Pub Date : 2023-11-01DOI: 10.1177/2455328x231199839
Somenath Bhattacharjee
Social stratification is an outcome of the unequal distribution of goods and services within a society. The basic question here is who gets what and why? It depends on cultural values, the organization of production and the access acquired by different individuals and groups within a society. The idea of social stratification is rooted in the customary ways in which economic resources are allocated and distributed. Certain other aspects, like prestige and power, also get unequally distributed. It varies from one society to another. Indian society is old and extremely complex. In the Hindu social system, there is a fifth or Pancham Varna or Avarna, which accommodates those supposedly unclean occupations that are believed to be polluting and untouchable. Dalits are the downtrodden and poor. It includes those termed in administrative parlance as scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes. They are the poorest of the villages’ poor, living in squalor and misery, deprived of education and opportunities for improvement. Along with a number of other factors, sometimes the contemporary political situation plays a major role in the exploitation and deprivation of Dalits, which violates their fundamental human rights. These issues have been highlighted in this article.
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Pub Date : 2023-11-01DOI: 10.1177/2455328x231198712
Sepuri Venkata Durga Chandrasekhar
This article argues that the trajectory of transgender rights, especially the quest for transgender reservations is shrouded by the spectre of Brahmanical governmentality perpetuated by the state. Through an anti-caste analysis of the recent developments in this issue, it attempts to demonstrate that the denial of horizontal reservations for trans persons by the state fulfils the conditions of Brahmanical governmentality. It is characterized by a lack of a refusal to engage with trans persons’ lived realities, ignoring trans voices about vital issues pertaining to their community and the promulgation of legal and policy decisions which inimically affect the material interests of trans persons and perpetuate their oppression.
{"title":"The Quest for Horizontal Transgender Reservations Under the Spectre of Brahmanical Governmentality","authors":"Sepuri Venkata Durga Chandrasekhar","doi":"10.1177/2455328x231198712","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2455328x231198712","url":null,"abstract":"This article argues that the trajectory of transgender rights, especially the quest for transgender reservations is shrouded by the spectre of Brahmanical governmentality perpetuated by the state. Through an anti-caste analysis of the recent developments in this issue, it attempts to demonstrate that the denial of horizontal reservations for trans persons by the state fulfils the conditions of Brahmanical governmentality. It is characterized by a lack of a refusal to engage with trans persons’ lived realities, ignoring trans voices about vital issues pertaining to their community and the promulgation of legal and policy decisions which inimically affect the material interests of trans persons and perpetuate their oppression.","PeriodicalId":53196,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Voice of Dalit","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135326518","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}
Pub Date : 2023-11-01DOI: 10.1177/2455328x231198713
Ganesh Gaigouria
Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd & Karthik Raja Karuppusamy, The Shudras Vision for a New Path (Rethinking India Series 5). Penguin Random House, Vintage Books, 2021, 233 pp., ₹699. e-ISBN: 978-9-390-91424-1.
Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd & Karthik Raja Karuppusamy，《首陀罗的新道路愿景》（Rethinking India Series 5）。Penguin Random House, Vintage Books, 2021, 233 pp.
{"title":"Book review:","authors":"Ganesh Gaigouria","doi":"10.1177/2455328x231198713","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2455328x231198713","url":null,"abstract":"Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd & Karthik Raja Karuppusamy, The Shudras Vision for a New Path (Rethinking India Series 5). Penguin Random House, Vintage Books, 2021, 233 pp., ₹699. e-ISBN: 978-9-390-91424-1.","PeriodicalId":53196,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Voice of Dalit","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135321292","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}
Pub Date : 2023-10-31DOI: 10.1177/2455328x231198672
C. J. Sonowal
Dr B.R. Ambedkar led the mass conversion of the Mahar population from Hinduism to Navayana Buddhism in the year 1956, aiming at the emancipation of the Mahar community, who were treated as untouchables. Dr Ambedkar believed that since untouchability was a part of Hindu tradition, Mahars could not be freed from it until they remained within the Hindu tradition. Contrarily, M.K. Gandhi maintained religious conversion as the purification and change of heart and attaining a higher level of spirituality. Every great religion has the capability for reform within it. He believed that a change of heart being within own religious tradition might eradicate social evils like untouchability, and for that, one should not change his religion. The article thus discusses the various perspectives of religious conversions and analyses the views of these two great thinkers of modern India, situating the Mahar conversion as the primary focus. Based on secondary literature sources, the author tries to situate the views of Gandhi and Ambedkar in the broader discourse on religious conversion and show that the Mahar conversion had a socio-political necessity and Gandhi’s views and appeal for eradication of untouchability did not have a practical value given the socio-religious context in India.
