BACK TO SCHOOL
Meaningful restart of education is critical

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.

#Adivasis #Curricula #Urban Poor #Education
ARTICLE 15(2)
Deterring private discrimination

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.

#Justice System #Human Rights
CRIME SURVEYS
The way we measure hate crimes is simply bogus

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.

#Adivasis #Justice System #Government #Society
MANUAL SCAVENGING
A gross violation of human rights
MANUAL SCAVENGING : A gross violation of human rights

Manhole is a scathing celluloid indictment on the state of manual sewer cleaners in India, writes Shoma A. Chatterji.

#Films #Human Rights
DIFFICULT DIALOGUES
Eradicating caste from people’s minds

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.

#Society
FEATURE
The Dalit in Indian cinema

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.

#Films #Reviews
CASTE MATTERS
Yes, it is a caste issue!
CASTE MATTERS : Yes, it is a caste issue!

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.

#People #Society
TRIBAL SUB PLAN
Diversion of funds mars tribal welfare plans

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

#Adivasis #Government #ODISHA
PROFILE: Karnataka Dalit Mahila Vedike
Casting out caste crime
PROFILE: Karnataka Dalit Mahila Vedike : Casting out caste crime

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.

#Adivasis #Justice System #Human Rights #Women
TRIBUTE
Remembering Ananthamurthy, the critical insider

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.

#People #OP-ED
NAYIBRAHMIN WOMEN
Struggling against the double whammy of caste and gender

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.

#Girls' Education #Work+Life #Women
CLASS POLITICS
What have the reserved constituencies voted for?

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.

#Elections #Government
MANUAL SCAVENGING
There’s always one to clear your mess!

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.

#Sanitation #Human Rights #Laws #Society
HC VERDICT ON TSUNDUR
Killing the dead all over again
HC VERDICT ON TSUNDUR : Killing the dead all over again

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.

#Justice System #Human Rights #ANDHRA PRADESH
YOUTH AND ASPIRATIONS
Politics, through the eyes of Bihar’s Dalit students

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.

#Elections #Society #BIHAR