Bak Bahadur

RoundTable

Celebrating Dhamma Chakka Parivartan Diwas in Hungary December 17, 2009
By Pardeep Singh Attri Dispatches from Hungary -III When a senior Indian embassy official in Hungary is invited in a programme celebrating one of the historic national event of 20th century India, he speaks on every thing under the sun except on the event and fails to utter a single word on the most important figure [...]
Pardeep
“Let us promote untouchability and humiliation at all cost” December 15, 2009
A guest post by Lalit Khandare In an article “Where style has trumped substance” by Pravin Swami on 26 November, 2009, the writer comes across as making an appeal that salaries of Sanitation workers must not be increased at cost of national security. Pravin Swami says, “Working upwards of fourteen hours a day — not counting the [...]
admin
“Assault on any Dalit is almost never an attack on individual but targeted towards entire Dalit community” December 11, 2009
An interview with Ram Kumar By Gomathi Kumar & Sanjay Kabir Ram Kumar (b. 1963) is UP based Dalit activist with 30 years long experience of grassroots activism. Born in a poor family, he lost his father at the age of five. His father, a communist activist, was brutally murdered by brahmin landlords for raising voice against [...]
admin
“Don’t take benefit of reservations, if you can’t pay back” December 7, 2009
An Interview with Dr. Umakant By Gomathi Kumar & Sanjay Kabir Dr. Umakant (b. 1970) is a well known Dalit activist and scholar and has represented Dalit cause at various levels. After his schooling in home state Bihar, Dr Umakant joined Delhi University and later Jawaharlal Nehru University for higher education. In the year 2000, he was [...]
admin
Mapping Contemporary Dalit Movement: Issues and Patterns of Mobilisation December 7, 2009
Dear Friends, Welcome to the new issue of our magazine Insight Young Voices (December 09- January 10). The theme of the present issue is ‘Mapping Contemporary Dalit Movement: Issues and Patterns of Mobilization’. In the last 25-30 years, there has been a new wave of Dalit assertion that is visible across the country and is manifested through different forms […]
admin
A chair/A life December 5, 2009
News Courtesy: Ashok Yadav, Patna (Bihar)
Anoop
Marichjhapi and the Revenge of Bengali Bhadralok November 27, 2009
The story of a Dalit Genocide that remains untold By Nilesh Kumar, Ajay Hela and Anoop Kumar [Nilesh and Ajay are pursuing their Masters in Social Work, TISS, Mumbai] Exactly 30 years ago, Dalits, in West Bengal, came to realize the true nature of Indian state that is being dominated, in every sense, by a tiny section of [...]
Anoop
A Forgotten Liberator - The life and struggle of Savitribai Phule November 25, 2009
Book Review A Forgotten Liberator - The life and struggle of Savitribai Phule ISBN 978-81-906277-0-2, pp 95, price Rs.200/- by KM Venugopal This tiny book on the life of Savitribai Phule contains remarkable accounts by six authors on unique aspects of the lives and thoughts of the Phules each highlighting a different aspect. Some of the essays also tell us [ […]
Cynthia
Feminism or Womanism? November 12, 2009
A Personal Herstory By Cynthia Stephen It took me over fifteen years to work out the answer to a personal puzzle: Why was I, a socially committed middle-class young woman, reasonably well educated, experiencing a deep sense of alienation in the field of development where the buzz word was empowerment? A South Indian Christian woman – this [...]
Cynthia
Chengara / Varkala : Beware of the Dalit October 25, 2009
The message that the police and the media gives is that 'beware of the Dalit extremist'. The message that comes out clear in this whole episode, even as they try their best to hide it, is that 'beware of the Dalit, as they are not your slaves any more'. They are increasingly becoming aware of their rights that we have robbed of them for g […]
Sudeep