Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Volume 15, Issue 1_suppl, Page S144-S151, August 2023.
This article attempts to read and analyse the aaradhivani of Kachchh in terms of caste and gender. The first section explores the genre and looks into the narrative style of Rekhiyo Jugajug Aage Aarth, a performance text that is deeply tied to Dalit spirituality in Kachchh. The second section looks at this narrative ethnographically, and it further studies its historical development and circulation in different media: oral, written and digital. It intends to understand the functionality of the performance. It will examine the question of authorship as it emerges through the circulation of such texts. In the third section, with the close reading of the text, I will examine the problematized ideas of caste and gender. Chamars or Shudras are at the bottom of the Hindu caste hierarchy. I argue that this Dalit narrative challenges this social structure and older ideas though radical perspectives so as to subvert caste hierarchy by means of narrating the great deeds of Meghwar (Dalit) sants. It also seeks to study the transactionality of caste and region across a pan-Indian imaginary.
Resonance of Ambedkar’s Vision of Social Democracy in Bama’s Karukku: Empowerment of Dalits Through Education
Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.
Social democracy demands existence of freedom, equality, justice and solidarity among masses. Doyens like John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau and Karl Marx decrypted the social inequalities that deprived people of human rights. Dr B. R. Ambedkar, being the most influential figure vis-à-vis social democracy in Indian context, voiced the deprived status of Dalits. Inspired by John Dewey’s idea of social endosmosis, he concluded that education can help to dissolve the rigid boundaries of caste. He also vociferously advocated education for Dalits to erase the status quo of being a society’s underbelly and overcome the quotidian humiliations. Discourses on Dalits since then have converged to an infectious expansive debate on the concomitant subjugated status of Dalits in the Indian social structure. Many Dalits have procured agency through education and have been vociferously voicing the subjugated position of Dalits in the cultural apparatus of caste. Bama is one such educated Dalit woman who has laid bare through her writings the complexities existing in a Dalit’s life. Her autobiography invocates Dalits to empower themselves through education and transgress the rigid boundaries of caste. The article examines her vision of Dalits’ emancipation vis-à-vis Ambedkar’s notion of social democracy.
Social democracy demands existence of freedom, equality, justice and solidarity among masses. Doyens like John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau and Karl Marx decrypted the social inequalities that deprived people of human rights. Dr B. R. Ambedkar, being the most influential figure vis-à-vis social democracy in Indian context, voiced the deprived status of Dalits. Inspired by John Dewey’s idea of social endosmosis, he concluded that education can help to dissolve the rigid boundaries of caste. He also vociferously advocated education for Dalits to erase the status quo of being a society’s underbelly and overcome the quotidian humiliations. Discourses on Dalits since then have converged to an infectious expansive debate on the concomitant subjugated status of Dalits in the Indian social structure. Many Dalits have procured agency through education and have been vociferously voicing the subjugated position of Dalits in the cultural apparatus of caste. Bama is one such educated Dalit woman who has laid bare through her writings the complexities existing in a Dalit’s life. Her autobiography invocates Dalits to empower themselves through education and transgress the rigid boundaries of caste. The article examines her vision of Dalits’ emancipation vis-à-vis Ambedkar’s notion of social democracy.
Forest, Adivasis and the Rule of Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) in Jharkhand: A Critical Inquiry
Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.
Adivasis have always lived in symbiosis with the forest for generations. In the recent two decades, it has been realized that it is only through the process of democratic decentralization sustainable development could be achieved. The present model of development augments the participation of people in local governance. In the post-colonial India, the government enacted a new law known as Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, popularly known as PESA. Jharkhand, which has been a home for adivasis, conducted its first panchayat election in 2010. Consequently, the next election was conducted in 2015, and in 2022, the third panchayat election is going to be held. Being a tribal dominated region, it is governed by the regulations of PESA. Though PESA has been projected as a progressive Act, however, it has not been successfully implemented. Lack of political willingness, political apathy, internal conflicts, lack of knowledge and awareness among people are some of the reasons for the failure of PESA in the region. For the people who lived in the forest, these laws essentially overturned their unstructured, undocumented and ‘symbiotic’ relationship with the land, rivers and forests. Under this backdrop, this article addresses the issue of local self-governance and the fate of PESA in Jharkhand. It aims to uncover the factors which are creating hindrances in the functioning of PESA in Jharkhand. This article seeks to unfold the struggle of the adivasis for the protection of their resources, livelihoods and their own lives.
