Dalit-Archive

22 February, 2005

De-Brahminise The Dalit
By Prem Pati & Yoginder Sikand

"Well, I would strongly urge de-Brahminisation or de-Sanskritisation of the Dalits, so as to liberate them from the trap in which 'upper' caste religious practices and beliefs have ensnared them"

17 February, 2005

The Logic Of Affirmative Action
By Sarbeswar Sahoo

Those who have been victimized in history have to be compensated through assured educational opportunities and income; so that the social injustice and inequality imposed by the caste system could someway be reduced

16 February, 2005

Needed A Tsunami To Destroy
The Ugly Relic Of Varna System
By V.B.Rawat

This Tsunami, on whose destruction we all are crying, have not been able to demolish the most powerful and destructive system of caste in India. Perhaps, we need a stronger Tsunami to destroy the ugly relic of caste system and racial discrimination from our society

Recognize Dalit Muslims
By Anand Bharat

A clear identification of Dalit Muslims and recognition their political and social needs will help bring together Dalit Muslims and Dalits, which can prove strong bulwark against the fundamentalist force working against them

14 February, 2005

'Dalit Voice' Speaks Out
By V.T Rajshekar & Yoginder Sikand

An interview with V.T.Rajshekar, the editor of the Bangalore-based English fortnightly 'Dalit Voice'. Here he speaks to Yoginder Sikand on various aspects of the Dalit movement and about Dalit-Muslim Relations

31 January, 2005

A Dalit Experience At WSF
By Zeynep Toufe

The experiences of a woman activist who participated a dalit panel discussion at WSF

28 January, 2005

Rise Of Dalit Assertion Is The First Sign Of
Defeat Of Brahmanical System
By V.B.Rawat

Tsundur’s Dalits set an example for others to emulate in their fight against the tyranny of the upper castes

Calamity And Prejudice
By Subhash Gatade

All of us have been witness as well participant in the campaign to help the victims of Tsunami at some level or the other. But it is a moot question why ‘Tsunami faced by the dalits daily’ has escaped our attention till date

13 January, 2005

Dalits Fight Tsunami Daily
By Udit Raj

Caste continues to batter Dalit tsunami victims in India. Most of the Dalits have not been allowed to share the relief material like food, shelter, medicine, toilets and others. Dalits are forced to carry water in plastic bags and are not allowed to use the water from tanks put up by the UNICEF

11 January, 2005

Looking At India Through African Eyes
By Runoko Rashidi

A travel perspective

07 December, 2004

Dalits Ask For Justice In West Bengal
By V.B.Rawat

Unlike other states and municipalities where officially scavenging is prohibited, in progressive Bengal, the Municipal Corporation feel it is its duty to get the manual scavenging done from the migrant Balmikis

06 December, 2004

Why Gandhi Lost And Ambedkar Won
By Shivam Vij

Mayawati, Mulayam and Laloo symbolise political empowerment of 'low' castes, without which you would have had, by now, a million Naxalite mutinies in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. But economic empowerment continues to elude large masses of Dalits

The Rs 300-Billion Club
By Chandrabhan Prasad

Thanks to reservation, there is a Dalit middle class in India which is a discerning customer of goods and services. Whatever they earn from the State, they spend on India's private sector. So, purely from a business angle, shouldn't the private sector come forward to confront the Rs 300 billion question an embrace reservations for Dalits!

