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On the anniversary of its publication, Omprakash Kashyap treats the text ‘Gulamgiri’ as the culmination of Jotirao Phule’s lifelong mission to educate the Shudras-Atishudras and outlines its content

‘Yes, we declare that the books, from the Vedas, to the Smritis, the Puranas, which propagate the caste system are false and against humanity. Yes, we are for equality; we declare that all humans, all castes are equal’ – will Brahmins collectively say this? Asks Nagesh Chaudhary

Just as imaginary tales were woven to prove that Kabir and Raidas were Brahmins, Dr Hiralal Shukla used a myth to show that Guru Ghasidas had descended from a Brahmin family, writes Kanwal Bharti  

The word “Asur” has been used more than a hundred times in the Rigveda, 90 of them in a positive sense. “Asu” means soul or vitality and “ar” means possessor. Thus Asur is the possessor of vitality or life. No wonder, initially, the word was used for all gods, including for Indra and Mitra

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

Subhash Chandra, alias Mudrarakshas (21 June 1933 – 12 June 2016), extensively portrayed the society and culture of India’s deprived sections in his works, was a committed warrior against assaults on these sections and was conscious of his personal social identity. In some of his books, he described himself as an OBC writer. Shambhu Gupt takes a fresh look at Mudrarakshas’ Dharmagranthon Ka Punarpath

Around 1990, the concept of Dalit literature was transplanted in Hindi from the “fertile” Marathi. The concept of OBC literature, which has become a talking point now, also has its origins in Marathi. Here, we are reproducing the resolution that was passed at the 2008 OBC Sahitya Sammelan in Nasik

Politics in the name of religion is aimed at maintaining cruel, exploitative social relations and is opposed to liberty, equality and fraternity. Shankar provides the philosophical ground for this brand of politics, writes Ram Puniyani

The ten-headed Ravana is a symbol for the ten (dus) Mauryan Buddhist emperors and “hara” stands for “haara” (defeated), hence Dussehra. That is why the allegory of Ram (Pushyamitra Shunga) slaying the ten-headed Ravana was created