Dear Friends,
Dalit Panthers was formed 50 years ago. To commemorate the important moment in Dalit and world history, Nanded, my hometown, organized one of a kind party that consisted of intellectual discussions, speeches, film screenings, exhibitions, performances on traditional Ambedkari music and Dalit rap. In its first, Black Panther icons such as Michael D McCarty and Henry Gaddis along with scholar of the Black Panthers, Jakobi Williams along with student Sydney Patterson descended to Nanded to attend have been invited to attend the conference alongside veteran Dalit Panthers’ leaders such as J V Pawar.
The Nanded organising committee put up a show of incredible heights. We called the event “First Dalit-Black Panthers Conference”. It was celebrating the “Blue Pride” as a moment of Dalit Renaissance.
The two day festival looked like this:
I am recovering from sleep deprivation as we are emerging from a packed conference held from 28-29 May in Nanded, India.
My inaugural lecture can be accessed here. The event began with opening remarks from a feisty grandmother - a poet, story teller, activist, and daily wage labourer - Kesarbai. Other sessions are also made available here.
The press covered it widely.
BBC Marathi made a video report of the event. It can be viewed here.
Loksatta’s Abhijit Tamhane had a detailed coverage of the event. You can read about it here.
Dalitality
It was natural that this month’s Dalitality looked at the Dalit Panthers and what it means to us.
“Dalit Panthers was started by first generation educated Marathi youth in Mumbai in 1972 but was dissolved five years later due to State pressure, internal ideological conflicts, and to make way for the next generation of thinkers to adopt their version of resistance. The Dalit youth living in Mumbai slums were frustrated with the State and its apathetic machinery. In response to the growing statelessness and insecurity, they blew fire like a dragon putting to flames the mirage of India that was commemorating its silver jubilee.”
I am also pasting a link to an unedited version that chopped important references to Raja Dhale and Namdeo Dhasal. The complete piece is here.
May month’s Dalitality hosted Mukkera Rahul Swaero, a Dalit young professional from Telangana who currently works in Rajasthan. The piece exposes Rahul’s tryst with the reality of caste in the housing market. Here Rahul brings his personal experiences blending refined anecdotes and telling data. You can read the piece here.
Other Features
First Dalit-Black Panthers Conference
The on-ground report of the First Dalit-Black Panthers Conference was covered by ace journalist, Sudipto Mondal for Newsminute where he is presently an executive editor. It can be accessed here. “The Panthers growl again: A short memoir of a historic Dalit-Black conference”. We are also working on putting together a short documentary with journalist Rahul Bhise.
I was invited by NDTV to participate in a panel on Caste census and its implications. There seems to be a hesitation from the BJP government to not do it as it will expose the dominant caste overrepresentation in various fields. You can access my remarks curated on twitter here.
Credit: Loksatta
Events
I will be delivering the Annual Ambedkar Lecture at the University of Edinburgh sponsored by the Centre for South Asian Studies (CSAS) and Center for African Studies on 10th June 2022. The official invitation is here. The eventbrite page has further details.
At the University of Heidelberg I will deliver a public lecture entitled, “WRITING AMBEDKAR. THE BIOGRAPHY OF BHIVA, BHIMA, BHIMRAO” on 17th June and a masterclass on the Poona Pact on 15th June. The details are available on the official website here.
In History
1 June – Phule’s book Gulamgiri was published to much outpour. Phule dedicated this book to the abolitionists of America. He hoped that the same wisdom would dawn upon his fellow countrymen who are dominant castes and they partake in uprooting the caste system
9 June – Death anniversary of Birsa Munda, national icon and hero to tribals, and Bahujans
14 June – The great soul, a friend to mind, Kabir’s Jayanti.
18 June – Death anniversary of Ayyankali.
26 June – Birth anniversary Chattrapati Shahu Maharaj, one of India’s leading social reformers.
29 June – ‘Samata’ newspaper started by Dr Ambedkar.
Things to lookout for
Why the Middle-Class is Disappearing
This profoundly researched and rigorous piece by CNBC is to look out for. The middle-class has been one of my concerns since I heard a lecture delivered by a seasoned scholar. I brought in the middle-class as part of my analysis and research in “Caste Matters”.
You can view the video here.
How should Western universities combat caste discrimination?
The Times Higher Education interviewed me on the above question.
My response in a nutshell was as follows:
To make a policy backed by empirical research & strong Dalit footprint in the anti-caste/diversity policy. And, hiring of Dalit academics to lead the work.
You can read the article here. To access the piece behind paywall, visit here.
Announcements
Chinniah Jangam’s book of translation of poetry “Gabbilam A Dalit Epic” by one of India’s charismatic and daring Telugu poets, Padma Bhushan Gurram Jashuva is out now by the Yoda Press. Aided with a befitting introduction to the text, Chinniah folds the Telugu Dalit meter for the academic as well as general audience.
Chinniah has been working on this one for quite some time. I had the privilege to read it last year. Jashuva getting the desired attention in English language will jet good poetry in many quarters. Kaki Madhava Rao had also tried his expert hands with Jashuva! That is why Jashuva remains so important.
Scott Stroud is out with another of his erudite treatment of Ambedkar through rhetorics. He was working on this concept for some time. Excessively Harsh Critique and Democratic Rhetoric: The Enigma of Bhimrao Ambedkar’s Riddles in Hinduism
Call to action
India’s most urgent and an important compass, Prof Anand Teltumbde is still lodged in prison. This article written by his wife and companion, Rama Teltumbde is a painful read. One can continue to resist the oppression of the Modi government against civil rights leaders and activists. You can access the article here.
Greetings from Bilbao, for now.
#JaiBhim #DalitLove
suraj