ಹರ್ಷಕುಮಾರ್ ಕುಗ್ ಭರತ ಖಂಡವು ಕಂಡ ಮಹಾನ್ ದಾರ್ಶನಿಕರಾದ ಶ್ರೀ ನಾರಾಯಣ ಗುರುಗಳ ಜಯಂತಿಯನ್ನು ಸರ್ಕಾರಿ ಆಚರಣೆಯಾಗಿ ಸರ್ಕಾರವು ಆಚರಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವುದು ನಿಜಕ್ಕೂ ಸಂತೋಷದ ಸಂಗತಿ. ಈ ಮಹಾನ್ ಧಾರ್ಮಿಕ ಚಿಂತಕ, ಸಮಾಜ ಸುಧಾರಕರಿಗೆ ಖಂಡಿತವಾಗಿಯೂ ಇದು ಗೌರವ ಸಲ್ಲಿಸುವ ಕೆಲಸ. ಆದರೆ ದುರದೃಷ್ಟವಶಾತ್ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಹೇಗಾಗಿದೆಯೆಂದರೆ ಸರ್ಕಾರಗಳು ಜಯಂತಿಗಳನ್ನು ಆಚರಿಸುವುದು ಎಂದರೆ ಆಯಾ ಮಹಾನ್ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಗಳು ಹುಟ್ಟಿದ ಜಾತಿಗಳನ್ನು ತುಷ್ಟೀಕರಣ ಮಾಡಲು ಮಾತ್ರ ಎಂಬಂತಾಗಿದೆ. ಬಸವ ಜಯಂತಿ ಲಿಂಗಾಯತರಿಗೆ, ವಾಲ್ಮೀಕಿ ಜಯಂತಿ ವಾಲ್ಮೀಕಿ ನಾಯಕರಿಗೆ, ಕನಕ …
Religious Resistance and the Problem of Caste: Is Caste Secular?
Pritam Singh Tinna (A part of this paper was presented at annual Sociology conference held at Jamia Milia Islamia University and the rest was edited and written again for this publication) Oscar A Romero, a liberation theologian and the archbishop of El Salvador was killed in the year 1980 for intermixing “politics with religion”. …
Casteism in Kashmir: My observations and experiences (Part 2)
Mudasir Ali Lone This is in continuation of the Part 1 published here. Whenever someone tells me that there’s no caste in Kashmir (and I’m told that a lot), I can’t help but think of the terms that are part of our daily language, for example, Kaaluh Waatul (literal translation: black chamaar). It’s a …
Why Being Critical Towards Holy Scriptures or Religious Beliefs Is Important?
Abhishek Bhagat Religion is a core part of human life. It is belief system which governs human behavior. There are many religions like Christianity, Islam, Hindu, Buddhist, Taoism, Sikhism, Judaism, etc. Many principles are common among them but there are fundamental philosophical differences too. The common bit certainly consists of different religionists’ insistence on …
Saba Mahmood (1962 – March 10, 2018)
Mara Ahmed On the morning of March 11, 2018, I woke up to the incredibly sad news that Saba Mahmood had passed away. Professor of anthropology at the University of California at Berkeley, a scholar of modern Egypt, and the author of stunning books like “Politics of Piety” and more recently “Religious Difference in a Secular …
Caste, Family, Self: Savarna Christian Perspectives
Nidhin Shobhana (This is a short report on a self-perception survey conducted among Young Syrian Christians as a part the author’s MPhil Coursework in Centre for Studies in Discrimination and Exclusion, JNU) What is the value of a perception survey? The Mandal Commission in its ‘socio-educational’ household survey asked the participants the following question— Do …
Secularism and the Maintenance of Caste Hierarchies: Notes from Sikh Studies
Pritam Singh Tinna (This paper was presented at Young Researchers’ Conference, Beyond the Icon: Ambedkar’s Legacy for Our Times held at Ambedkar University Delhi on the 23rd of February 2018) In an opinion article published in the Hindu dated September 3, 2001, Andre Beteille, taking notes from M.N Srinivas writes: “It would be unthinkable …
Hindu festivals and Buddhist converts
Deekshit इसको भरनेवाले जन कोसर्वस्व-समर्पण करना है।अपना तन-मन-धन-जन-जीवनमाता को अर्पण करना है। (Those who fill this form, shall renounce everything; surrender their body, heart, mind, and life to the motherland.) पर यह साधारण पत्र नहीं,आज़ादी का परवाना है।इस पर तुमको अपने तन काकुछ उज्जवल रक्त गिराना है! (But understand, this is not an ordinary …
For a fistful of self-respect: Organised secular and religious ideologies and emancipatory struggles
Round Table India We are happy to announce the first of a series of conversations between participants and stakeholders in emancipatory struggles of Annihilation of Caste and Racial Inequality. Dates: 9/29/17 and 9/30/17. Location: Jackson, Mississippi. As members of marginalized communities involved in historic struggles of Racial equality and Annihilation of Caste, this is an …