Tearful farewell to slain Maoist leader
Demand to Halt Operation Kagar Boath MLA Anil Jadhav stated that Operation Kagar was being conducted under the guise of fake encounters to eliminate Bahujan revolutionaries. He paid his respects to Adellu's body and assured his family of his support. Representatives from revolutionary writers' associations, civil rights organizations, and the Maoist relatives' committee demanded an end to Operation Kagar and called for peace talks.
During the final procession, Arunodaya artists sang revolutionary songs accompanied by drum beats. The three-hour-long funeral march saw around 3,000 attendees.
Among those present were former SIKASA CEO Sudhakar alias Ushanna, civil rights leaders Gaddam Lakshman and Narayana Kumaraswamy, Tudum Debba leaders Ganesh and Renuka, former Maoist movement leaders Murali, Ajay, Ashok, Jyoti, Jaya, Srikanth, VIRASAM leader Pani, CPI leader Prabhakar Reddy, and Maoist relatives' committee leaders Padmakumari and Shantakka.
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Scroll.in
28 minutes ago
- Scroll.in
Misleading to frame caste census as social justice vs social harmony: MP Manoj Kumar Jha's new book
The controversy over the caste census is not just partisan politicking. It reflects a deeper ideological divide in India about how we should pursue social justice. On one side are the proponents of naming and targeting social inequalities. This camp includes Ambedkarite Dalit activists, OBC and Bahujan leaders, leftists and many progressive academics. They argue that caste is a lived reality that must be confronted, not ignored. Counting caste, in their view, simply acknowledges this reality in order to change it. Many feel that mobilising around caste grievances can be a necessary jolt to an indifferent society. Indeed, leaders from Kanshi Ram to Lalu Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav have persistently demanded a caste census as a logical extension of India's commitment to affirmative action. For them, 'standing up and being counted' is an empowering act. It is a way for marginalised communities to claim their share of representation and resources. Rahul Gandhi's recent endorsement of the caste census is only a re-articulation of a long-standing demand. On the other side, however, are sceptics who worry that caste-based politics entrenches division and can hinder the broader goal of a casteless society. Interestingly, this camp spans the spectrum from conservative cultural nationalists to some liberal commentators. While the RSS historically opposed the Mandal-style emphasis on caste categories, arguing it would be highly detrimental to India's social fabric, some eminent sociologists like MN Srinivas, too, warned that an official obsession with caste was reminiscent of colonial 'divide and rule' strategies. Even liberal critics like Pratap Bhanu Mehta – who fully acknowledge the persisting injustices of caste – have expressed unease at how the public discourse on caste is framed. Mehta cautions that an 'invocation of caste' can become a substitute for deeper thinking and structural reform, merely solidifying identities without addressing the root causes of inequality. These critics ask: in a society already polarised along multiple lines, can a big caste census ignite endless wrangling among groups for bigger slices of the pie, to the detriment of meritocracy and national unity? This critique cannot be dismissed outright. India's experience since Mandal has indeed seen both empowerment and backlash. Quotas alone are not enough for comprehensive social justice. They need to be accompanied by investments in education, health and anti-discrimination enforcement. However, far from negating the need for a caste census, these nuances strengthen the case for granular data. Naming a problem is not the same as solving it, but without naming it, one cannot even begin to solve it. The experience of the past decades suggests that ignoring caste has not made it disappear. As one analyst put it, caste is 'stronger than ever' in social practice precisely because groups find strength in numbers when competing for limited opportunities. Policies that are officially 'caste-blind' can in fact end up caste-biased – often reflecting the biases of those who hold power, since no corrective data exists to challenge the status quo. From university faculties to corporate boardrooms and the higher echelons of government, upper castes remain heavily overrepresented. This fact stays out of sight in the absence of statistics. A caste census would lay bare such disparities. It could tell us, for example, what proportion of Indian Administrative Service officers or judges come from each community, or which OBC