01 December, 2004

Saffronization,Hinduization Or Brahminization?
By Dr. K. Jamanadas

Neither Safronization nor Hinduization denotes the true concepts the R.S.S. The proper word must be Brahminization

24 November, 2004

Big Winner In Indian Elections
Remains Best Kept Secret
By Thomas C. Mountain

The BSP increased the percentage of the national vote total it recieved in 2004 to 5.35% from 4.17% in 1999, over 25%, continuing a trend by increasing its percentage of the popular vote by nearly 50% since the 1996 election

17 November, 2004

The Power Of Sustenance
By Goldy M. George

Stories giving hope that marginalized people can lead the struggle for jusice

15 November, 2004

India's Top Secrets
By Chandrabhan Prasad

Those who condemn Lord Macaulay for imposing the 'wrong' education on India, never tell us as what was the education system which he fought, and eventually got replaced

10 November, 2004

Free Trade – A war against Dalits & Adivasis
By Goldy M. George

Dalits and Adivasis (Indigenous people) have never been the part of the conventional trade systems in India. Today they are faced with the horrible hostility of trade and market policies

Dalits In Jammu: Demanding To Be Heard
By Yoginder Sikand

Dalits account for almost a tenth of the population of Jammu and Kashmir or about a third of the population of Jammu province, but in discussions about the Kashmir question the Dalit voice is almost completely absent

03 November, 2004

Roy, The Imperialist
By Chandrabhan Prasad

Was Raja Rammohun Roy an imperialist? Well, if we read him the way Lord Macaulay is read and understood by mainstream Indians, then we may well find Roy in the British camp

27 October , 2004

Reinventing Lord Macaulay
By Chandrabhan Prasad

The greatest celestial spirit for India, code named Thomas Babington Macaulay, was born on October 25, 1800. We must be enlightened enough to take his anti-Hindu, anti-Caste views, in correct spirit. Let us celebrate the birth anniversary of one of the greatest philosophers this planet has produced, not for the Lord, but for the India shinning

08 October , 2004

Quota Means Business
By Chandrabhan Prasad

In the ongoing debate on private sector quota for Dalits, new unknown faces with no knowledge about the rights of Dalits and reservation have shown up. And it's the Indian media

03 October , 2004

Tunnel Vision
By Chandrabhan Prasad

A satirical report of a hypothetical editor's guild meeting on Dalit reservation

01 October , 2004

Reservation In Private Sector For Dalits
A Political Stunt
By Dr.Vivek Kumar

Though there is a need for the policy of affirmative action in the private sector, Dalits are not convinced that the policy will see the light of day in the near future

24 September, 2004

Iconoclast, Or Lost Idol?
By S Anand

Periyar E.V. Ramasamy broke Ganesha idols, burnt Rama portraits. But his legacy has few takers today

23 September, 2004

The Periyar Legatees
By Chandrabhan Prasad

On Periyar's 125th birth anniversary, Dalit intellectuals of Tamil Nadu are engaged in serious re-thinking on Periyar, who is fast emerging a social villain. Now, Dalits in Tamil Nadu are taking pride in distancing themselves from the Dravidian movement

17 September, 2004

Navayana-Provoking Debates
By Shanta Gokhale

Three of the first four titles released by Navayana , the new publishing house launched to open up for public debate issues of caste and identity politics ignored by mainstream publishers, are about dalithood, its manifestation, expression and representation in public life and literature

16 September, 2004

Profit Knows No Caste
By Chandrabhan Prasad

The Indian industry should free itself from "caste interest", and democratise its workforce. It is in the private sector's interest to earn more. If a Dalit engineer creates more value, then the industry must prefer Dalits to non-Dalits

08 September, 2004

Despair And Hope Of The Mahadiga
By Chandrabhan Prasad

Will there be a Dalit film festival, say by 2020? By our standards, that would be a milestone in the history of the Dalit movement, albeit half a century behind the Black movement

‘Michael X, The Desperate Sectarian’
By S Anand

A rejoinder to Harsh Sethi's review of Chandra Bhan Prasad's book ''Dalit Diary 1999-2003 -Reflection on Apartheid in India''

05 September, 2004

Dronacharya Mindset
By Gail Omvedt

Western "management gurus" have recognised the value of a diversified work force and management structure. In contrast, Indian companies continue, by and large, to operate in terms of traditional values; even as they begin to compete in the world, their feet remain mired in the mud of centuries of privilege

01 September, 2004

The Indian Media And Unity 2004
By Chandrabhan Prasad

Wouldn't it be in India's interest to have dozens of Dalits as editors, news channel heads, columnists, anchors and another thousand in the newsrooms?