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Pub Date : 2023-10-22DOI: 10.1177/2455328x231198652
Nirmal Singh
The present study is an analysis of Dalits’ shifting support base among major political parties in Punjab, namely Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and specifically Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2022 Punjab Assembly election. With an established presence in the State, the AAP could present itself as a new alternative. The AAP defeated all the traditional/mainstream political parties in the recent Assembly election to put an end to the deeply entrenched family (SAD-Badal) and dynastic rule (Congress). The present research paper is an effort to find out the causes behind the shifting Dalit support base. The AAP’s success was a clear message from the people of Punjab that they were fed up with the power circle of traditional parties that were in agreement with each other to rule the State by turns. Paper argues that Dalits are likely to vote for the parties that have a chance to come to power as in 2022 Punjab Assembly Election, Dalit support base has widely shifted to AAP. The study was qualitative and conducted in the Doaba region of Punjab. It is an analysis of the interactions with 300 respondents of the targeted SCs population and 30 leaders from the major political parties in Punjab.
本研究分析了达利特在旁遮普省主要政党中的支持基础转移，即国大党、Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)、印度人民党(BJP)、社会主义社会党(BSP)，特别是2022年旁遮普省议会选举中的Aam Aadmi党(AAP)。由于在该州已经有了一定的影响力，平民党可能会成为一个新的选择。在最近的议会选举中，平民党击败了所有传统/主流政党，结束了根深蒂固的家族统治(sadal - badal)和王朝统治(国大党)。本研究论文旨在找出达利特支持基础转移背后的原因。平民党的成功是旁遮普人民发出的一个明确信息，即他们受够了传统政党的权力圈，这些政党彼此达成协议轮流统治该邦。Paper认为，达利特可能会投票给有机会上台的政党，因为在2022年旁遮普邦议会选举中，达利特的支持基础已广泛转移到平民党。该研究是定性的，并在旁遮普邦的Doaba地区进行。该报告分析了与旁遮普邦主要政党的30名领导人和300名被调查对象的互动。
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Pub Date : 2023-10-20DOI: 10.1177/2455328x231187713
None Varusakkani K.
Pandit C. Iyothee Thass, better known as Iyothee Thass Pandithar (1845–1914), was a social thinker who lived in Tamil Nadu and has now become a part of the social academic discourse of contemporary times. He is well-read in various disciplines like sociology, politics, religion, culture, medicine and journalism. His way of thinking is known as Iyotheethasariyam. Instead of the traditional Vedic history that focused on Brahmins and Hinduism, he created an alternative history named ‘Indra Desa Sarithiram’ by focusing on Buddhism and the oppressed people, which is considered the first subaltern history written in Tamil from the perspective of the oppressed. The article discusses the inadequacies of traditional histories and the need for alternative histories. Furthermore, it enquires about the importance of oral data in reconstructing the histories of the oppressed and neglected people by the ruling class, the methods of writing alternative histories, and the historiographical strategies that help the oppressed communities to reconstruct their histories through the thoughts of Iyothee Thass.
