National Seminar On Locations of Caste?- Mumbai, India

UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

Dr. AMBEDKAR CENTRE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE

NATIONAL SEMINAR

on

LOCATIONS OF CASTE:

Social Memory and Social Change in Contemporary India

Venue: J P NAIK BHAVAN, ICSSR Western Regional Centre

FEBRUARY 20-22, 2012

DAY ONE: Monday, February 20, 2012

INAUGURAL SESSION : 10.00 a.m-11.15 a.m.

Welcome: Dr. Surendra Jondhale, Professor & Co-ordinator, Dr. Ambedkar Centre for Social Justice

Keynote Address: Prof. Uma Chakravarti, University of Delhi

Vote of Thanks

TEA BREAK: 11.15-11.30 a.m.

SESSION ONE :-- THEORISING CASTE: 11.30 a.m.-1.00 p.m.

Chairperson: Dr. Gail Omvedt

1. Dr. Braj Ranjan Mani: Caste and Knowledge
2. Dr. G Aloysius: Caste and Social Sciences
3. Dr. Murzban Jal: The Silent Counter-Revolution

LUNCH BREAK: 1.00-2.00 p.m.

SESSION TWO:-- CASTE, GENDER & EMANCIPATION: 2.00-3.30 p.m.

Chairperson: Dr. Uma Chakravarti

1. Dr. Padma Velaskar: Dr. Ambedkar’s Emancipation Discourse on Gender
2. Dr. Rudolf Heredia: Caste Hierarchy, Feudal Patriarchy: Reservations for Women
3. Dr. Wandana Sonalkar: Footloose Development, Segregated Settlement: Caste in

Formation of Urban Communities

TEA BREAK: 3.30-3.45 p.m.

SESSION THREE:-- CASTE IN HISTORY (a): 3.45-5.00 p.m.

Chairperson: Dr. Aravind Ganachari

1. Dr. Sadanand More: Caste in Bhakti Literature
2. Dr. Bharat Patankar: Caste and Exploitation in Indian History

DAY TWO: Tuesday, February 21, 2012

SESSION FOUR:-- CASTE IN HISTORY (b): 10.00-11.00 a.m.

Chairperson: Dr. Bharat Patankar

1. Dr. Kancha Illaiah: Colonialism, Caste and Counter-Culture
2. Dr. Umesh Bagade: Matanga Purana and Caste Consciousness

TEA BREAK: 11.00-11.15 a.m.

SESSION FIVE:-- EXPERIENCING CASTE: 11.15 a.m.-1.00 p.m.

Chairperson: Prof. Zaheer Ali

1. Dr. Gopal Guru: Where is My Location in Caste Question?
2. Dr. Ramesh Kamble: Locating & Memorializing Caste: The everyday ‘habitus’ of caste
3. Dr. Gautam Gawli: Psychosocial Aspects of Social Memory of Caste

LUNCH BREAK: 1.00-2.00 p.m.

SESSION SIX:-- CASTE & REPRESENTATION: 2.00-3.30 p.m.

Chairperson: Dr. Ramaiah

1. Dr. Badri Narayan: Dalit Identity Formation in North India
2. Dr. C Lakshmanan: Caste Portrayals in Tamil Popular Cinema
3. Dr. Ramesh Bairy T. S.: Studying the Brahmins: A Framework

TEA BREAK: 3.30-3.45 p.m.

SESSION SEVEN:-- RURAL-URBAN DALIT MOBILIZATIONS: 3.45-5.30 p.m.

Chairperson: Shri. Mahesh Gavaskar

1. Prof. S Anandi: Dedicating Dalit Women: Gender, caste & cultural politics of development

Activism in Rural Tamil Nadu

2. Dr. Edward Rodrigues: Dalit Assertion and Urbanism: Two contrasting modes of dalit mobili-

sation in Bombay/Mumbai

3. Dr. Suryakant Waghmore: Caste Atrocities and Dalit Movement in Maharashtra: A study of

political inclusion/exclusion of dalits

DAY THREE: Tuesday, February 22, 2012

SESSION EIGHT: CHANGING SOCIAL STRUCTURE: CASTE & TRIBE: 9.30-11a.m.