23 August, 2004

Atttack On Dalits At Gumka
By Tamaskar Tandon and Goldy M. George

On 16th August 2004 nearly 250 Dalits were attacked by caste Hindus numbering about 800 at the village of Gumka, in the Chattisgarh state of India. More than 150 people including 35-40 women are injuried in this gruesome attack. The police and local administration is taking a lethargic attitude towards the culprits. Here is a fact finding report

21 August, 2004

Say Yes To Affirmative Action
By Praful Bidwai

India must emulate and adapt affirmative action methods from the US and post-apartheid South Africa too. To start with, we must ensure jobs for Dalits and Adivasis roughly in proportion to their share in the population

20 August, 2004

When Priests Preside Over Newsrooms
By Chandrabhan Prasad

Editors, columnists and anchors must be contemporary in their knowledge of events taking place in the world. If they are ignorant of American diversity, then they are terribly incompetent as media professionals. If they are aware of it but afraid of diversity, then they are terribly casteist

08 August, 2004

To Gain 10, Dalits Must Score 12.5 Points
By Chandrabhan Prasad

In societies all over the world, many individuals, in moments of crises, may sacrifice societal, national interests in favour of their own existence. In sharp contrast, in India, individuals sacrifice their own interests in favour of the caste order

05 August, 2004

All For The Cow
By T.K.Rajalakshmi

On July 10,32-year-old Abdul Waaris Khan was done to death in full public view in a crowded weekly market of Barghat, in Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh for trying to sell his bull

04 August, 2004

Seoni Gang Rape - As The World Looked On
By T.K.Rajalakshmi

Gowlis, numbering around 150 broke open the door the women through the streets of Bhomatola. The women were taken behind the Panchayat Bhawan and gang-raped

02 August, 2004

Measuring Merits, And Its Apologists
By Chandrabhan Prasad

Dalits students better their performance when they enter urban centres, hostels and relatively comfortable educational environments. Once there, they discover the material basis to explore their latent energies. On being recruited, they better their performance, and, given a chance, even excel over non-Dalits

24 July, 2004

Bengal's Caste Prejudices
By Sandip Bayopadhyay

Caste may have been cast aside in `progressive' Bengal's myth-making exercise supervised so assiduously by the ruling Marxist regime, but empirical and anecdotal evidence suggests that caste prejudices thrive in the state

23 July, 2004

Desaffronising Education
By Kancha Ilaiah

India suffers from both religious and caste communalism. So education should decasteise society as a whole

20 July, 2004

Dalit Diary 1999-2003
By Harsh Sethi

Review on the book "DALIT DIARY 1999-2003- Reflection on Apartheid in India" by Chandra Bhan Prasad

19 July, 2004

Videocon Int'l Ltd Is India's Future
By Chandrabhan Prasad

The recent job reservation debate in the private sector has mirrored the character of Indian society than ever before. The unpolished, private sector did not care to maintain minimum demeanour in rejecting the issue, and went on insulting the collective Dalit genius. But one corporate stood out among the crowd to welcome the move! Videocon Int'l Ltd

15 July, 2004

Dalits As 'Dalits' In Budget 2004
By Chandrabhan Prasad

Year after year since 1947 we have seen the ritual of the government presenting the Finance Bill. The common thread running through all the Budgets tabled so far is the exclusion of the Dalits. The political formations in power, or in the Opposition, transcend their ideological divide, howsoever artificial that may be, to unite on the Dalit question

07 July, 2004

The Indian Meaning Of Merit
By Chandrabhan Prasad

The slogan that rings out these days is this "Indian industry will loose it competitive advantage in the global market". The Dalits would, however, want to seek a very simple explanation: What competition are we talking about? With who is Indian industry competing or desires to compete?