潘迪特·c·Iyothee Thass，更广为人知的名字是Iyothee Thass Pandithar(1845-1914)，是一位生活在泰米尔纳德邦的社会思想家，现在已经成为当代社会学术话语的一部分。他在社会学、政治学、宗教、文化、医学和新闻学等各个学科都有广泛的涉猎。他的思维方式被称为Iyotheethasariyam。与传统的以婆罗门和印度教为中心的吠陀历史不同，他创造了以佛教和受压迫者为中心的另类历史“Indra Desa Sarithiram”，这被认为是从被压迫者的角度用泰米尔语写的第一部次等人的历史。本文讨论了传统历史的不足和对另类历史的需求。此外，本文还探讨了口述资料在重建被统治阶级压迫和被忽视的人群的历史中的重要性、撰写另类历史的方法，以及通过伊约塞·塔斯的思想帮助被压迫群体重建其历史的史学策略。
{"title":"Iyotheethasariyam—A Historiography of the Marginalized People","authors":"None Varusakkani K.","doi":"10.1177/2455328x231187713","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2455328x231187713","url":null,"abstract":"Pandit C. Iyothee Thass, better known as Iyothee Thass Pandithar (1845–1914), was a social thinker who lived in Tamil Nadu and has now become a part of the social academic discourse of contemporary times. He is well-read in various disciplines like sociology, politics, religion, culture, medicine and journalism. His way of thinking is known as Iyotheethasariyam. Instead of the traditional Vedic history that focused on Brahmins and Hinduism, he created an alternative history named ‘Indra Desa Sarithiram’ by focusing on Buddhism and the oppressed people, which is considered the first subaltern history written in Tamil from the perspective of the oppressed. The article discusses the inadequacies of traditional histories and the need for alternative histories. Furthermore, it enquires about the importance of oral data in reconstructing the histories of the oppressed and neglected people by the ruling class, the methods of writing alternative histories, and the historiographical strategies that help the oppressed communities to reconstruct their histories through the thoughts of Iyothee Thass.","PeriodicalId":53196,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Voice of Dalit","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135618229","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}
Pub Date : 2023-10-11DOI: 10.1177/2455328x231198739
Farah Qayoom
Caste as a system of stratification plays an important role in Kashmiri society. Though many believe that there is no caste system, the reality is that caste is a working institution affecting many aspects of life in Kashmir. However, endogamy is the principal factor of this caste segregation in Kashmiri society, yet some people choose to marry outside their castes. In order to understand the essential nature of this caste system, the current study uses a phenomenological approach to construct a description of the lived experiences of inter-caste couples. Forty participants (20 couples) from five districts of Kashmir Valley were interviewed from December 2021 to December 2022. The study reported that inter-caste couples face many challenges during pre-and post-marriage. Such couples are stigmatized in society, and sometimes the stigma is passed on to their children as well. The study argues that there is a need for resilient targeted efforts to encourage inter-caste marriages so that the noose of the caste system can be loosened.
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Pub Date : 2023-10-07DOI: 10.1177/2455328x231185238
Ruchi Awasthi
The article explores approaches adopted by scavengers to protect themselves from stigma and describes how these approaches are temporal and incomplete. It also addresses the perception of scavenger’s son education and social status for their children’s social mobility. Social mobility has been described among scavengers and its relationship with changes that are taking place among the scavengers of Lucknow. A detailed discussion of ‘social mobility’ is carried out in this document supported by empirical data. At the applied level, the present study may help to identify the aspirations and expectations of the scavengers. In other words, it has been provided as an indicator of measuring the desires and efforts of the scavengers for their status in the caste or the class structure or both. In this article, an effort was made at two levels to know the nature of the status identification of the respondents. At one level, they were asked about their interaction with the non-scavenging community of other Scheduled Castes and their interaction pattern with the upper caste. In further analysis, first, this article has discussed occupation followed by mobility, its various forms and its significance in a scavenger’s life and finally focuses on social mobility in the scavengers’ context.
{"title":"Excruciating Journey of Sanitation Workers: Evidence of Mobility and Change from Field","authors":"Ruchi Awasthi","doi":"10.1177/2455328x231185238","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2455328x231185238","url":null,"abstract":"The article explores approaches adopted by scavengers to protect themselves from stigma and describes how these approaches are temporal and incomplete. It also addresses the perception of scavenger’s son education and social status for their children’s social mobility. Social mobility has been described among scavengers and its relationship with changes that are taking place among the scavengers of Lucknow. A detailed discussion of ‘social mobility’ is carried out in this document supported by empirical data. At the applied level, the present study may help to identify the aspirations and expectations of the scavengers. In other words, it has been provided as an indicator of measuring the desires and efforts of the scavengers for their status in the caste or the class structure or both. In this article, an effort was made at two levels to know the nature of the status identification of the respondents. At one level, they were asked about their interaction with the non-scavenging community of other Scheduled Castes and their interaction pattern with the upper caste. In further analysis, first, this article has discussed occupation followed by mobility, its various forms and its significance in a scavenger’s life and finally focuses on social mobility in the scavengers’ context.","PeriodicalId":53196,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Voice of Dalit","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135254935","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}
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