Chairperson: Dr. Sudhakar Gaikwad

1. Dr. P. G. Jogdand: Caste System in Changing Times
2. Dr. B. S. Waghmare : Emergence of Dalit Middle Class in Globalising India
3. Dr. Sanjay Kolekar: Interplay of Caste & Tribe: Case of Maharashtra

TEA BREAK: 11.00-11.15 a.m.

SESSION NINE: ECONOMY THROUGH CASTE PRISM: 11.15 a.m.- 1.00 p.m.

Chairperson: Dr. Ramesh Kamble

1. Dr. Ramesh Dandge: Caste-based Occupational Discrimination & Their Implications
2. Dr. Pradeep Shinde: Caste & Informal Sector
3. Dr. Shailesh Darokar: Caste & Stigma: Scavengers & the Others

LUNCH BREAK: 1.00-2.00 p.m.

SESSION TEN: ANTHROPOLOGY OF CASTE IN RURAL M’SHTRA:2.00-3.00 p.m.

Chairperson: Dr. Gopal Guru

1. Dr. Lee Schlesinger: Caste & Colour: Casual village conversations, visible contrast & diverse

classifications

2. Dr. Girija Godbole: Everyday Life of Rural Dalit Women in Maval Tehsil, Pune

TEA BREAK: 3.00-3.15 p.m.

SESSION ELEVEN: POLITICS OF CASTE: 3.15-4.45 p.m.

Chairperson: S Anandi

1. Dr. Gail Omvedt: Caste & Politics with regard to Anna Hazare
2. Dr. Yeshwant Sumant: Idea of Justice in the Caste Debate
3. Dr. Anand Teltumbde: How Anti-Caste are Caste-based Mobilizations?

VALEDICTORY SESSION

Chair: Dr. Uma Chakravarti

Dr. Gail Omvedt: In Response to Felicitation

The Battle of Bhima Koregaon

The Battle of Bhima Koregaon is the Ground breaking War between good humans and barbaric brhamins that only 500 of the Untouchable Mahars defeated the 30000 strong army. It is a symbol of Dalit pride, and a symbol of Human Rights Principles.

Do the Americans and Westerner's Really Know who is the Real Gandhi? & his divine Masks?

Mr.Pramod Kureelji is tearing down the real face of gandhi during his recent visit to America. In the following interview, Kureelji presents the truth that only about 1%, the top 1% of the population of India to whom gandhi belongs and who time and again manipulated the whole nation and the social system. As much it is true, but also true is there are some among the 99% are rabid hindus, casteists who will die to keep the gandhi's name uphled because they never in their whole life made any effort to study and learn the background of real gandhi, it is a cult.

The bottom line here is times are changing, for the first time our Upper house representatives started voicing against this bigotry known as gandhi, yes gandhi is a bigot and gandhism is a bigotry, the grandest of all Indian bigotry, good work has begun to expose these mania.

Video from Facebook posting of Vaishali Ingle-Gholap
BSP MP Pramod kureelji exposing Gandhi in United States ! Hats off !!!
http://vimeo.com/31286061

IN INDIA, GANDHI IS HERO ONLY TO INDIA’S 1%: PRAMOD KUREEL, MEMBER OF UPPER HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT from Hall Powell on Vimeo.

Access To Insight- Readings in Theravada Buddhism, The Most Scholarly Website of Our time!!

Great Scholars regard and respect the works of people behind the site "Accesstoinsight.org", the greatest scholarly online work on Buddhism or any religion for that matter, this is it. John Bullitt, who is behind this groundbreaking online work on Theravada Buddhism humbly accepts that it is not just him but there are so many people, monks, scholars and Theravada experts are behind this works, but I have to say John has done a tremendous job.

