Sankul Profile picture
5 Jan, 16 tweets, 5 min read
Bollywood is just a bubble of privileged, tone-deaf hypocrites. You think criticising Modi is activism? You can't even call out a director accused of #metoo. What happened to your political correctness and feminism? Is it only limited to gaslighting Dalits? Shows your hypocrisy
Secondly, if you read history, you will find that Dalits would have a broom attached to their backs by UC rulers so that the land would not be polluted. By portraying a Dalit politician holding a broom, you are glorifying the stereotype of casteist jobs which our ancestors fought
Thirdly, using a casteist slur like untouchable is not clever wordplay by any means. It is just dehumanizing and constitutionally banned. We were outcasts who were not allowed to even touch the same places as UCs. If you don't know our history, don't misuse it. Unlearn casteism
Moreover, the director of the movie is Subhash Kapoor, a man accused of sexual assault. It baffles me how all of Bollywood has shown their casteism in targeting Dalits for criticising the misleading portrayal of themselves, but no one has pointed a finger at the sexual molestor!
Bollywood is just a bubble of privileged, tone-deaf hypocrites. You think criticising Modi is activism? You can't even call out a director accused of #MeToo . What happened to your political correctness and feminism? Is it only limited to gaslighting Dalits? Shows your hypocrisy
Speaking of the caste of the cast, the movie has a Chadha, Shukla, Oberoi, Kapoor, Kumar, etc. All UCs. A movie about a Dalit surely needs to have some Dalit representation, if any. There are 0 Dalits in Bollywood. If you are so hell bent on being our saviours, introspect on this
Why do Bahujans who are >70% of the Indian population find no representation in any sector of Bollywood? Or any other field for that matter. Film, cricket, politics, law, academia, sport, music, art, media, etc. Why are all these fields dominated by UCs? Are we any less talented?
On the left are Dalit movies made by Dalit directors. On the right are Dalit movies made by UC directors. Left movies are a symbol of Dalit assertion and overcoming oppression. Right movies are glorifying oppression and showing UCs as our saviours. Do I have to explain this more?
The UC saviour complex in movies about Dalits is widespread. In Article 15, the hero was a Brahmin who doesn't know his caste, while the incompetent policeman was a Dalit. In fact, the Dalit leader in the film was killed at the end for shock value. So was this film for us or you?
Speaking of Article 15, there was not a single Dalit actor in that film either. The cast was Khurranna, Gupta, Talwar, Chakraborty, Panday, Mishra, etc. But there was one Dalit featured in the film. The manual scavenger who was made to clean the gutter for shock value once again
And this is not a new problem. In Lagaan, the character of the disabled and handicapped Dalit was named Kachra. Kachra! Seriously? You couldn't find a better name for him than literal trash? I am a Dalit, no one for the last dozen generations in my family was ever called Kachra
When I was in school, kids would call each other Kachra as an insult because of their skin colour. Because that's the impact cinema has on common people. I'm not asking you to make every movie about social justice, but please stop making us disabled, naked, sweepers, Kachras
And the misrepresentation is not limited to Dalits. Even Muslims are shown with a long beard, skull cap, working in a mechanic shop usually building b0mbs as terr0rists. This is why the country is increasingly becoming Islamophobic. You are all responsible for what is happening
I don't expect a lot from Bollywood but how could you people be so blinded by your privilege that you do not see the problem in any of this? Showing Dalits as beggars, Muslims are terr0rists, etc? You don't need to be "woke" to find this problematic, you just need to have a soul
Here's an idea, make a movie about Martin Luther King, but cast a white actor in his role. In fact, make sure the entire cast is white. Then show MLK working as a cotton picker in the movie poster and use racial slurs like the n-word. Do I need to go on or do you see the problem?
All we Dalits ask for is proper representation. The oppression of our ancestors is not a storyline you can make your profits off. The least you can do is have a discussion with us and correct your mistakes. It's the least you can do after thousands of years of oppressing us n/n

