Dear friends:
I went to attend the Venice Film Festival at the La Biennale, Venice, where the “Origin” film, directed and produced by Ava DuVernay, was shortlisted for the premier. I had the honour to attend the festival and represent the community on the red carpet.
Some glimpses from the festival led by the ace director and producer Ava DuVernay with her contingent were covered by Oprah.
Dalitality
August
For the August edition of Dalitality, I reflect on the 10th anniversary of the assassination of rationalist thinker Dr Narendra Dhabolkar. Investigation into the case has revealed the connection to Brahminical organisations who seek to establish a brahmin-ruled Hindu country. Dr Dhabolkar was murdered for this work with the Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (ANIS) - which he founded - an activist group that worked to dispel superstition and establish a rational mass culture. Following in the legacy of Phule and Periyar, Dhabolkar challenged the Brahminocracy of the freeloading priestly aristocracy. This made him a target of the conservative terrorist forces.
The murder of leaders like Dr Narendra Dabholkar, Prof M M Kalburgi and Govind Pansare, who guided an agenda of public good and promoted constitutional values says a lot about the direction the country is heading. This is the land that has been cultivated over the ashes of rationalists. The early Indian materialists, Charvarkas, had to face an axe to their throats. Buddhist and Jain monks preferred reason and empiricism over blind belief and the threat of power. This is again the same land that continues to inspire rationalist freedom. It invokes the sentiment of faith in reason and not the other way around.
Read the full article here.
September
For the September edition, I write about Umar Khalid, India’s student icon and youth leader. Umar is part of a chapter of India’s new political science. His experiences and the repeated injustices he has met at the hands of the state make him a modern hero at a time when many among youth are unemployed and depend on their parents to get by. When nepotism is India’s greatest assertion, scholars like Khalid come out of the path challenging the absurdity. An Ambedkarite atheist, Umar can serve as an inspiration to the Bahujan youth. It is the responsibility of the Bahujan political and social sphere to own up to the cause of Umar Khalid. They must make this struggle their own and rally for Umar’s freedom. Though time and again, the Bahujan community has been wrongly judged by the Constitution and their faith in their Republic. This piece can be accessed here.
Outlook Dalit Panthers Special
I teamed with Outlook India to curate and publish a special edition on Dalit Panthers on the occasion of 50 years of its formation and 75 years of Indian independence. The issue was a collaboration of the Independence Day Special number.
My introduction sets the tone and covers the epistemology of the Panthers.
Nicolas Jaoul traced the Dalit movement in UP in this auto-ethnographic piece.
A piece by J V Pawar, one of the founding members is here.
'It’s Not Impossible To Smash The Caste System': Professor Anand Teltumbde.
Monica Sabharwal did a heartwarming profile of Punjab’s Panther Dr. S L Virdi. His story is inspiring. You can read here.
The complete issue is available here.
I interviewed the Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, a former Panther, Ramdas Athawale, for Outlook. You can read the interview here.
I featured a powerful poem by Asang Wankhede. Below is an excerpt.
Justice recreated every now and then
in the ashes of summer waters flaming
with nail marks, whip lashes and
offerings of chilli powders and spices, and
decorated cuts across the throat with
sharp human butchering knife.
I never prayed to you with folded hands,
I used the power you gave to break the definitions,
Imagine radical transformation.
Yet I am here expressing impotent colours,
still fighting for your words and dignity.
Other Publications
I reviewed “Breaking Barriers”, a memoir of Kaki Madhava Rao, who was United Andhra Pradesh’s first Chief Secretary from the Dalit community. He was keen that I attend his book launch. However, I was busy and averse to launching a book of a retired bureaucrat. A friend, Prashant Dontha, called and expressed the impressive work done by Mr Rao. I took the copy and couldn’t resist offering my review. He had already retired from the service when I was barely 10 years old. It was clear he was not doing the work for self-aggrandisement but merely doing the job as an Ambedkarite.
The Telugu land is deprived of strong Dalit assertion, more so an Ambedkarite-centric cultural and social politics. Seeing him asserting his community so vociferous and staying committed to it was a sight of satisfaction. The younger generation has to carry on the mantle of Ambedkarite politics in the Telugu Desha. I write:
A soft-spoken and humorous individual, Rao’s interest in literature – he published the poetry of Gurram Jashuva in 1998 (Gabbilam) – kept him afloat through the turbulence of a hectic professional life. In his own writing, he treats words like cotton balls, softly pressing them together to create a story. His memoir, Breaking Barriers, is a collection of experiences tied together by engrossing stories about people. The writing is so fluid that I can honestly say this is probably the first book I’ve reviewed that hasn’t been defaced by my markings and marginalia.
Breaking Barriers will serve multiple purposes. The first is that it provides ample evidence of the merit and character of the Dalit community. It knocks the naysayers in the face and forces them to acknowledge the reality of Dalit merit. Second, it will inspire many in the civil services and help them overcome the psychological odds stacked against them by the Brahminical system.
You can read the complete review here.
Here, I present my extended review of Yogesh Maitreya’s memoir Water in a Broken Pot, the shorter form of which was published in Economic and Political Weekly. I had earlier published a shorter version in the HT, which you may have seen in the earlier volume of the newsletter. Now, it is profiled in an elaborate edition.
It has been a practice of publishers to seek out stories of Dalits, for their value is embodied in the buoyancy of their subordinated existence. There is always a search for a story of triumph, an exit, a climax to end the debris of abuses. But Maitreya is not going to dance to the tune of the set rules of the industry.
