Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.
This article critically examines Girish Karnad’s play Talé-Dan˙d˙a as a lens through which the construction and consolidation of the caste system in India is explored. The study focuses on the utilization of ideological state apparatuses (ISA) by the ‘upper-caste’ to suppress attempts at social reform and the creation of a casteless society. By analysing the characters and their interactions within the play, the article argues that repressive and non-violent state apparatuses, such as religion, family, identity formation and language are employed to perpetuate caste-based discrimination and maintain the existing social hierarchy. Drawing on Louis Althusser’s concept of ideological and repressive state apparatuses, the article provides a comprehensive analysis of how these apparatuses are instrumental in preserving caste-based inequalities and solidification of the caste system.

Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.
In India, drop-outs and out-of-school children in school education are dominant educational discourses even after seven decades of independence. No doubt, various policies and programmes were devised to challenge these issues in education, but still the issues of drop-outs are rampant both in rural and urban areas. The inequality in educational attainment between Scheduled Tribes and the rest of the population has widened throughout the years. Various social aspects of why children leave school before they complete the secondary level of school are understudied in India. Aspects of cultural and social practices and patterns of socialization of tribal children have received little attention in the research on tribal children in India. By specially focussing on friendship networks/peer interaction, the article reflects on how it affects educational participation of tribal and non-tribal children in a village located in the tribal areas of Odisha, one of the eastern states of India.

Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.
The constitutional protections in India have a moderately good effect on the lives of Scheduled Castes (SCs). Additionally, the social movements helped marginalized communities’ voices to some extent by empowering them to assert their rights and participate in the decision-making process. The Constitution has opened up political entry to underprivileged groups as a part of the decentralization movement at the grassroots level. Given an opportunity on par with other social groups, the SCs are showing more interest and are ahead in contesting in the elections with the support of their respective political parties. An effort has been made in this context to emphasize the problems and difficulties experienced by the elected SC members in local bodies in rural Telangana. The main objectives of the study are to examine the participation rates of SC representatives in Gram Sabha, analyse experiences in the political system in terms of gender and examine the discriminatory practices that elected officials have to deal with. The findings show that the SC representatives’ participation in Gram Sabha is weak and lacking in the decision-making process because of a lack of official backing and covert discrimination by the officials. Additionally, the SC representatives experience covert prejudice on the part of other castes. Since the bulk of the representatives are new to the election process, they are unaware of the duties that they are expected to carry out. According to the findings, the Gram Sabha should plan and finalize the village development plans in front of the people without the involvement of the local MLAs.