Adivasis have always lived in symbiosis with the forest for generations. In the recent two decades, it has been realized that it is only through the process of democratic decentralization sustainable development could be achieved. The present model of development augments the participation of people in local governance. In the post-colonial India, the government enacted a new law known as Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, popularly known as PESA. Jharkhand, which has been a home for adivasis, conducted its first panchayat election in 2010. Consequently, the next election was conducted in 2015, and in 2022, the third panchayat election is going to be held. Being a tribal dominated region, it is governed by the regulations of PESA. Though PESA has been projected as a progressive Act, however, it has not been successfully implemented. Lack of political willingness, political apathy, internal conflicts, lack of knowledge and awareness among people are some of the reasons for the failure of PESA in the region. For the people who lived in the forest, these laws essentially overturned their unstructured, undocumented and ‘symbiotic’ relationship with the land, rivers and forests. Under this backdrop, this article addresses the issue of local self-governance and the fate of PESA in Jharkhand. It aims to uncover the factors which are creating hindrances in the functioning of PESA in Jharkhand. This article seeks to unfold the struggle of the adivasis for the protection of their resources, livelihoods and their own lives.
Odia Dalit Migrants in Hyderabad City: A Case Study
Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.
Every thread of caste and occupation in India is intrinsically linked to the migration patterns. Migration of the upper caste is more of an economic, while the lower castes are both social and economic. Differential distribution of resources deprived the Dalits, reduced them to degraded social status. To escape from the clutches of caste discrimination, Dalits migrated to different places. In this context, this study unravels the lived experiences and socio-economic changes among the Odia Dalit migrant workers in Hyderabad city and how they reconstruct their identities in the urban landscape, reasons leaving their home, challenges, and difficulties in new social space. The study employed a qualitative research approach assisted by in-depth interviews and informal discussions. Hyderabad city is chosen for this study, as it attracts migrant workers across the country, and a majority of the Odia migrants are found working in different industrial sectors. Study shows migration offered an opportunity not only in economic and employment spheres but also in the socio-cultural spheres. The city gives a space to escape from caste discrimination, and significantly improved their lifestyle but fear psychosis of caste identity is prevalent. To escape their Dalit identity, they identify themselves as other backward classes (OBCs) or Khandayat. Improvement in economic life has little impact on the social structure. Migration brings wealth but not the alteration in caste structure. Methodologically and conceptually, the study contributes to the knowledge of the lived experience of the Odia Dalit migrants in city space, how they identify themselves, and how they make sense of themselves and others, and how Hyderabad shapes their experiences.
Every thread of caste and occupation in India is intrinsically linked to the migration patterns. Migration of the upper caste is more of an economic, while the lower castes are both social and economic. Differential distribution of resources deprived the Dalits, reduced them to degraded social status. To escape from the clutches of caste discrimination, Dalits migrated to different places. In this context, this study unravels the lived experiences and socio-economic changes among the Odia Dalit migrant workers in Hyderabad city and how they reconstruct their identities in the urban landscape, reasons leaving their home, challenges, and difficulties in new social space. The study employed a qualitative research approach assisted by in-depth interviews and informal discussions. Hyderabad city is chosen for this study, as it attracts migrant workers across the country, and a majority of the Odia migrants are found working in different industrial sectors. Study shows migration offered an opportunity not only in economic and employment spheres but also in the socio-cultural spheres. The city gives a space to escape from caste discrimination, and significantly improved their lifestyle but fear psychosis of caste identity is prevalent. To escape their Dalit identity, they identify themselves as other backward classes (OBCs) or Khandayat. Improvement in economic life has little impact on the social structure. Migration brings wealth but not the alteration in caste structure. Methodologically and conceptually, the study contributes to the knowledge of the lived experience of the Odia Dalit migrants in city space, how they identify themselves, and how they make sense of themselves and others, and how Hyderabad shapes their experiences.