05 July, 2004

The Caste Divide
By Naresh Puri

BBC's community affairs reporter Naresh Puri investigates the rise of one of the most hidden forms of hierarchy in Britain today: The Indian Caste system

22 June, 2004

Reservation For Dalits In Private Sector
By Dr. Udit Raj

It shocks me that some corporate houses are heard opposing the private sector reservation saying that private businesses are the result of their hardwork and money. I want to know if Indian software industry which is flourishing could have done even one per cent of it had their been no IITs and IIMs around?

21 June, 2004

Private Sector Arrogance Is 'Civilisational'
By Chandrabhan Prasad

In the grotesque eyes of Indian industrialists, the 250 million-plus Dalits must be born with some genetic problems which make them naturally "incompetent". The very existence of the shadow of a Dalit in a corporate office would make private industry lose its "competitive advantage" vis a vis the multinationals

20 June, 2004

Corporate Tax - A Tool For Affirmative Action
By S Sharath

For each 10% addition of backward castes to total recruitment for the year, provide a tax relief of 1%. For dalits, each 10% must attract 2% tax relief. The same may be extended to women and other weak sections

15 June, 2004

Social Stratification Among Muslims In India
By Salil Kader

The Muslims of India have gained the dubious distinction of sustaining a highly prejudiced and devious system of social stratification, which is nowhere to be found in the rest of the Muslim world. The community would do itself a great favour by purging this evil from within its character

14 June, 2004

Myths About Private Sector Reservation
By Chandrabhan Prasad

The Congress' "national level dialogue" slogan, and the Maharashtra government's legislation on job reservations in the private sector have infused new blood and hope among the unemployed Dalit youth.What is, however, missing in this euphoria is the limitation of the "emancipatory" role these jobs can play

06 June, 2004

Dalits Cheated Once Again
By Chandrabhan Prasad

Buy diluting the promises made to the Dalits in their election manifesto in the the Common Minimum Programme, Congress has dented its own image among the politically conscious section of Dalits. Even Sonia Gandhi is perceived as a suspect, howsoever unfair it may be

04 June, 2004

India Is Not Shining For The Dalits
By Neelesh Mishra

The lower castes, 80 percent of India's 1 billion people by government estimate, are still at the bottom in most social indicators -- education, income, employment, asset ownership and debt. It is extremely rare to find a Dalit software engineer, scientist or bank executive

30 May, 2004

Verdict 2004:Triumph non-Brahmins
By Chandrabhan Prasad

This is a historic moment for the Dalits in India's contemporary history. The Congress party too has the unique opportunity of making up for its past indifference towards the Dalit cause

29 May, 2004

BR Ambedkar: A Personal Tribute
By Chandrabhan Prasad

Dalit history may always seek the most uncomfortable question: "Why it is that post-Ambedkar, Dalits have not added even one chapter to the saga of the great trailblazer? Why it is so that when more than half the Dalit population is illiterate?"

25 May, 2004

Anti-Brahman Upsurge Of Elections 2004
By Chandrabhan Prasad

Frightened by the anti-dalit, anti-poor policies of the NDA government, most non-Brahman, non-Baniya castes reached the polling booths with the resolve to vote the NDA out of power. A caste-wise study would conclusively prove that the XIVth Lok Sabha has the least number of Brahman-Baniya MPs since 1952

20 May, 2004

Dalit Warrior
By P L Mimroth

Society and authorities in Rajasthan collude to torture a man simply because he refuses to be ill-treated as a Dalit

04 May, 2004

A History Of Racial Tension
By Pius Kamau

"In Aurora, we run into each other in corridors and the past is unfurled before us. But there's no bitterness in me, only a wish they would open their minds to a world that's fluid and not always divided into rigid castes." The personal account of an African American doctor, how uppercaste Indian Hindu's treat Africans

