Society & Culture
80 years after Independence, we, the manual scavengers, are still fighting for our freedom
We, the Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA), have launched a yearlong campaign to free India from the shameful practice of manual scavenging. There is a need for all who believe in the Constitution to come together...
Why are men afraid of women’s freedom?
Men are not necessarily afraid of women’s freedom itself. Sometimes we are afraid of what women’s freedom asks us to reconsider about ourselves. It asks us to reconsider authority, masculinity, family roles, sexuality, honour and...
Unmistakably Dalitbahujan character of the Ramdev Pir Jatra
Held in the month of Bhadon, the ‘jatra’ (pilgrimage) is very different from the Kanwar Yatra. The pilgrims are disciplined – they don’t provoke others in the name of religion or caste. They rest wherever...
‘Dhamaal 4’ and the problem with laughing at the margins
Indian comedy is capable of laughter-filled entertainment that does not depend, like in ‘Dhamaal 4’, on body-shaming, misogyny or the caricaturing of labouring and indigenous communities. The challenge is not to become less funny, but...
Who owns a woman’s story? Rumours, reputation and resistance in ‘Maa Behen’
Maa Behen (Mother-Sister) are everyday North Indian words that serve a double function – the most sacred of...
When Jotirao Phule came to Dayanand Saraswati’s rescue
Inviting Dayanand to Pune and helping him expand his footprint in Maharashtra was a pragmatic move on the...
Vijay Varma plays his part in Nagraj Manjule’s realistic portrait of 1960s-70s Bombay
‘Matka King’ is a confident, character-first swing by a director in the process of expanding his range. It...
Bastar’s aspirational Adivasi schoolchildren have few viable futures
This contradiction lies beneath the language of ‘mainstreaming’. State institutions encourage young people to become disciplined, aspirational, and...
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