In solidarity with the Dalit scholar who has spent decades unflinchingly calling out the anti-caste prejudices of the society and the system.
His+ journalist Gautam Navlakha's impending arrest lays bare the govt's plan to weaponize this pandemic against those it considers foes.
As even conservative states across the world release incarcerated persons, the state's insistence on arresting dissenting voices+ summoning them on cross-city travel (incl. @svaradarajan) is directly jeopardizing their safety & intentionally subjecting them to harm.
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The Dalit child who was murdered by his caste superior teacher in Rajasthan wasn't killed just for drinking water, he was killed for polluting the water that belonged to the 'upper' caste teacher with his thirst.
Growing up Dalit anywhere isn't easy, but in Rajasthan it can be especially toxic.
The lethal combination of archaic traditions that are almost always anti-women and pro-heirarchy, and the desperate need to preserve power through caste order creates an unbearable state for Dalits to exist.
Standing in complete solidarity with Thenmozhi Soundarajan for speaking against the bigotry at Google in canceling her talk.
Since the Cisco lawsuit in 2020, caste in US has become a visible human rights issue, now impossible to ignore in tech, academia & beyond. 1/n @dalitdiva
More than 90% of Indian Americans are upper caste.
For decades they have silenced any conversations on caste, while simultaneously claiming a model minority status.
Caste is now finally in the spotlight, thanks to the unending efforts of Dalits/ Ambedkarite orgs in the US. 2/n
Since 2020, there's a marked increase in the awareness, conversation & movement around caste.
From Cal State's inclusion of caste in diversity list to Dr. Ambedkar's Jayanti acknowledged in several states, the efforts to erase caste or gaslight Dalits are no longer working. n/3
- Rajasthan,among the worst on gender & caste disc., didn’t offer any space for Bhangis to breathe, let alone reclaim our identities or Ambedkar.
- I grew up hiding my caste & feeling shame about it — a choice some can afford to sneer at but one that was crucial for our survival
- The privilege that some Dalit communities had in terms of being able to access AND embrace Ambedkar’s ideas/Kanshiram’s ideals + growing up in activism was clearly not available to all of us— among the main reasons why my work has resonated with 1000s of Dalit folks globally
I couldn’t attend the @sahityaakademi award ceremony for Coming Out as Dalit winning the Yuva Puruskar in English.
But to my delight, incredible Manasa Yendluri, a Dalit woman writer who also won the award for her short story collection in Telegu, agreed to read my speech. 1/4
While I’m obviously disappointed to not be able to attend in person and collect the award for possibly the first Dalit writing in English handed out by Akademi, I’m extremely honored and proud that another Dalit woman is able to convey my ideas.
2/4
I dedicate this award to Rohith Vemula, without whose words I would never have the courage to accept who I am, my mother who shaped me into this person I am today, and all you bright, brilliant, talented Dalit folks who recognize your own stories in my writing.
3/4
Kudos to Swati Sawant, the fierce Dalit immigrant lawyer, who organized legal teams & highlighted this case.
Caste discrimination and exploitation of labor are inherently linked
And a poor understanding of caste in the US leaves more Dalit workers vulnerbale to exploitation.
“They were forbidden to talk to visitors...their pay was docked for minor violations, such as being seen without a helmet”
“They were asked to sign several documents,often in English, & instructed to tell US embassy staffers that they were skilled carvers or decorative painters”
As someone who spent decades tormented by this word, a Savarna actress casually describing being ‘ugly’/‘unclean’/‘unpresentable’ by calling it Bhangi is not surprising.
Neither is the reaction of those who don’t seem to find any issue with using the name of a caste as a slur.
It’s a reflection of the deep tentacles of the caste system that so endemically normalizes a caste being seen as lower that it is turned into a synonym for dirty.
It shows the complete acceptance of the idea that Bhangis, one of the lowest paid people are inherently unclean.
It is this fully established understanding that allows the actress @moonstar4u to mean exactly what she did when she said Bhangi
to be understood in the exact way she intended
and then turn around to say that it was ‘misinterpreted’.