28 April, 2004

Ambedkar, The Nation-builder
By Vivek Kumar

It is beyond doubt that Ambedkar has been a victim of the process of "reductionism". He has either been reduced to the status of a Dalit leader or, at the most, as the chief architect of the Constitution

03 April, 2004

Politics Of Conversion
By Rashid Salim Adil and Yoginder Sikand

'Islam Gave Me Self Respect' Rashid Salim Adil, a Delhi-based advocate, social activist and politician, is a Dalit convert to Islam. Here he talks to Yoginder Sikand on Dalits, social liberation and Islam

06 March, 2004

Plight Of Dalits In Pakistan
By Yoginder Sikand

Dalits in Pakistan continue to be subjected to considerable discrimination by 'upper' caste Hindus as well as 'high' caste Muslim converts

05 March, 2004

Challenging Brahminical Fascism
By Kancha Ilaiah and Yoginder Sikand

Interview with Kancha Ilaiah

03 March, 2004

No Justice For Muthanga Victims -
They Fall Down And Die
By B F Firos

A year has passed since the tragic turn of events in Muthanga when the Kerala government brutally suppressed the rightful protest of Adivasis for their right to land. Many have died after the torture in police custody, and many others are as good as dead. Justice and land still elude them

23 February, 2004

Get Converted & Damned Too
By Dr M P Raju

Till now Conversion to Christianity or Islam was to cost you only the Scheduled Caste status; now by the grace of the Judiciary it may cost even the Scheduled Tribe Status

21 February, 2004

If Gods Become Silent The
Speechless Must Speak
By Udit Raj

Dalits are rejecting Hinduism. Why make a song and dance
about it?

19 February, 2004

Globalisation, Fascism And Dalits
By Goldy M. George

An alliance of Dalits, Adivasis, women and working class should emerge to challenge the existing citadels of power headed by a bunch of upper caste elite

15 February, 2004

Islam And Caste Inequality Among Indian Muslims
By Yoginder Sikand

Although the Qur'an insists on the radical equality of all Muslims, caste (zat, jati, biraderi) remains a defining feature of Indian Muslim society, with significant regional variations

14 January, 2004

Dalits Barred Entry Into Temple
By Mohammed Iqbal

Activists participating in a national Dalit Swadhikar rally that crossed Rajasthan the other day were denied entry into the famous Shrinath temple in Nathdwara, despite a 15-year-old judgment of the Rajasthan High Court directing the State Government to ensure unhindered access for Dalits to the temple

07 January, 2004

Casting Out Caste
By Chandana Mathur and Sujani Reddy

An Interview with Henri Tiphagne

30 December, 2003

Liberating Womanhood
By Kunda. Pramilani

Manusmriti Dahan Day celebrated as Indian women’s Liberation Day on 25th December 2003 at Chaitya Bhoomi , Mumbai- A Report

06 December, 2003

What Went Wrong?
By Gail Omvedt

All of secular India has to make soul searchings about the BJP victory in the recently concluded assembly elections in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh. People like Medha Patkar and Arundhati Roy might have had some influence in these states,but they have been silent, silent silent

30 November, 2003

The Indigenous People Of Kerala
Are Forcefully Sterilised
By The Moderator, India Thinkersnet

The news channel 'India Vision' has reported the forceful sterilisation of the indigenous people (adivasis) of Kerala in the Waynad district in an effort to ethnically cleanse them

Unwed Mothers Of Wayanad
By M P Basheer

In the Wayanad district of Kerala hundreds of tribal women are lured by the local settlers, leaving them with fatherless children after exploiting them sexually

29 November, 2003

Caste And Hinduism
By Gail Omvedt

M V Nadkarni's recent articles show the fundamental stamp of Hindutva ideology, primary of which is shoddy methodology, selective quotation and illogic

17 November, 2003

Alternate Politics - The Search & Need
By Goldy M. George

Rustic revolt particularly of the poor and working sector will definitely storm the existing citadels of power, thus emerging the new era of power, a cohesive outburst of people's struggles

