Inequalities in education, which were already very large, have been considerably worsened by the long closure of schools. But this crisis is also an opportunity for renewal of the education system.
The Constitution recognises the threat of private discrimination, and prohibits it in its text. An interpretation that recognises the historical chronicle and context of exclusion is needed to uphold it.
Safety and criminality in society must be assessed directly from the people themselves. The government is deluding itself and citizens by conflating law enforcement statistics with crime data, writes Tara Krishnaswamy.
Manhole is a scathing celluloid indictment on the state of manual sewer cleaners in India, writes Shoma A. Chatterji.
Casteism and the state of our civil society were the major issues discussed at the recently held Difficult Dialogues conclave in Goa. It was organised by the South Asia Centre of the London School of Economics India Summit 2016 and the Television Trust for the Environment. Darryl D’Monte, who participated in one of the panel discussions, reports.
Shoma Chatterji talks about caste and the portrayal of Dalit in Hindi cinema beginning with Bombay Talkies Achhut Kannya (1936) to Bimal Roy’s Sujata (1959) followed by many mainstream films, and the small-budget, low-key ones which have focused on this significant social issue in the past so many years.
Rohith Vemula's death was the end of his dreams of becoming another Carl Sagan. But so many other dreams have perished because of caste-based persecution that has been a blight on higher education and professional practice in this country. Shahina Nafeesa's touching personal essay, translated by Renu Ramanath, brings out deeply disturbing realities.
Despite numerous development plans and programs, the tribals of our nation remain the most marginalised group. Abhijit Mohanty examines the Tribal Sub Plan funds and what's happening with them
Pushpa Achanta describes the unrelenting efforts of the KDMV in educating members of the Dalit and Adivasi communities about their legal entitlements and helping them wage battles for justice in cases involving caste atrocity and discrimination.
UR Ananthamurthy's brutally honest stance on Brahmanism, or in fact on any of the subjects that concerned him, has been fiercely debated in his life and death. In a tribute to the recently deceased stalwart of public thinking, Prakash Belawadi seeks to find clues to his inquiring spirit.
As part of a study on the socio-economic status of women from the ‘Most Backward Castes’, women from the Nayibrahmin or barber community talk of their lives of oppression and deprivation. Akhileshwari Ramagoud recounts their tales.
In the 2014 elections, the BJP won 66 out of 131 seats reserved for SC/ST candidates, which is the highest for any single party since 1991. Prabhu Mallikarjunan looks at the statistics and tries to decipher what this says for voting behaviour in these constituencies.
Despite the enactment of a law prohibiting the casteist and deplorable practice of manual scavenging, many continue to labour in the profession in the face of neglect, deprivation and indignity. Pushpa Achanta draws attention to the injustice meted out to manual scavengers and other sanitary workers.
The recent verdict of the Andhra High Court acquitting all the accused in the horrific killing of eight Dalits in 1991 may be based on legal technicalities, but is an instance of justice denied, argues Venugopalrao Nellutla.
Initiatives under the ‘My Space My unManifesto’ campaign to bring about a political reawakening and engagement among Dalit youth have led to a new-found consciousness and perspective among them. Manisha Prakash reports.
India Together is published with support from Oorvani Foundation.
