D. Albert, S.J.

[JC Anthony was born in colonial India into an impoverished AdiDravida family. His father was a cook in the British cantonment. He worked in the Indian Air Force of independent India and then in a civilian defence establishment, followed by decades aiding the social welfare activities of the christian church. He reflects on his multiple identities as AdiDravida, a believing and practicing Christian, Indian, Tamil, and a retired serviceman in his book 'My Adi Roots: Emancipation From Caste Stigma'.

He passed away on 20th May 2021. This article is dedicated to him by his long term friend Fr. Albert Devasahayam.]

Ordinary lives matter. Such as that of Joseph Cruz Anthony (1928-2021), fondly called JC, an AdiDravida Christian, who comes across to me as a most liberated personality.

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Bobby Kunhu - Pragya Akhilesh

"I'd like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free and also wanted other people to be free"– Rosa Parks 

It is estimated, based on government data, that at least one person dies cleaning a septic tank or sewers every five days in India. This is apart from the indirect deaths due to diseases like TB and alcoholism contracted from the state of sanitation work in India. And this data is conservative at best.

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Deivendra Kumar A

Indian cinema, born under the clutches of imperialism, had undoubtedly maintained the space or difference between the elites and the marginalised. In recent years, the audience as well as the cinema industry have made a gradual but apparent shift in the screen space for sharing the voice of the voiceless in mainstream cinema and celebrating identity and in understanding film critically.

Caste has been considered as one of the elements of oppression in the society. Caste stratification attached with religion, particularly the varna system in Hinduism, is undeniably a benchmark of the Hindu society to establish caste differentiation. When it comes to Tamil Cinema, it showcased caste either as glorification of the elites and intermediate castes or as eradication of the prevailing caste system. Many scholars in the domain of caste and cinema opine that films try to eradicate caste dominance between the higher and submissive caste groups, but it is very rarely represented in mainstream Tamil Cinema.

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 Nourin N K

India Oh India!

Let me call you out-
by your name
At last.
India Oh! India!
My father's wallet is
Still on quarantine,
Sick and cold
We chant "achhe din aayega"
To heal what's stuck
In our throat.

What was it? I wonder!
My caste? My religion? My rights?
Oh! How easily I forget,
One after the other
Like my aunt's unending bitching,
The subject changed

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Vikash Kumar & Ritu

The so-called famous youth leader Kanhaiya Kumar got his fame from the 9th February 2016 incidence of JNU. He was the then president of JNUSU. In 2016 it was said that the innocent Kanhaiya has been forcefully dragged into fabricated controversies and the left-liberal media showed a sympathetic attitude towards him. The very incident led him to the larger politics of India and he became a spokesperson of JNU. He was invited on several platforms and labelled by the media as a good orator and a future leader.

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Dalit Intellectual Collective

With the select removal of texts by three towering writers in Bengali and Tamil: Mahashweta Devi, Bama and Sukirtharani, from Delhi University English Honours syllabus, the exertion of Brahmanical, patriarchal, communal prejudice and domination in higher education once again becomes painfully visible. These authors' writings accentuate the life-narratives of Adivasis, Dalits, marginalized women and minorities. They have been translated into many languages and have been read, taught and discussed across the world for many years now, including in many international universities.      

It is hence bewildering that the short story "Draupadi," selections from the novel Sangati (Events), and two poems:"Kaimaru" (Debt) and "En Udal" (My Body) were abruptly removed by the Academic Council on the recommendations of its Oversight Committee despite opposition from at least sixteen of its council members. These literary texts speak of the resistance of Adivasi women against state oppression, the discriminatory travails of Dalit women in caste-infected Indian villages, and the searing injustice of manual scavenging. The council, however, claimed that these texts "hurt the sentiments" and "(are not) inclusive in nature to depict the true picture of the society" and provided these as reasons for their removal from the syllabus.

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  Deepali Salve

We recently saw Swara Bhaskar's public display of 'grihapravesh' rituals following the norms and traditions of Hinduism. They were presided upon by a Brahmin priest, upholding the systematic exploitation of caste, class and gender.

There is nothing wrong with this religious display - it has been kept alive for the sake of the self-interest of the Brahminical lobby (practicing discrimination,hierarchy and patriarchy), which consists seemingly progressive people like Swara, who is  fertilising the norms and traditions of Hinduism.

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