{"title":"Participation Levels of Scheduled Castes in Gram Panchayat and Gram Sabha: A Sociological Study in Rural Telangana","authors":"Silveru Harinath","doi":"10.1177/2455328x241239181","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2455328x241239181","url":null,"abstract":"The constitutional protections in India have a moderately good effect on the lives of Scheduled Castes (SCs). Additionally, the social movements helped marginalized communities’ voices to some extent by empowering them to assert their rights and participate in the decision-making process. The Constitution has opened up political entry to underprivileged groups as a part of the decentralization movement at the grassroots level. Given an opportunity on par with other social groups, the SCs are showing more interest and are ahead in contesting in the elections with the support of their respective political parties. An effort has been made in this context to emphasize the problems and difficulties experienced by the elected SC members in local bodies in rural Telangana. The main objectives of the study are to examine the participation rates of SC representatives in Gram Sabha, analyse experiences in the political system in terms of gender and examine the discriminatory practices that elected officials have to deal with. The findings show that the SC representatives’ participation in Gram Sabha is weak and lacking in the decision-making process because of a lack of official backing and covert discrimination by the officials. Additionally, the SC representatives experience covert prejudice on the part of other castes. Since the bulk of the representatives are new to the election process, they are unaware of the duties that they are expected to carry out. According to the findings, the Gram Sabha should plan and finalize the village development plans in front of the people without the involvement of the local MLAs.","PeriodicalId":53196,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Voice of Dalit","volume":"69 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140582628","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Uniform as Assertion: The Politics of Caste Reservation in Colonial and Post-colonial Armed Forces of India (1930–2020)","authors":"Aryama Ghosh","doi":"10.1177/2455328x241236628","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2455328x241236628","url":null,"abstract":"Recruitment of lower and middle castes remained a much-debated topic in Indian electoral politics till now. On the one hand, there was intense political debate between various castes, and on the other, there was judicial and administrative debate about social justice. Even though Ambedkar tried to use it as a method of social justice and state-sponsored social alleviation, because of its connection to identity politics, it quickly became a matter of electoral mobilization. Various parties that were attempting to win over various communities with their call for military recruitment eventually strayed from the real motivation behind that Ambedkarian demand. Lastly, since the turn of the twentieth century, the new political rhetoric of Hindutva has intriguingly transformed this call for military recruitment into a different cause. This article discusses how the demand for the Chamar Regiment and the Ahir Regiment in particular became the focal point of this debate for nearly a century.","PeriodicalId":53196,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Voice of Dalit","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140582600","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dalit by Birth, Beti-jaisi by Adoption: Exploring Caste and Family Dynamics in Bimal Roy’s Sujata","authors":"Muskan Soni","doi":"10.1177/2455328x241231337","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2455328x241231337","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":53196,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Voice of Dalit","volume":"104 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140032472","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Book review: Bhangya Bhulya, Subjugated Nomads: The Lambadas Under the Rule of the Nizams","authors":"Sabyasachi Chatterjee","doi":"10.1177/2455328x231223051","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2455328x231223051","url":null,"abstract":"Bhangya Bhulya, Subjugated Nomads: The Lambadas Under the Rule of the Nizams. Orient BlackSwan, First Paperback Edition 2022, xxiii + 296 pp., ₹695. ISBN: 9789354420726.","PeriodicalId":53196,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Voice of Dalit","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139954711","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Book review: Narayana Sukumar and Paul D’Souza (eds.), The Journey of Caste in India: Voices from Margins","authors":"Ankur Kumar","doi":"10.1177/2455328x231221868","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2455328x231221868","url":null,"abstract":"Narayana Sukumar and Paul D’Souza (eds.), The Journey of Caste in India: Voices from Margins. New York and London: Routledge Taylor & Francis, 2023, 222 pp., ₹11439 (Hardcover). ISBN: 978-1-032-31977-3, ISBN: 978-1-003-31717-3.","PeriodicalId":53196,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Voice of Dalit","volume":"43 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139954712","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Caste Prejudice, Colonial Education in Kumaon: Dynamics of Depressed Class Education, 1881–1947","authors":"Isha Tamta","doi":"10.1177/2455328x231209802","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2455328x231209802","url":null,"abstract":"From the last quarter of the eighteenth century, the East India Company slowly acquired the area which is now called Uttar Pradesh. Territories were acquired from different powers by the company were initially kept under Bengal Province. However, in 1833 these, areas were separated and a new province called North-Western Provinces was created. Again, after the annexation of Oudh, this province came to be called in 1877 as North-Western Provinces. The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was changed to United Provinces in 1902 which later became present Uttar Pradesh. Colonial rule wanted to control the knowledge systems of the colonized. The epistemology and knowledge systems produced by the colonial state sought to create the feeling of interiority among the colonized people. Education is one such area through which the colonial state wanted to justify their rule. The British argued that Indians were inferior and justified their monopoly of all higher posts. They, further, pointed out that untouchability, rigid caste system are some of the reasons for inferiority. In this article, I would like to discuss the colonial state policy towards education of lower castes and depressed classes in Kumaon division of United Provinces of British