The president is elected by ballot, hence cross-voting has been rampant in the past. Take the last (2012) election, when a large number of NDA representatives voted for the Congress candidate Pranab Mukherjee

It’s possible that he now believes that 2019 is also going to be Modi’s year. Hence, it would make sense for him to remain Bihar chief minister. But he can’t depend on Lalu Prasad to secure his future at the helm, so he may have just pounced on this opportunity – this presidential election – to initiate a shift

In and through their differences, and their undeniable similarities, Ambedkar and Periyar point to the Dalit and Shudra communities’ magnificent reckoning with modernity, which continues to inspire those drawn to their worldviews, particularly those who have been wounded by the caste order

Birsa Munda’s Ulgulan Movement was sparked by the demand for land rights. The British put an end to the movement by introducing the CNT Act. The Act secured the land cultivated by the Adivasis against non-agricultural use while granting them limited transfer rights

It can be no mere coincidence that the BJP’s presidential candidate is a Dalit from Uttar Pradesh given the anger among Dalits nationwide after scores of Dalit houses were burnt down in Shabirpur

Despite the tall claims of Gujarat’s development, as many as 2,766 of the state’s farmers have committed suicide between 2003 and 2016. Like in Madhya Pradesh, farmers have intensified their agitation here. On 21 June, the World Yoga Day, they plan to hold ‘upvaas’ (fasting) yoga

As long as we are unable to stop caste atrocities against our own people, we can’t say that we are an independent nation and we can’t boast of nationalism and patriotism

Equipped with resources and knowledge, a section of the Dalits has, in the words of Ambedkar, become aware of its rights. If necessary, they are ready to wield weapons, too. Saharanpur is an example. Siddharth analyzes this change

If we had people like him at the helm of economic affairs, the 250,000-plus farmer suicides in the past 16 years may not have occurred, because he recognized that labour, capital and capital goods are all crucial to agricultural production in India

‘The BJP is in power both at the Centre and in Haryana. If the party really feels for the Dalits, its representatives should acquaint themselves with the plight of the victims of the hundreds of atrocities in Haryana, like the infamous ones in Dabda, Daulatpur and Gangwa’