Vinod Kumar I was writing something down, jotting down my thoughts about a certain incident, or perhaps, it was merely a random idea; it was a feeling I wanted to note down soon after having my breakfast. In the middle of recording my thoughts in English, I felt the urgent need to write a few …
The beauty of the farmers’ protest
Vinod Kumar Early afternoon hours, say about 12ish and I was being driven through the Singhu border, the site of the present farmers’ protest in India. Makeshift tenements on both sides of the road, tents, kitchens, trucks and tractors converted into shelters. Farmers and their families moving around. Young boys, athletic and fit-built, holding …
The Spectre of Caste is Haunting Bahujan Politics
Vinod Kumar Babasaheb Ambedkar and his ideas revolve around caste as the central problem of the Indian society. His vision and objectives are clear: establishing an egalitarian society through annihilation of caste. Throughout his life he fought for these objectives and provided philosophy, method, and vision for a new society. In many ways he …
Are Jignesh Mevani and his left allies ignorant of Ambedkarite politics?
Vinod Kumar Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was an economist, a fact which has been neglected by Indian academia, as well as not recognised by the left liberal intellectuals of this country. During the freedom movement, Ambedkar’s academic contribution was not only intellectual, but also a fight against the unjust colonial economic arrangement which was …
Cricket, Nationalism and Virat Kohli’s Remark
Vinod Kumar The recent remark of Virat Kohli in response to a cricket loving fan to “leave India” has sparked a debate, and it must be seen as a matter of concern. It is important to take his remark seriously for the purpose of analyzing cricket and the nation. There is a need to …
Post-Truth Politics and Dalit Question
Vinod Kumar The world is moving in a new direction in its political spectrum. Most of the old, developed democracies have come under the influence of the right wing forces with populist images where people are drawn towards personalities and emotions rather than facts and good policies. Recently, this changing political dimension has been …
Is one sufficiently patriotic only if one is a Hindu cow-vigilante?
Vinod Kumar Hindutva cultural nationalism is at its peak today. So the day is not far when India becomes a country like Hitler’s Germany or Mussolini’s Italy. We have all witnessed how the cow-vigilantes are promoted by the VHP, RSS and its political outfit, the BJP. People from oppressed communities across the country are …
‘Jai Bhim, Lal Salam’: Myth and Reality
Vinod Kumar Of late, uniting Ambedkarism and communism has become a matter of discussion among intellectuals and students across India. As far as the emergence of this discourse is concerned, it is because of the increasing assertion of the Ambedkarite forces to alter the politics of the most prominent institutions, in particular HCU, JNU, …
Nation, Nationalism and Oppressed Communities
Vinod Kumar State came into existence with the failure of human values in the society. As far as Marxist understanding is concerned, in the primitive society, there was no existence of private property and private family. The very existence of private property led to conflict in society. Where there is property there is greed, …