Citizens for Justice and Peace
To Be or Not to Be The Identity Crisis of the Non-Savarna Indian
16-Oct-2019
While for the Savarna Indian, to be without identity is an assertion of equality, for the vast numbers of Non-Savarnas, it is in the head-count that the quantum of caste privilege starkly stands out. The Good Since its inception, on paper at least, India’s Constitutional foundations declare its push to become a casteless society. The…
Election Model Code of Conduct: How to Spot and Report Violations Community Resource
04-Apr-2019
For candidates, election season is often a battle for political survival and sometimes they end up crossing ethical and legal lines. Therefore, the Election Commission of India came up with a Model Code of Conduct to monitor and regulate the behaviour of candidates and parties during elections. This was done to ensure that elections take…
The Elephant in the Room Caste in Law Schools
20-Dec-2017
This article, published in Sabrang India is being reproduced here today, the day Justice Karnan has been released after serving a six month jail term in Kolkata. The Supreme Court first delivered the judgement dishing our serious contempt of court charges against a fellow judge in May 2017. This judgement may be read here. Before that,…
‘Lower’ Castes Original Producers of Knowledge, ‘Upper’ Castes Simply Accumulated Wealth: Kancha Ilaiah
01-Nov-2017
Author, political theorist and Dalit rights activist Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd was recently placed under house arrest in Hyderabad and prevented from attending a rally in Vijaywada. The scholar who is also Director for the Center for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy at the Maulana Azad National Urdu University was receiving death threats…
Hidden Apartheid
01-Apr-2001
By Teesta Setalvad The continuance of manual scavenging, untouchability and other obnoxious practices do not seem to bother the Indian establishment, the intelligentsia included. What does disturb them deeply is the campaign of Dalits to have the indignities of caste recognised internationally as a distinct form of racism. From August 31–September 4, when the World Conference…
Face to Face with Fascism
01-Apr-2000
By Teesta Setalvad Forced ethnic segregation, calculated violence and the blatant misuse of government machinery throttles democracy in Gujarat Muslims and Dalits, masjids and the kachrapeti (the garbage dump), are the symbols of the clear communal and casteist segregation of space in urban Gujarat, be it in Ahmedabad, Mehsana, Surat, Rajkot, or elsewhere. The Muslimvaas…