02 November, 2003

Hindu Or Sindhu
By Bharat Patankar

Exposure of the Bloodthirsty Hindutva of the Sangh Parivar

09 October, 2003

Dalit Killed For Attempting Puja
By Alok Chamaria

A Dalit of Bahera village under the Karam Chat police
station of Kaimur district was killed on Saturday evening when Dalits of the village tried to offer prayers and prasad to Goddess Durga, defying the long-standing ban imposed on them by upper caste villagers

07 October, 2003

Action Alert
Maharashtra Government Destroys Tribal Homes

Hunger strike of adivasis at Rahata Tahasil office, Maharashtra

06 October, 2003

The South Indian Adivasi Experience
By CK Janu

Speech delivered at the fifth World Parks Congress, Durban

02 October, 2003

Fascism - The Emerging Threat To Indigenous People
By Goldy M. George

Expansion of fascism is disintegrating the Dalit-Adivasi ideology, theology, and identity and intimidated their very existence. This ruptures the community, deteriorates the noble notions of sharing, caring and co-operation

25 September, 2003

Legacy of Dr. BR Ambedkar stands
irreconcilably opposed to Hindutva
By B.Sivaraman

It is an irony that BJP and other Sangh Parivar outfits are trying to appropriate such a historic personality as Dr. BR Ambedkar

20 September, 2003

The ‘Dalit Muslims’ And The All-India
Backward Muslim Morcha
By Yoginder Sikand

There is a growing consciousness and assertiveness of a large conglomerate of Muslim castes, some of whose leaders are now seeking to advance for them a new identity as 'Dalit Muslims'. This article examines the politics, programmes and broader agendas that advocates of this new identity seek to put forward

04 September, 2003

Ambedkar's orphans
BySagarika Ghose

Instead of being champions only for their own caste, dalit leaders should become champions of general democratisation

29 August, 2003

Mythologies of Merit
By Gail Omvedt

Indian business as a whole has maintained a deafening silence on the issue of combating caste discrimination

Shiv Sena Dangles Carrot For Dalits
By Ram Puniyani

The Ambedkar baiter Shiv Sena turns 180 degrees and
offeres to ally with dalits

28 August, 2003

Moksha In Modern Times
By Pankaj Pachauri

Modern India is always wrestling with its ancient culture and beliefs.Faith is supreme. It rules by ignoring rules. A reflection on the Kumbh mela

Violence Against Dalits- The Unused Ammunition

One principal source of continued caste violence is the lack of
implementation of existing laws in India designed to protect the lower castes

26 August, 2003

Want A Cow Bill? Go Tell It To This Child
By Nirmala Ganapathy

Five dalits were beaten, set ablaze on false charges of cow slaughter in Jhajjar. All 32 accused are out on bail threatening to do it again

24 July, 2003

Caste Tensions in Punjab - Talhan and Beyond
By Surinder S Jodhka, Prakash Louis

The recent incidence of conflict involving members of the landowning caste of jats and the scheduled caste of 'ad-dharmis' in the Talhan village of Punjab ought to be viewed as a case of 'dalit assertion'

08 July, 2003

The Return To Muthanga -An Affidavit
By C.K Janu and M. Geethanandan

An affidavit released by the tribal leaders on the violent incidents at Muthanga in February in which a tribal and a police man lost lives, and which was followed by violent reprisal of the tribal community by the government of Kerala

05 July, 2003

Broken Men, The Pre-Untouchables
By B.R. Ambedkar

Excerps from f B.R. Ambedkar’s 1948 work "The Untouchables: Who Were They and Why They Became Untouchables? "

Untouchability, The Dead Cow And The Brahmin
By B.R. Ambedkar

Excerps from f B.R. Ambedkar’s 1948 work "The Untouchables: Who Were They and Why They Became Untouchables? "

Contempt For Budhists As The Root Of Untouchability
By B.R. Ambedkar

Excerps from f B.R. Ambedkar’s 1948 work "The Untouchables: Who Were They and Why They Became Untouchables? "

03 July, 2003

The Constitution And Reservation
By P. B. Sawant

The Supreme Court of India in all its decisions on reservation has interpreted the expression `backward classes' in Article 16 (4) to mean the "socially and educationally" backward. It also emphatically rejected "economic backwardness" as the only or the primary criterion for reservation under article 16 (4) and observed that economic backwardness has to be on account of social and educational backwardness.