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More from @sankul333

2 Oct 20
Gandhi exposed as a racist, casteist, misogynist, etc: a thread
Gandhi believed in the Aryan race supremacy, same as Hitler. He did not fight racism when he was in South Africa. The truth is, he only fought for Indians to be given the same rights as whites, but strongly believed Indians to be better than Africans, whom he considered inferior.
Remember the story of Gandhi being thrown out of a train because he was against racism? Actually, he wanted access to the whites class because he did not want to travel with blacks. In South Africa, he only fought for Indians to given the same rights as whites, not against racism
Read 15 tweets
2 Oct 20
List of protests happening around the country today on 2nd October:

Kolkata: Garden Reach, 7 PM. Organiser: Garde Peace Movement

Mumbai: Marol Naka at 5 PM. Organiser: CPI(M)

Dehradun: Gandhi Park, 6 PM. No info about Organiser(NIAO)

Bikaner: Junagar Fort at 7 PM (NIAO)
Bhopal at Janki Circle/New Market Parking Lot at 5 PM. (NIAO)

Mumbai at IIT Powai Main Gate at 4:30 PM. Organiser: AIDWA, DYFI

Delhi at Jantar Mantar at 12 PM. Organiser: NFIW, AIMSS

Jaipur at Gandhi circle at 4:30 PM. (NIAO)

Lucknow at KD Stadium at 12 PM. (NIAO)
Dehradun at Gandhi Park at 6 PM. (NIAO)

Jaipur at statue circle at 4:30 PM. (NIAO)

Allahabad at Balsan Chauraha at 11 AM. (NIAO)

Chembur at Dr Ambedkar Udyan at 5:30 PM. Organised by Dalit groups.

NIAO stands for No info about organisers

Verify the organisers when you reach
Read 4 tweets
30 Sep 20
TW

This was the placard I held at the protest today. A woman stops her vehicle in the middle of the road and asks me why I am mentioning the Dalit caste of the victim. I say the victim was r*ped because she was a Dalit, hence it is important to point out the victim's caste 1/n Image
She then argues that a woman was r*ped, that is all there is to mention. She then says why am I saying #DalitLivesMatter when women of all castes are the victims. I try explaining how caste plays a role in the dehumanization of Dalit women, just like their gender does too 2/n
A gender activist joins the conversation and says she herself is a Brahmin yet stands for Dalit women because they are not only the victims of patriarchy but of the caste system as well. She further explains how this particular crime was committed by UC Thakurs on a Dalit 3/n
Read 5 tweets
25 Sep 20
The Farmers Ordinance/bill and the Farmers' Bharat Bandh protest explained : a thread
The 3 ordinances passed are aimed at privatising the agricultural sector, by limiting the boundaries of farmers & stopping free trading. This allows corporate buyers & MNCs to dictate which crops the farmers grow & what price they sell it for, leading to liberalisation of farming
Both Ambani & Adani have invested heavily in the agri & food sector. Ambani's wealth has doubled since the lockdown, whereas farmers have died by suicide & hunger because of the recession. Also, agriculture & markets are State subjects, so the Center can't make laws for farmers
Read 7 tweets
24 Sep 20
The Poona Pact explained : a thread
On September 24, 1932, the Poona Pact was signed between Gandhi, who represented the upper-caste Hindu leaders and Dr Ambedkar, who represented the Dalits, in Yerawada Jail. This pact put an end to separate electorates for Dalits which was the biggest mistake of Babasaheb's life
Separate electorates meant that seats were reserved for minorities, in which only those minorities would vote to elect their own representatives. In 1909, the separate electorates were first introduced for Muslims & extended to Sikhs, Christians, Anglo-Indians & Europeans in 1919
Read 17 tweets
23 Sep 20
What some people fail to understand is how much of an impact Dr Ambedkar had on our lives and how he basically single-handedly uplifted us from being treated worse than animals to giving us equal rights as human beings. That's something no book or thesis of his can ever teach you
I condemn anyone who threatens or harasses people in the name of Ambedkar. Those people aren't his true followers. But at the same time, people are literally k¡||ed for having Ambedkar's ringtone, protesting against the desecration of his statues, vandalisation of his home, etc
Yes Ambedkar was against hero worshipping, but when you are dehumanized for thousands of years, it is natural to be grateful to your saviour. People need to understand Babasaheb was responsible for ending our oppression, and there are our sentiments involved when it comes to him.
Read 4 tweets

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