Rahul Sonpimple In my Ph.D. fieldwork in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, I encountered two contrasting assertions regarding the role of Buddhism in the everyday lives of Dalits. The first assertion, claiming “Buddha is our god; Babasaheb gave us, we are not Hindus,” was prevalent among poor and illiterate Dalits in slums and villages. The …
Jayanti: A celebration of Bahujan history and autonomy
JS Vinay The recently released Marathi movie ‘Jayanti’ is creating waves in the Marathi circles. Based on my understanding , I will try to share some points (not in order of preference) as a viewer and as also someone who belongs to the Vidarbha region where the movie & characters are based. Use of …
All Ambedkarites of Vidarbha unite and support Atul Khobragade’s Election
Dipankar Devesh Kamble History of Ambedkarite Politics. The Ambedkarite politics of India had been a deciding factor in the electoral system. When Dr. Ambedkar established Independent Labour Party it proved as a potential counter to the then Indian National Congress in the Bombay Legislative Assembly. The Scheduled Caste Federation and Republican Party of India also …
Real Daughters of India
Daisy Katta An interview with Dr. Sujata Vishwasrao Athawale, Professor and Dalit Activist, Amravati, Vidarbha, Maharashtra. Dr. Sujata Vishwasrao Athawale is a Dalit women’s rights activist who has been working with rural Vidarbha’s Dalit, Adivasi, Nomadic and Denotified Tribal and Muslim women for the last two decades. On the occasion of International Woman’s Day, …
Dalit procession attacked at Washim
(Round Table India report) Washim, Maharashtra. Around 19 Dalits, including three children, were seriously injured in an attack on a procession marking Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s birth anniversary on Monday at Adoli village of Washim district in Vidarbha. The peaceful rally took a violent turn after the dominant Kunbi Maratha community allegedly attacked Dalits unprovoked. …
BJP’s small state theory
Kancha Ilaiah With the Telangana question reaching a climactic stage it is necessary to examine the implication of carving out small states for issues such as reservations in general and the OBC reservations in particular. Dr B.R. Ambedkar argued for small states and a strong Centre to put a check on feudal upper caste forces …