02 July, 2003

Blacks, Science And National Pride
By Kancha Ilaiah

Positive capitalist ethics evolves in a civil societal environment where the basic consciousness of spiritual democracy expands. Indian capitalism functions in an environment of spiritual fascism

28 June, 2003

Dalit ‘Sahibs’ And Masses
By Manohar Yadav

Class divide among the dalits deprives the poorest of them of benefits of reservation while the rich dalits become richer. Will the dalit elite save its community from disunity or will it continue to stoke sub-caste communalism?

Beyond The Symbolic Ambedkar
K Satyanarayana

Book review of "The Essential Writings of B R Ambedkar". Through a biographical sketch and introduction to Ambedkar’s varied writings, the book accounts for the growing relevance of Ambedkar in contemporary India

Periyar's Movement

An introduction to the life and work of Periyar E. V. Ramaswamy

27 June, 2003

Polls And That Looming Dalit Factor
By Neerja Chowdhury

With polls just months away, the Dalit factor gets back to the
limelight in Madhya Pradesh

Michigan Prof Caste Off By Fellow Desi
By Chidanand Rajghatta

India's caste custom has reared its head in the groves of American academe.An Indian professor at a US university has sued a fellow Indian don, citing personal caste discrimination among reasons for a stifled career

17 June, 2003

Political Game Against Dalits
By Dr. Bizay Sonkar Shastri And Suresh Varghese

An interview with Dr. Bizay Sonkar Shastri, Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

16 June, 2003

Sikh Civil Wars
By S P Singh

Casteism claims Sikhism. The long and invisible battle between Punjab’s Dalits and Jats is out on the streets

12 June, 2003

Congress, Dalits And Elections
By Gail Omvedt

Unless Congress overcomes the forward caste domination in the leadership, an unwillingness to admit the horrors of caste hierarchy and atrocities, and become also the party of Ambedkar and Phule, it will never succeed in winning back its hold among the Dalits of the country

08 June, 2003

KR to Kalam Caste, Religion AndThe Indian Presidency
By Siriyavan Anand

Kalam’s elevation represents the collective failure of Indian polity and society. It is another phase of brahminic revivalism in India – brahminism parading with a Muslim name

Embracing Budhism
By Darshan Desai

Dalits who bloodied their hands for Hindutva last year in Gujarat are turning to the Buddha

01 June, 2003

Who Are The Criminals?
By Dilip D'souza

Phase Pardhis are one of India's denotified tribes but the authorities and society in general continue to think of them as criminals. So who are the criminals?

28 May, 2003

This ‘Witch’ Couldn’t Save Herself

A woman is branded a tonahi (village witch), dragged out of her house by her hair, beaten up in public, tortured and even forced to consume human faeces in Junwani village, Chhattisgarh

27 May, 2003

Dalits mobilising
By Gail Omvedt

In India, and the world as a whole... Dalits themselves are calling for action on all fronts, a cultural-economic and political revolution

24 May, 2003

Dalit Diaspora Joins The Fight
By Vivek Kumar

The Dalit diaspora has all of a sudden become visible. Yet another Dalit international conference was successfully concluded earlier this month in Vancouver, Canada, with the help of the Dalit diaspora in different parts of the world

16 May, 2003

Trishuls, Lathis And Books
By Kancha Ilaiah

How liberating is a spiritual and social tradition that hands down weapons but not books to its adherents?