sub-castes have benefited the most from existing quotas and which remain almost invisible. Such transparency can be uncomfortable, which is exactly why it is necessary. It forces a conversation on whether our institutions truly look like 'we, the people' or not. Of course, data by itself won't change power structures. But it can change the terms of debate. As Ambedkar often emphasised, political democracy is unsustainable without social democracy. One might add that social democracy, in turn, requires a clear recognition of social realities. Ambedkar and other framers of the Constitution provided the tools (like Article 340, which enabled commissions to explore the condition of Backward Classes), expecting that the republic would honestly assess who needs support and representation. Decades of avoiding a caste census meant that India was flying partially blind, relying on colonial-era data and sporadic surveys to guide major policies. The Modi government's new acceptance of a caste census, whatever its immediate motivations, offers a chance to finally illuminate the full spectrum of Indian society with 21st-century data. In the end, one might say that the first step to treating a wound is to look at it directly. India's caste wounds have long been glossed over by lofty rhetoric of unity that often serves as an excuse for inaction. Conducting a caste census is a way of naming our inequalities. It is a necessary exercise in a democracy that aspires to genuine equality. It does not erase those inequalities by itself. But it equips the public and policymakers with facts to hold the system accountable. When the numbers come, they may discomfort the privileged and embolden the marginalised. That is not a crisis to be feared, but a reality to be managed with wisdom and compassion. The battle ahead will be over what is done with the data. Will it lead to well-crafted policies—better-targeted education scholarships, health programmes and extension of opportunities to groups historically left out? Will it prompt a re-examination of the 50% cap on reservations, now that we know that some states have a 60–70 per cent backward majority? Or will it descend to a scramble of competitive populism, with every caste group vying for a larger slice of a stagnant pie? The answer will depend on the wisdom of our political leadership and the vigilance of civil society. What is certain is that not having the information was no solution at all. As India undertakes this enumeration, it might recall the words of Dr Ambedkar in the Constituent Assembly: 'On the 26th of January 1950, we are going to enter into a life of contradictions.' He warned that we would have equality in law but not in social and economic life – and that such contradictions could not last indefinitely. More than 75 years later, those contradictions persist, caste being one of the starkest. Counting caste is not about entrenching those divisions; it is about charting a course to transcend them. In an era when data is power, the power of numbers can democratize power itself – making visible the invisible, and forcing the nation to confront the truths that decades of silence could not erase. The caste census may be belated, but it could become a milestone in India's unfinished project of social justice. If properly followed through, it will be a step towards the day when 'those left behind' are not left behind any more.
New Indian Express
11 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Chhattisgarh police officer faces social boycott over marriage, HC reprimands community
RAIPUR: A distressed Chhattisgarh Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mekhlendra Pratap Singh facing social boycott from his own community for marrying a woman of his choice, lodged an FIR in his home town Bilaspur claiming that his marriage was performed as per the social tradition. Singh, 35, who hailed from 'Satgarh Tanwar' community (Scheduled Tribe), is posted in Kanker district where he is engaged in the ongoing anti-Maoist operations. He claimed his wife too is from the same tribal caste. The community leaders however got further antagonised after the case was registered against them and approached the high court filing a petition that the FIR was lodged on baseless ground. They also alleged before the court of being harassed by the police with repeated notices served to them. 'Chhattisgarh high court has rebuked the community leaders warning them not to act like a Khap panchayat and dismissed their petition. But the community leaders remain adamant to continue their diktat and my entire family is socially ostracised. They are now threatening us to impose heavy punitive fine', the DSP told TNIE while sharing his mental agony.