Like how I admire the works of erstwhile Ven Walpola Rahula's Book "What the Buddha Taught", along the lines, accesstoinsight.org is beyond doubt strikingly scholarly, knowledgeable, uptodate and as it is as Buddha would have told his story of life, mind and death to this world. Every Buddhist must go to this site, and most importantly, there is no such Theravada reference material as good as accesstoinsight, you are the Most Scholarly website of our time.

I never called him Mahatma in my Whole Life, he does not deserve and he is not.

Mahatma Who?, he is not Mahatma, I never called him Mahatma in my whole Life

Dr.Ambedkar in this BBC interviews furious about the betrayal of gandhi to scheduled castes and the vision of Dr.Ambedkar to bridge the gap between hindus and scheduled caste from the deadly caste discrimination.

Dr.Ambedkar roars, I refused to call him Mahatma, I never in my life called him Mahatma, he does not deserve, not even in the morality point of view. He is not Mahatma, you see

I went to meet him, as an Opponent, I was not one of his devotee's so I can see him clearly and because I had my own views about him and his agenda, he opened up his fangs, his dressing and outside look is a great Deception that his devotee's could not see...

Impeach Jayalalitha and bring no confidence Motion for Killing 7 Dalits, a Deliberate State Terrorism!

Great Scholar, Scholars & Humanitariand

Upliftthem is the Most Vehement and Strongest critic of most dalit politicians of India, especially my own state of Tamil Nadu Dalit Politicians.

No where else you will see or read online or offline of such strong criticism. However, that is going to change, as a reality check on Dalit Politicians particularly Thol Thirumavalavan and others following the 9/11 Parakamudi police atrocity that was unleashed by the present JJ govt on dalits, Uplifthem's view took a slight change on dalit politicians based on the ongoing activities. Today after watching the following presentation of Thol, there is a Sea Change in Thol Thirumavalavan's Direction of his Dalit Politics, Upliftthem is inclined to Change the attitude towards Dalit Politicians and I am making this argument read or heard Openly on the Blog. This is a Public appreciation as well as praise the works they have been upto following the "Tamil Nadu Police Atrocity on Dalits"* though the dalit politicians have lots to do and long way to get real appreciation, any such positive change has to be acknowledged?). Good work Thol, (so do your partner Paswan, all the way came down to Tamil Nadu to record his voice against dalit abuse) keep up the good work. Do not STOP until Jayalalitha is accountable for the 7 lives of Dalits in Paramakudi.

Tamil Nadu Police's atrocity is a direct result of a impotent, inefficient, casteist and Racist Jayalalitha, the most barbarbaric Indian leaders of all just below Narendran Modi of Gujarat and L.K Advani of BJP party. India has been destroyed by this type of goons in the name of hindutva Politics. The september 11 killing of 7 dalits by the Tamil Nadu Police is a Open and deliberatly planned murder of innocent civilians and this is simply not possible without the direct involvement of Ammaa/Selvi barbaric Jayalalitha. The world must listen to an account given by VCK Leader and Member of Parliment Thol Thirvumavalan. It is a honest and painful account of the state sponsered Terrorism of Tamil Nadu.

அசுரன்: பசும்பொன் முத்துராமலிங்கத் தேவர் என்ற ஜாதி வெறியன்

அசுரன்: பசும்பொன் முத்துராமலிங்கத் தேவர் என்ற ஜாதி வெறியன்: chided

Great Scholar, Scholars & Humanitarians

INDIA's Shame..!!

Every INDIAN must Read this, and when you have done Reading, Please Tell the WORLD that you are Ashamed, as Indian you must be Ashamed, the Caste Indians Must be Ashamed of them, their families and their Generations...!

One man forces and punishes other man for talking on the cell phone, or riding a bicycle, or wearing a Chapel or sandal, Or No rooms or homes for Dalits, No hair cut for Dalits, Tea or coffee in a coconut shell or some garbage tumblers?...

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Caste hindus"THE LIST"

[a Report by 150 Human Rights group, dalit groups, by Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Education Front] 

==================================================================== Untouchability Declassified

Discrimination is a dynamic industry in India. A survey recorded an astonishing 80-odd practices of untouchability—new, bizarre, vintage. BY Pallavi Polanki EMAIL AUTHOR(S)Not allowed to keep male dogs. (Why? They might breed with female dogs from upper caste neighbourhoods.)