He will not give you what you incessantly desire; his narrative is pouring from Dalit brilliance, courtesy of his bombastic mind. Maitreya is writing because he has found his calling. He is purposed for it.
Media Profiles:
The Statesman did a profile on me. It can be viewed here.
Daily Loksatta highlighted my work in its Sunday profile.
My recent events in Pune were covered in the Maharashtra Times and Lokstatta.
Reuters covered the Venice premiere of Ava Duvernay’s Origin.
"Wilkerson cast a light on (something) that our reader desperately needs to know or else we will be shooting at ourselves without even knowing why," said Suraj Yengde, an Indian scholar who plays himself in the movie.
The complete piece is available here.
I had the honor of speaking at Jaibheem 2.0 Ambedkariyam-50th Ambedkariya Ambassador Certificate Ceremony in Tamil Nadu. The post can be accessed here.
Venice Film Festival Coverage
The New York Times highlighted Origin and Ava DuVernay. You can read the piece here.
Grazia captured me during the Venice Film Festival with Ava DuVernay. You can see the piece here.
Reuters coverage is available here.
Senior Awards Editor for Variety, Clayton Davis, argued for the Academy Award for Origin in his article. You can read it here.
The complete coverage of the red carpet of Origin at the Venice Film Festival is available to watch here.
The Hollywood Reporter’s coverage can be read here.
The News Beak covered Venice Film Festival for Indian audience. It is available to watch here.
Video of the 9 minutes standing ovation for Origin was posted by The Hollywood Reporter here.
Awaaz India covered the 80th Venice Film Festival. It can be accessed here.
Interviews
I was interviewed on NDTV, discussing the increased number of attacks on Dalits in Maharashtra. You can watch the coverage here.
I attended an India Today panel discussing why people justify caste. The video is available here.
The managing editor of Outlook, Satish Padmanabhan, and editor, Chinki Sinha, held a conversation with me concerning the legacy of the Dalit Panthers, caste dynamics and contemporary challenges. The conversation can be watched here.
India’s popular Hindi YouTube channel, Tathagat Live recorded a vlog with me and the Dalai Lama. We had fun and serious discussion while walking on the streets of Dharamshala. The video is available on this link.
Sarthank Kaushik hosted Anurag Minus Verma and me on Teamwork Arts. This conversation is available to watch here.
Kumar Ketkar in conversation with me, organised by Mehta Publishing House. The programme footage can be accessed here.
Other Features/ Publications
August and September
California passed a bill to ban caste discrimination, becoming the first in the US to take this step. However, Gov Newsom turned down the bill by vetoing it.
A profile of Kanjibhai Rathod, Bollywood’s first professional director is here.
Here are some other articles I would like to draw attention to:
Bihar: Dalit debtor ‘stripped, urinated on’ by money-lenders son and henchmen - access here.
Lemonde published an article highlighting serious concerns about an increasing number of suicides among Dalit students. The complete piece is available here.
Attn Minister! Kasaragod temple shut for 5 years after Dalits demanded access from front - access here.
A worrying rise in atrocities on Dalits - access here.
A Study on Literacy Pattern among the Scheduled Caste & Scheduled Tribe Population in Jalpaiguri District, West Bengal by Partha Das - access here.
Micro-level Manifestations of Casteism in Select Malayalam Dalit Short Stories - access here.
Empowerment of Scheduled Castes in India: An Impact Assessment Study of Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2015 - access here.
Dalit Organisation Sets Bold Agenda for National Dalit Summit - access here.
In History
Here are some important dates in Bahujan history from August and September
August
1 August: Birth Anniversary of Annabhau Sathe
3 August: Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was appointed as first Law Minister of India
10 August: Birth Anniversary of Phoolan Devi
20 August: Birth Anniversary of Narayana Guru
28 August: Birth Anniversary of Ayyankali
September:
17 September: Birth Anniversary of EVR Periyar
20 September: Death Anniversary of Narayana Guru
24 September: Satyashodhank Samaj founded by Jotiba Phule
24 September: Poona Pact was signed
Things to look out for
We started “Ashoka Ambedkar Dhamma Yatra” to propagate Dhamma and the two foremost actors in the history of Buddhism in India–Samrat Ashoka and Dr B R Ambedkar. The yatra (rally) passes through six states–Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra for a total of 22 days, touching 29 important sites and cities. The idea is to donate the statue of Samrat Ashok in Deeksha Bhoomi, Nagpur, alongside Dr Ambedkar. The event is excellently executed and managed by the Buddhist Fraternity Council and National Dhamma Yatra Committee
Recent Events
6 AUG 2023: Jaibheem 2.0 Ambedkariyam-50th Ambedkariya Ambassador Certificate Ceremony
25 AUG 2023: 2nd Ajay Gandhi Memorial Lecture. “Wokeness of Caste and Culture of Untouchability” by Suraj Yengde
31 AUG 2023: In conversation with Dr. Suraj Yengde| Third edition of ‘Caste Matters’ in Marathi| Kolhapur, Mehta Publishing House. You can view the packed here.
17 SEP 2023: Talk with Caste Matter Author Dr Suraj Yengde | Mehta Publishing House, Pune
3 OCT 2023: Aesthetic of Ambedkarite Thought & Artist Futures of Equality | Secular Art Movement
10 OCT 2023: Affairs of Letters: Dalit Response to Black Literature | JNU Academic
I am heading to the States and London for talks.
#JaiBhim #DalitLove
suraj
Jai Bhim.
Jai Savitri.
🤎🙂✊🏾