Voice in an asymmetric federation? The U.S. territories as intergovernmental actors
.
Voice in an asymmetric federation? The U.S. territories as intergovernmental actors
.
Oppari: A Tamil Musical Elegy Laced with Caste Prejudices and Identities
Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.
Though popular culture is celebrated among people across the country, the admiration for folklore and performing arts is very limited. In the domain of folklore, performing art forms are categorized and stratified based on ‘who is performing it’ or ‘who is eligible to perform’ with a benchmark of the social status of purity and pollution. This article discusses and reflects the dilution of casteism and fabricated caste identities and prejudices in oppari, ancient folklore and a musical dirge song performed in Tamil Nadu, which is considered as a polluted, discriminated cultural outcome and custom to be performed and etched with people belonging to oppressed classes in society. It also keeps a close lens and discussion on change in oppari, the role of casteism and its revamp in the contemporary scenario and sociocultural aspects of oppari within the realm of caste and performance.
Though popular culture is celebrated among people across the country, the admiration for folklore and performing arts is very limited. In the domain of folklore, performing art forms are categorized and stratified based on ‘who is performing it’ or ‘who is eligible to perform’ with a benchmark of the social status of purity and pollution. This article discusses and reflects the dilution of casteism and fabricated caste identities and prejudices in oppari, ancient folklore and a musical dirge song performed in Tamil Nadu, which is considered as a polluted, discriminated cultural outcome and custom to be performed and etched with people belonging to oppressed classes in society. It also keeps a close lens and discussion on change in oppari, the role of casteism and its revamp in the contemporary scenario and sociocultural aspects of oppari within the realm of caste and performance.
Rethinking Power: Responding to the Crisis of Neoliberal Hegemony?
The Games People Play: A Psychological Analysis of Dalit Victimization in Ozhivudivasathe Kali
Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.
Ozhivudivasathe Kali is a 2003 Malayalam short story written by Unni R. which shot into limelight with the release of the Kerala State Award winning film with the same title by Sanal K. Sasidharan. As the title suggests, the story recounts an ‘off-day game’ played by four middle-aged men in a dingy lodge. The drunken revelry soon turns into a cruel game exposing the fissures that exist under the guise of equality and acceptance. It echoes Golding’s Lord of the Flies and is a scathing and unsettling expose of the Kerala mindscape where Dalits still continue to be considered less human. A deadly game where the victim is ruthlessly hounded and finally killed for his ‘fault’ of being different, the story is arresting for its foreboding tone, given the way reality is shaping out all over the world these days where being the ‘other’ is an invitation to harassment and even decimation.
Ozhivudivasathe Kali is a 2003 Malayalam short story written by Unni R. which shot into limelight with the release of the Kerala State Award winning film with the same title by Sanal K. Sasidharan. As the title suggests, the story recounts an ‘off-day game’ played by four middle-aged men in a dingy lodge. The drunken revelry soon turns into a cruel game exposing the fissures that exist under the guise of equality and acceptance. It echoes Golding’s Lord of the Flies and is a scathing and unsettling expose of the Kerala mindscape where Dalits still continue to be considered less human. A deadly game where the victim is ruthlessly hounded and finally killed for his ‘fault’ of being different, the story is arresting for its foreboding tone, given the way reality is shaping out all over the world these days where being the ‘other’ is an invitation to harassment and even decimation.