For An Informed Ambedkar Age
Asha Kowtal I was not yet in my first standard of school when the strategies of the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) (earlier known as Special Component Plan for Scheduled Castes) were put into force. Way back in 1979-80, the SCSP mandated every State/Ministry to earmark funds from the Plan outlay, atleast in proportion …
Violence against women in India – A review of the popular mythologies and their implications for VAW Cynthia Stephen India’s reputation as a destination for spiritual seekers seems to have faded in recent years. Reputed worldwide to the be the land of the oldest living civilisation, with a rich culture, living tradition, and a …
Committed women activists and Dalit human rights defenders gathered in front of Haryana Bhavan on September 18th to protest against the silence of the Haryana Government in the cases of rape and murder of Dalit girls. They demanded that the investigation report of the alleged rape and murder of 20 year old Dalit girl in …
Jenny Rowena I think this Rosy Memorial Lecture is a historically significant move for two important reasons. First of all it gives us a chance to remember and commemorate P K Rosy, the Dalit Chrisitan woman, who was the first heroine of the first film in Malayalam, Vigathakumaran, which was made and released by …
N. Sukumar and Shailaja Menon A sad day indeed when the news flashed that Afzal Guru who was convicted in the 2001 Parliament attack was executed. After a lot of dilly dallying when the powers that be accused each other of being soft on terror, Guru was legally encountered to silence the critics. However, the …
Dr. Sylvia Karpagam (Please read an earlier article in Round Table India by Gee Ameena Suleiman for background information on the brutal eviction of poor residents from EWS quarters in Ejipura, Bengaluru, by the government) The day before yesterday, women and activists screamed as the bulldozers advanced. The intent was single-minded – to raze …
Cynthia Stephen (Cynthia shares her reflections on the recent debate over violence against women through a poem and a short note) Don’t cry for me. Don’t cry for me. Don’t cry for me. Anonymous I may be to you, but I have a name, a self. I too get thirsty But when I go …
[Via Anji Vikarabad] On December 25th, 2012, students in University of Hyderabad, led by the Ambedkar Students’ Association (ASA), burnt a copy of the Manusmriti in the campus, which they called the ‘most notorious’, ‘barbaric’ religious text ever produced. 25th December is an auspicious day in the history of Dalitbahujan struggles because it was on …
(This is the English version of the press-note circulated by the All India Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz (AIPMM). Translated by Khalid Anis Ansari) In a village in Bihar’s East Champaran district the lives of the poor Muslims belonging to backward castes has been under continuous threat from the dominant caste Muslims for the last seven …