Gurinder Azad If anyone has left a rich legacy of aggressively challenging Brahmanism, it is our own Periyar. His full name was Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy Nayakar. Periyar means ‘great man’. Bahujan youth today express their aggression and restlessness against the Brahmanical system by sharing quotes of Periyar on social media, and strive to advance the …
Vulgarization of Subaltern Culture
Dr. Y. Srinivasa Rao In India, while classical arts are for the rich and international audiences, and are practiced by the upper castes for fame, name and prestige, subaltern arts are for the rural population and practiced by the subalterns for livelihood and survival. Upper castes ascribed the ability to reserving everything that had …
On ‘Jai Bhim’: How can individuals be seen as beacons of hope?
Anshul Kumar “The assertion by the individual of his own opinions and beliefs, his own independence and interest as over against group standards, group authority and group interests is the beginning of all reform. But whether the reform will continue depends upon what scope the group affords for such individual assertion. If the group is tolerant and …
Our self-respect was surely also self-determination – Understanding Dravidian politics in the times of Hindutva
Vinith Kumar [This is part 1 of a series of essays on Dravidian politics today and its historical roots.] There are pessimists who say that there is no guarantee that victory will be followed by a New Order. There is perhaps room for this pessimism. The New Order, which is the ideal of labour, has …
How BJP ran TN without getting elected – the story before 2 May
Radhika Sudhakar The story of Tamil Nadu election 2021, as the election itself drew close, was judged by non-brahmins in the state as one that was not going to be who the winner is – the ruling party or the opposition, but the faceoff between the outgoing Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy vs BJP-backed-dy-CM-O …
The caste of election analysis
Bobby Kunhu “Christ is born, my wise Solomon, my wretched pen-pusher! Don´t go picking things over with a needle! Is He born or isn´t He? Of course He is born, don´t be daft. If you take a magnifying glass and look at your drinking water-an engineer told me this, one day – you´ll see, …
The fence-sitter of Tamil Nadu politics: Superstar Rajinikanth
Keerthi Nathan Tamil Nadu has a long history where Dravidian politics is associated with the Tamil cinema industry and they both go hand in hand because the Tamil film industry has produced three Chief Ministers. The trend started with M.Karunanidhi and CN Annadurai who were known for their acumen in script writing and continued the …
After a series of dismal performances, what is the future of Congress?
Keerthi Nathan The Mahagatbandhan alliance comprising of RJD, Congress and the Left parties have given a tough fight to the ruling NDA in the recently held elections in Bihar. Although the RJD has increased its vote share tremendously since last the general election held last year, it is the Congress which has been consistently underperforming …
COVID-19 and a more dangerous virus
Salman Farissi COVID-19 hit India in March 2020. Nationwide lockdown prohibited all forms of political or religious congregations. Protesters on the streets of India against CAA, NRC, and NPR retreated as responsible human beings but the deep state and the Indian state (RSS-BJP) seem to have been searching for their prey hiding in the lurches. …