Hindustan Times
14 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Academic who foregrounded Dalit issues in Indian sociology
The representation of Dalit, Bahujan, and Adivasi scholars in India's premier academic institutions and mainstream social science discourse remains limited, with these spaces often dominated by savarna caste scholars. Among the few who broke through these barriers, was professor Nandu Ram, whose passing at the age of 78 marks the loss of a pioneering sociologist; his work reshaped Indian sociology by centering caste, Dalit experiences, and Ambedkarite thought. Even after independence, the majority of Dalits lived under dire social and economic conditions. However, some were undoubtedly inspired by the extraordinary legacy of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, and thus aspired to be embraced by the new India as scholars, educators, and intellectuals. (ANI Photo) Even after Independence, the majority of Dalits lived under dire social and economic conditions, with a life in academics seeming almost inconceivable to many. However, a few were undoubtedly inspired by the extraordinary legacy of Babasaheb Ambedkar, and thus aspired to be embraced by the new India as scholars, educators, and intellectuals. Nandu Ram's early life in a small village in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, exemplifies such ambition. Born into a poverty-stricken family, even primary education seemed an unattainable prospect, let alone the possibility of becoming a professor at the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Nandu Ram's academic journey was remarkable. He excelled as the top student in his district during high school, pursued higher education at Queen's College, Varanasi, and earned his Master's degree from Banaras Hindu University. In 1976, he completed his PhD in sociology at IIT Kanpur, with a thesis titled Social Mobility and Status Identification among Scheduled Castes: A Study of Scheduled Castes Government Employees in Kanpur City, which laid the foundation for his lifelong exploration of India's caste dynamics, social exclusion, and mobility. A pivotal moment in his career came in 1978 when he joined JNU's Centre for the Study of Social Systems (CSSS) as its first Scheduled Caste faculty member. At the time, JNU was recognised as a leading institution for social science research, dedicated to the values of modern nation-building. However, the dominant sociological discourse of the 1980s focused primarily on religious traditions, social change, and political development, lacking nuanced inquiries from the perspectives of subaltern castes, particularly Dalits. Nandu Ram introduced a transformative shift in this landscape. Among the courses that he taught at CSSS, his students remember him for his insightful and critical enquiry in courses like Sociology of Social Stratification in India and Sociology of Urban Life in India. His method was impactful in revealing how caste and class discrimination persist in modern urban settings, while examining how new class formations amongst the subaltern social groups are taking place. He foregrounded the subject of social exclusion by his rigorous scholarship and compelled JNU to confront these ideas in academic discourses. He dedicated his career to embedding caste and Dalit subjectivity within mainstream sociology. His scholarship illuminated the lived realities of marginalised communities, challenging the discipline's savarna-centric frameworks. His seminal works, including The Mobile Scheduled Castes: Rise of a New Middle Class (1988), Beyond Ambedkar: Essays on Dalits in India (1995), and the five-volume Encyclopaedia of Scheduled Castes in India (2007–2011), offered fresh analytical lenses for examining social mobility, caste discrimination, and Dalit political thought. His later edited volumes, Ambedkar, Dalits and Buddhism (2008) and Dalits in Contemporary India (2008), engaged leading scholars to explore the evolving socio-economic conditions of marginalised groups. With over three dozen widely cited research articles, Ram's work continues to influence global academic discourse. Beyond his scholarship, Ram was a dedicated institution builder. As chairperson of CSSS and later dean of JNU's School of Social Sciences, he championed democratic and secular administration, often inviting academic discussion on the themes of social justice . As a founding professor of JNU's Ambedkar Chair, he mainstreamed Ambedkar's philosophy through national conferences and memorial lectures. His tenure as director general of the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar National Institute of Social Sciences in Madhya Pradesh further advanced his mission to institutionalise Ambedkarite thought. His presence helped the institutions to ponder about social inclusivity and to act responsibly towards the concerns and issues of the subaltern social classes. In 2017, the Indian Sociological Society honoured Nandu Ram with a Lifetime Achievement Award. This was to recognise his transformative contributions that challenged systemic inequities and enriched social science discourse, while making powerful claims for social justice. The contemporary focus on Ambedkar, caste and Dalit issues in Indian sociology owes much to his foundational efforts. His inspiring academic legacy will surely motivate scholars and social activists to continue the pursuit for an equitable and inclusive academic landscape. Harish S Wankhede is assistant professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University. The views expressed are personal