»Separate work timings under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
»Refusal to rent houses to Dalits in certain neighbourhoods in urban areas. (Reported in Madurai, Tamil Nadu’s second largest city.)
»No door delivery by postmen; postal department prevented from hiring Dalit postmen.
»No access to the common crematorium, burial grounds.
»Prevented from having their clothes washed or ironed, or assigned separate cupboards at the laundry for clothes of Dalits.
»Refusal by barbers to cut their hair, or separate chairs for Dalits.
»Separate ration shops, or queues, or timings for Dalits.
»Offered tea in coconut shells which they can drink only by squatting on the ground.
»Prevented from renting private marriage halls, public address systems.
»Forced to cut out portion of the name that suggests respect (Madaswamy will be called Mada, Muniyaswamy Muniya).
»Attacked if they call any caste Hindu as annan (brother).
»Erecting walls (as was seen in Uthappuram) to deny Dalits access to common places.
»Elderly members of the Dalit community addressed by children of the dominant caste as poda, vada (denoting lack of respect).
»No access to temples, public streets, public taps (separate timings to collect water), public tanks, temples.
»Sapparam (temple car) not driven through areas where Dalits reside.
»Not allowed to participate in pookkuzhi (a ritual of walking on fire) during festivals.
»Two, in some cases four, tumbler system in tea-shops, one set for Dalits and categories within them, another for caste Hindus.
»Separate neighbourhoods for Dalits in villages.
»Preventing the opening of milk dairy near Dalit neighbourhoods.
»Dalit (Arunthathiyar) students compelled to clean bathrooms in schools.
»Opposition to hiring Dalit cooks in mid-day meal school kitchens.
»Engaging Dalits, Arunthathiyars especially, in conservancy work.
»Dalit workers to bring their own food-plates while others need not.
»Boycotting meetings held by Dalit Panchayat presidents.
»Preventing the opening of panchayat office buildings in Dalit areas.

NOT ALLOWED TO...

»Wear shoes or chappals
»Wear polyester dhotis
»Ride bicycles or travel in bullock carts
»Sit under bus shelters at village bus stops
»Wear a cloth headgear or carry a towel over the shoulder (as is the local practice)
»Sport a thin moustache
»Sit on benches in hotels and tea stalls
»Burst crackers during festivals
»Rear cattle
»Sing or speak at village functions or participate in auctions
»Dine with caste Hindus

OBLIGATED TO

»Offer goats gratis to descendants of past andais (landlords in the feudal age) during festivals
»Carry dead bodies
»Work in crematoriums and at burial grounds
»Sound the parai ( drums)
»Carry message of death to people of the dominant caste (to be paid only bus fare, food only if offered)

ATROCITIES ON DALITS

»Forced to eat faeces.
»Urinating into the mouth.
»Murdered if elected as Panchayat President against the wishes of the dominant caste.
»Sexual assault on Dalit women.
»Burning alive if a Dalit fights for rights.
»Setting fire to Dalit huts.
»Tied to a tree and beaten up.
»Killing all dogs in a Dalit area if a dog of the Dalit area bites a dog that belongs to an upper caste community.
»Obstructing the common passage (if won through struggle) with mortar, grindstone and washing utensils there.
»Killing by poisoning one who inter-marries.
»Ostracising those Dalits who raise their voice for human rights.
»Attacking Dalits if they insist on using community halls.
»Making Dalits prostrate before members of the dominant caste and imposing fines on them.
»Refusal by the state administration to enforce access to burial grounds.
»Harassment and brutal attacks on Dalits by the police for fighting for their rights.
»Dalits driven away by the police for trying to enter temples

INDIA's Freedom Fighter & Humanitarian Immanuel Sekaran, Spectacular and Inspiring Homage to a Great Man!

Great Scholar, Scholars & Humanitarians

Anna Hazare's fast unto Death is a Threat to India, it is a Threat to destroy India's Constituition