India. I argue that although the British professed that it wanted to educate all people, yet in practice the colonial state gave in to the caste prejudices of the society and also because of its own ambivalent policy towards depressed classes. Doms constitute majority of Dalit community in Kumaon division of United Provinces from whom Shilpakar community emerged gradually.","PeriodicalId":53196,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Voice of Dalit","volume":"54 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139446025","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Conceptualizing the Paradigm Shift from Prosocial Communism to Violent Communism and Pogroms of Dalits to Adivasi Guerrillas in India: A Systematic Literature Review","authors":"Roopak Kumar, Shashikanta Tarai","doi":"10.1177/2455328x231217576","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2455328x231217576","url":null,"abstract":"In India, the violent communist movement encompasses 70 districts of 10 states with substantial support from the marginalized people with arms in their hands. Why does the transformation process from a communist political party to violent communism take place in India? How does communism in its violent form still survive in India? These questions are addressed by reviewing the literature on the left-wing extremist movement in India from 2005 to 2022. It is found that the violent version of communism has largely succeeded in the domain of suppressing caste-based exploitations of the landless lower castes and gaining support from the indigenous tribes on land and forest-related issues. Therefore, the destination of communism in India is an important eventuality to study its survival strategies, diverse forms and processes.","PeriodicalId":53196,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Voice of Dalit","volume":"54 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139447572","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Caste and Gender Politics: An Understanding of Dalit Consciousness in the Poems of Contemporary Dalit Writers","authors":"Gunja Patni, Sheehan S. Khan","doi":"10.1177/2455328x231209628","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2455328x231209628","url":null,"abstract":"Dalit women face endemic gender and caste discrimination and violence as a result of extreme unequal social, economic, and political power equations because of their vulnerability at the bottom of India’s caste, class, and gender hierarchies. Their socio-economic weakness and lack of political power, combined with the main risk factors of being Dalit and female, heighten their exposure to potentially violent Circumstances, hindering their rights to live with dignity and reach their full potential. The poems of three contemporary Dalit feminist writers, namely, Meena Kandasamy (1984–), Aruna Gogulamanda (1970–) and Sukirtharani (1973–) appear to be an encyclopaedia of painful catalogues, some heard and some experienced. Their witty arguments and unbashful and uncompromising writing style not only unleash the power/caste/sexual politics at hand but also suggest ways of emancipation for women and an era of liberation for them. The article aims to uncover the intersectionality of caste and gender—through a reading of select poets’ works—exposing the exploitation, oppression, violence and marginalization that reflects on the Dalit female body inhibiting from and affecting the physical, psychological, economic and social dimensions. It will do so by employing various post-modern critical scholarships on caste/gender politics, politics of the body, identity, self, subjectivity, agency, and its attendant issues. Thus, by using the female body as an ingress the article through critical analysis of the select poems will showcase a paradigm shift in understanding the self via body hence suggesting ways for Dalit women’s agency/emancipation. By highlighting the experiences of marginalized female voices, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of gender dynamics, caste politics within Indian society, ultimately prompting discussions on the need for caste and gender equity and inclusivity in contemporary India.","PeriodicalId":53196,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Voice of Dalit","volume":"55 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139445960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Intersection of claim for Scheduled Tribe Status and Identity Politics among the Kurmi Mahto of Chotanagpur Region in India","authors":"Sachchidanand Prasad, Abhijit Mitra","doi":"10.1177/2455328x231207500","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2455328x231207500","url":null,"abstract":"Various forms of protest such as rail-road roko and election boycott have been displayed by the Kurmi community to show their strength and legitimacy in their claim for Scheduled tribe status. By analysing pre-independence census data by British anthropologists, their study of culture and tribal way of life, and current socio-economic and political standing, the authors have attempted to trace the location of Kurmis (Mahto) of Chotanagpur region in the indigeneity discourse and their claim for ST status.","PeriodicalId":53196,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Voice of Dalit","volume":"40 27","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138946650","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Dalit Panthers: A Voice From the Below","authors":"Masha Hassan","doi":"10.1177/2455328x231209180","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2455328x231209180","url":null,"abstract":"This article investigates the process of the domestication of ideas by the Dalit intellectuals leading to its radical assertion of ‘Dalit Consciousness’. A chance encounter with an article about the US Black Panthers in the Time magazine proved to be a wake-up call for the subalterns in India. The present paper centres around the ideologies adopted by the Dalit Panthers, the syncretism of ideas of B. R. Ambedkar, Jyotirao Phule and Karl Marx. Delving deeper into Ambedkar’s American academic background and his intellectual odyssey at Columbia University during the Harlem Renaissance, the article will look into the politics of emancipation, exchanges and similarities of both the intellectuals, W. E. B. Du Bois and B. R. Ambedkar as well as the influence of the Black Power movement on the Dalit movement and its literature. Tracing the trajectory of intersectional political and ideological diffusion between the two movements, this article, in addition to the above observations, will draw parallels by underlining the texts and themes of oppression present in both caste and race.","PeriodicalId":53196,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Voice of Dalit","volume":"283 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139170701","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}