Suraj Yengde

In Kenya, rebels with a cause but no affiliationsSubscriber Only

August 04,2024 07:06:21 AM

Kenya has seemingly inspired its neighbouring nations in the region. With an aggressively pro-capitalist economy, it was an eyesore for neighbours like Tanzania, where Julius Nyerere (anti-colonial activist who later became the Prime Minister) took the socialist path.

Watching the American polls, one debate at a timeSubscriber Only

July 21,2024 07:20:26 AM

We cannot say for sure what the future holds, as we prepare for the next couple of months to decide the fate of this messy economy that is in the hands of leaders with bureaucrats who are hated by the Republican vote bank and an autocratic leader with the impulse control of a toddler.

Savarna parties have once again isolated Dalit voicesSubscriber Only

June 23,2024 07:07:02 AM

Though attachment to the Ambedkar family lineage still draws the rural masses, the people I have interacted with in political circles and urban voters have expressed dismay over Mayawati and Prakash Ambedkar’s politics and nature of interactions.

Government has not added jobs but graduate degrees and skills don’t mean job stabilitySubscriber Only

May 26,2024 08:10:50 AM

Despite a salary package of over Rs 3 lakh per year, he only manages to take home Rs 15,000 per month.

A vote for Ambedkarite politics is a vote for democracySubscriber Only

April 28,2024 08:45:51 AM

All other ideologies, barring the Left, are ill-equipped to take on the cultural monster that the BJP has created

India should be grateful for a leader like MayawatiSubscriber Only

March 17,2024 07:40:04 AM

She cannot be equated with any north Indian leader, except Narendra Modi. Yet, she is more experienced than him

Why Rahul Gandhi’s politics is that of the BSPSubscriber Only

February 18,2024 07:55:21 AM

Rahul Gandhi's mind has been shaped in recent years in the company of these few Dalit minds.

Anand Teltumbde: Of a frank and fearless mindSubscriber Only

January 21,2024 07:45:20 AM

Teltumbde helped us to foreground the meaning of atrocity. Among his notable scholarly contributions to social sciences are his monographs covering the state and the political economy.

Jats in the modern worldSubscriber Only

December 24,2023 07:00:57 AM

A band of proud people, Jats, with their traditional outlook on worldly affairs, are now grappling with the politics of the nation that has transitioned into a democracy.

VT Rajshekar: Journalist, anti-caste legend who spoke his mindSubscriber Only

November 26,2023 06:55:18 AM

Vontibettu Thimmappa Rajshekar Shetty (VTR) authored 30 books centering on caste, nation and religion

Amid war, it’s time to take a position — for the oppressedSubscriber Only

October 15,2023 07:43:30 AM

The most important sites for the desert religions are in Jerusalem, where Judaism, Christianity and Islam stake their claim. The fight for their ownership has changed the region’s portfolio.

Finding peace and Dhamma in Sri LankaSubscriber Only

October 01,2023 07:36:45 AM

Like Indians, Sri Lankans seem to be cognisant of the many invasions that happened in South India and how Hinduism was brought in to challenge Buddhism. They also faced the desecration of their sacred sites in the past and during the civil war.

Umar Khalid’s jail stint and the deficit of truthSubscriber Only

September 03,2023 07:40:55 AM

A doctorate in Adivasi history from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Umar Khalid has been an active comrade student on campus.

A Brahminical assault on reason and rationalitySubscriber Only

August 20,2023 07:30:46 AM

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.

Caste & conversion: another layer among the SCsSubscriber Only

July 23,2023 07:45:29 AM

The Scheduled Caste community has to actively push for the recognition and emancipation of their Abrahamic counterparts who still lag behind the opportunities.

Atrocities on Dalits and a dead societySubscriber Only

June 25,2023 06:21:28 AM

Suraj Yengde writes: More than a decade ago, Dalit scholars in the US intended to start a web portal to exclusively report atrocities. They enlisted me. However, I could not. I did not. I don’t know if the reason was my work pressure or unwillingness to undergo the trauma.

Caste and untouchability in Nepal: A familiar storySubscriber Only

May 28,2023 07:20:17 AM

Due to the absence of a solid political force lobbying for the rights of the Dalits, the Dalit population has been organising under civil societies mostly aided by some cultural and social organisations.

Doing politics is different from being in politicsSubscriber Only

April 30,2023 07:42:16 AM

Doing politics and being in politics is a condition of the state. We change sequences over professionalized politics and politicized professions which act in conjunction with power, hierarchy, and castes.

When electronic voting machines meet democracySubscriber Only

April 02,2023 07:30:44 AM

The research community has demonstrated its defiance of EVMs. A 2010 study by Prasad, Halderman and Gonggrijp observed that EVMs are "vulnerable to serious attacks that can alter election results and violate the secrecy of the ballot".

Is G20 meet India’s NAM moment with a difference?Subscriber Only

March 05,2023 07:05:25 AM

With G-20 still seen as a not-yet formal heavyweight, it has the possibility of becoming one. Scholar of the G-20, Steven Slaughter, argues that it is this nature of the grouping that offers it more flexibility. The question is, can India use this opportunity and make its own NAM moment of a different kind?

Constitution & society: An evolutionary taleSubscriber Only

February 05,2023 07:40:28 AM

In most democracies, the constitution is guided by constitutionalism, which is the power to limit the government’s absolutism.

Lahori Ram Balley, a true AmbedkariteSubscriber Only

January 08,2023 07:26:04 AM

Lahori Ram Balley of Jalandhar is an important link in the archive of India’s history who witnessed the prophet of the millions who were subjugated under the tyranny of the caste system.

What Kharge’s rise says about a changing CongressSubscriber Only

December 11,2022 07:49:28 AM

At a time when politics produces a self-serving creed, Kharge’s long association with the Congress party amidst tumult and factionalism is a sight of extraordinary commitment to an ideology and its life.

Hurdles in the way of social democracySubscriber Only

November 13,2022 06:30:36 AM

While the new amendment was challenged in court, the EWS quota was filled in 2019. This shows that the solidarity of the castes is more prominent than the class validity it is based upon.

Why Mohan Bhagwat’s words ring hollowSubscriber Only

October 16,2022 04:15:59 AM

In 2012, at an Idea Exchange session with Loksatta, Dr Bhagwat fielded questions on caste and representation of Dalits and women in the RSS. He was locked in the guise of being a benign nationalist father figure, who doesn’t discriminate, yet referred to Dalits as “these classes”.