Georgy Kuruvila Roy Oppression or freedom? One should ask a very pertinent question to anyone who claims to be a representative of a movement or a theoretical discourse: do you believe in it because you base yourself on oppression or you base yourself on freedom? This question is pertinent because the answer can lead to …
The Hardik Patel Rath Yatra
Kuffir (Text of his speech at the discussion, Debating Reservation: Rationalities and Social Justice, at the English and Foreign Languages University on 3rd September; a slightly modified talk was delivered on 4th September at the University of Hyderabad) At UoH Let’s consider the title of this debate: Debating Reservation: Rationalities and Social Justice. Whose perspective …
Behind the Hardik Patel episode: Conspiracy to end reservations
Fakru Ahmed Bashu While there is uproar from backward classes and downtrodden strata of the society to strictly implement the constitutionally earmarked reservations, there is, on the other hand, a vicious attempt through some recent events to bring the reservation system to an end. Upper caste people with vested interests, who came out openly …
Casteist Media Misses a Landmark Judgement on Reservations in Promotions
The Silence on ‘Reservations in Promotions’ in a caste-based social polity Bobby Kunhu In a landmark judgement by the Supreme Court of India, Justices Chalameswar and Sikri have held that: “to carry out promotions from Scale-I upwards upto Scale-VI, reservation in promotion in favour of SC/ST employees has to be given” in the Chairman …
Casteist undertones of student protests in Delhi University
Ambedkar Reading Group (Delhi University) On the Student Protests in the English Department, University of Delhi A complaint letter issued by the M.A students of DU English Department demanding the removal of 3 newly appointed teachers (two of whom are from the SC and ST Categories) has now turned into a larger protest and …
Stop The Undermining Of Reservations
An Open Letter on the recent recruitment at Goa University [Via Amita Kanekar] This open letter is intended to express our concern at the improper implementation of the national policy of reservations at Goa University (GU). In June 2014 it was reported that there had been serious violations of the system of reservations in …
Bolstering Privilege: Reservation Debates During Elections 2014
Indrajit Roy As political commentators celebrate or bemoan the supposed change in the Indian polity with the ‘advent’ of Narendra Modi, it is important to highlight the fact that political parties were largely silent about social justice during the just-concluded elections. In fact, two of the largest political parties- the party that won the …
Going backward
Surinder S. Jodhka The Jats, without doubt, have been the most important and powerful caste community in the rural landscapes of northwest India. The sources of their dominance have typically been their control over agricultural lands, their demographics and their networks beyond the village. However, unlike the other “dominant castes”, such as the Marathas …
The caste density of my beard
Arvind Boudhh India, my country, is the eternal abode of castes and discriminations. Here, in one instant, you can see people boasting about the floral, faunal and cultural diversity of their country, while in the next instant, you can see people being discriminated against and exploited because of their caste, creed, religion, color or …