24 April, 2003

Do Brahminical Ideologies Permeate
Indian Psychological Theory?
By Siriyavan Anand

Report of a seminar in Pune on `Caste and Discourses of the Mind'.

17 April, 2003

"We Will Continue The Struggle"

Statement by Kerala adivasi struggle leader CK Janu immediately after her release from jail

16 April, 2003

Dalit threat to Gujarat conversion law

A Dalit organisation is threatening mass conversion as a mark of protest against Gujarat anticonversion law

15 April, 2003

Ambedkar As Hindu
By Shamsul Islam

The RSS lie machinery does not leave even Dr. B.R. Ambedkar alone. They present him as a leader in league with Hedgewar and Golwalkar and as a defender for the cause of the Hindu Rashtra.

Betrayed In God’s Country: The adivasi
uprising in Kerala
By C.R. Bijoy

The occupation of forest land in Muthanga and the subsequent police brutality was the result of the continuous betrayal by the successive governments of the legitimate rights of the Adivasis to own their own land

Displaced by deceit
By R Madhavan Nair

The tale of Wayanad's tribals is one of betrayal and exploitation by "settlers" and successive Governments, writes R. Madhavan Nair.

Damning the Dalits for the Bania-Brahmin
Crimes in Gujarat
by Anand Teltumbde

In the pogrom in Gujarat it will largely be Dalits and Tribals who would be made sacrificial goats. It is certain that the real culprits who conceived and carried out this heinous carnage will never be touched.

Politics of cow protection
by Nonica Datta

Dalits, including family members of those lynched in Jhajjar, have converted to Buddhism, Islam and Christianity in Gurgaon. One of the Balmiki converts, after the Jhajjar killings, confessed: "I challenge the VHP, Bajrang Dal and RSS to reconvert me. I will give up my life but never be a Hindu again."

Killing of Five Dalits In Jhajjar

Report Of The Left Parties Delegation To Duleena, Jhajjar District Haryana On October 17 In Protest Against Dalit Lynching Atrocity.

Is the Life of a Cow More Important than
the Life of Five Dalits?

Murder of five Dalits in a Haryana village for skinning a cow and the justification of VHP leader Giriraj Kishorethat the life of a cow is very important, according to the shastras

Denial of land drives Dalits to Islam
by R. Ilangovan

Denial of land drives Dalits to Islam in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu

Developmental Perspective for the Dalit Literature in the Era of Globalization
by Dr. Anand Teltumbde

Transcription of a speech delivered at the South India Dalit Literary Workshop at Thiruvananthpuram, Kerala, 27-29 May, 2002

A Dalit Beaten Up in Tamil Nadu

The upper class hindus have struck again in Tamil nadu. This time it is in the Satharasankottai village in Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu against a Dalit agricultural worker.

The Adivasis of India - A History of Discrimination,
Conflict and Resistance
By C.R. Bijoy

Infosys and Microsoft
By Gail Omvedt
Gail Omvedt asks Infosys chairman Narayanamoorthy to develop Infosys as a company concerned with social justice, making its employees represent all groups in society and not simply minority upper- caste elite sections.

Reservation in the corporate sector
By Gail Omvedt

Targeting tribal people
By Naunidhi Kaur

The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests seeks to clear 12.5 lakh hectares of forest land by evicting its 10-million strong tribal population.

Preying on Dalits
By S. Viswanathan

Two more alleged incidents of atrocities on Dalits in Tamil Nadu come to the foreground. One Dalit is made to drink his own urine and two others in Tiruchi district are made to eat each others excrement

Hindutva and caste
By Kancha Ilaiah

There are no indications that Hinduism will allow spiritual democracy within its structure. The Hindutva forces may pretend that the agenda is being Sudraised but Hinduism shall remain Brahminical

Broken People: Caste Violence Against India’s
“Untouchables”
Human Rights Watch Report

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