Hemangi Kadlak [A Speech on the Occasion of 130th Birth Anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.] Jai Bhim, First of all, I would like to thank the Ambedkar Society for South Asia for inviting me as a speaker for this webinar to celebrate the 130th birth anniversary of Dr Ambedkar. Today’s webinar topic is the ‘Unfinished …
Election of Kamala Harris: Is America half a century behind South Asia?
Prof Vivek Kumar On January 20, 2021, Kamala Harris created a history of sorts by taking oath as America’s first female Vice President. She is the first woman of South Asian and Afro-American descent who has received such an honor. This may be a historic moment for Americans. However, if we analyze this history …
Dalit Global Conference in US
Dalit Global Conference in US Advocates End to Caste-based Discrimination Affecting Estimated 280 Million Individuals Worldwide Advocates for Dalit rights are expanding their movement to establish justice, dignity, and equality with an historic global conference occurring in Washington, D.C., March 19-21. Several notable activists and thought leaders in the realm of human rights, including …
LTTE and the Annihilation of Caste
Athithan Jayapalan As far as Eelam Tamil politics are concerned, caste is a contentious issue. Broadly speaking, two trends can be observed in discussions of caste and casteism in Eelam Tamil society. One tends to overlook any debate on the pernicious ramifications that caste had and continues to have on Eelam Tamil society. The …
Dalit women ask South Asian States to challenge impunity, untouchability and discrimination
Statement issued by All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch – NCDHR Navi Pillay highlights power asymmetries leading to Caste based Gender Discrimination and Violence faced by Dalit women at the side event on Dalit women in the 23 Human Rights Council, United Nations, Geneva Geneva, June 7, 2013 The UN High Commissioner, Navi Pillay, …
Casteism: alive and well in Pakistan
Raza Rumi Obedience to hierarchies, conformity and identification with groups are central tenets of existing in Pakistan. [The relief operations after the recent floods in Sindh have revealed the extent to which man-made structures of stratification remain entrenched in Pakistani Society. We thank Raza Rumi for sharing this article outlining his views on …
Caste in Urdu Prose Literature (Part I)
by Ajmal Kamal [With excerpts in Urdu and Hindi scripts] [I] The historical division of society in South Asia on caste lines is now an acknowledged sociological, political and economic fact. However, caste as a literary or social discourse does not, for several reasons, form a part of the predominantly Muslim culture of Urdu. …
Feet of Clay: Amitav Ghosh and the Imperial Indian Gaze
— Jason Keith Fernandes A couple of days ago, an interview, of the part-time Goa resident author Amitav Ghosh, with Lila Azam Zanganeh for the magazine Guernica created something of a storm of outrage. Ghosh had suggested in the course of conversation, that ‘one of the wonderfully liberating things about India; [is that] it lets …
Contemporary relevance of Baba Saheb Ambedkar
“Ambedkar’s Buddhism was a Buddhism of a minority trying to liberate the entire nation. Ambedkar opposed separatism but always kept in mind the unique nature of the oppression of the Dalits.”