In late January 2006, the sewer ran over. Our well-heeled street in Chennai pulsated with excreted lava. A work crew arrived to lift the manholes and break the pavement. By
"We must learn how to be tribal. This is difficult for us, but very, very important," said Mr Mukhia in his lilting boarding-school English. Wearing thick horn-rimmed glasses,
The hierarchical and discriminatory caste system, legitimised by Hinduism, is so deeply entrenched in Southasian societies that it has even affected the adherents of theoretically egalitarian religions like Islam, Sikhism,
Abysmal, tragic, rotten, archaic, misgoverned - these are only some of the terms used to describe Bihar. And that's by those who live there. But the people of Bihar are slowly turning the politics of the region on its head.
There are many Castes which allow inter-dining. But it is a common experience that inter-dining has not succeeded in killing the spirit of Caste and the consciousness of Caste. I
'Coolies' and 'Asiatics' no more, the Indians of South Africa recoil from India even as they reach out for Indian-ness. Attempts to sublimate the experiences of people of Indian origin – from descendents of indentured labourers to the newest wave of middle class migrants to the West – cannot w
Indian Tamils, Ceylonese Tamils, working class Tamils, middle class Tamils... the 'Indians' in Malaysia live in a divided house. Many are poor and will remain so.
Selected Writings of Jotirao Phule
Edited with annotation and an introduction by GP DeshpandeLettWord Books, New Delhi, 2002
Price: INR 450
Pages: x+247
As the tiger begins to change its stripes, it must grapple with the shifting terrain of the jungle. The Sri Lankan Dalit movement has been subjugated by the larger cause of Tamil nationalism all these years. It is time for its revival.
"Can you tell me why, in 3000 years of our history, people from all over the world have come and invaded us, captured our land, conquered our minds? From
