhumi Mumbai since the past two years. This is a great time for me to have come in contact with Ambedkarites. I have come to understand that there are various shades and layers to the term ‘Ambedkarism’. Ambedkarism is a remarkable and dynamic …
May we tell our children that they can’t be stopped
Pranjali Kureel May we tell our children about our history, our family histories that our ancestors were treated worse than animals were denied basic dignity and that it still hasn’t changed much. May we tell our children that the histories they read in school are conveniently manipulated and distorted to extend the propaganda of those …
Relevance of Manyawar Kanshi Ram’s Politics in Contemporary India
Amit Kumar In post-independence India, there are many names that have made a deep imprint on Indian politics. Kanshi Ram Saheb is one of the tallest figures who not only changed the political vocabulary but became the voice of that groups which have been neglected historically for a long time. In a true sense, he …