Harappa! We are all your descendants
You shepherded the first civilization
You built the first city in the East
You domesticated the early animals
Goat, sheep, buffalo, dog and donkey.
You made the first pot, brick, bronze tools
You built the first tank, boat and building.
You were God’s Own Man.
Brahma came and burnt all your civilization
Indra damaged it beyond reparation
Agni and Vayu became their weapons of destruction
Harappa’s descendants came to Down South
Ayyappa is your incarnation in black dress
He rebuilt the Harappan civilization again in South
Now they want to destroy that Adivasi civilization
In God’s Own Country and turn it devilish.
(Dedicated to Bindu and Kanakadurga who fought for protecting the Ayyappa civilization and culture)

Prof. Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd Chairman T-MASS and political theorist.

The post The Untold Story of Harappa in the words of Kanch Ilaiah appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Delhi University had recommended removal of books of Dalit writer-activist Kancha Ilaiah from its political science syllabus over the “controversial content” in the books, while also suggesting discontinuation of the use of the word ‘Dalit’ in academic discourse. Kancha Ilaiah spoke in Delhi University on the same.

Courtesy: Newsclick.in

The post If You Remove my Book From Syllabus, Thousands Will Read it On Road: Kancha Ilaiah appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi wrote to Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd, expressing solidarity against the “majoritarian move” of the Delhi University’s standing committee’s recommendation to remove three of his books from the reading list of the post-graduate political science course.
 
In a letter addressed to Prof. Ilaiah dated October 26, which he received on Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi wrote that RSS’ fascism was apparent in the recommendation.
 
In the letter, Rahul Gandhi said, “The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) fascism is apparent in this move. Their aggressive move to propagate a unilateral view of Hinduism is deplorable. The fact is, that your books have been a part of the university’s syllabus for over a decade, without any questions being raised on their impact on the minds of the students. Now the RSS, which cannot boast of any intellectual or academic capital, is seeking to destroy academic integrity by silencing diverse voices. This is part of their larger design to keep the Shudras and Dalits disempowered.”

 
The Congress president hoped that the university’s academic council would reject the standing committee’s recommendation. He added that students should be able to read “divergent views and form their own opinions instead of following the line of the RSS.”
 
The titles recommended for removal are Why I am not a Hindu, Post-Hindu India and God as Political Philosopher: Buddha’s Challenge to Brahminism. Prof. Ilaiah expressed happiness over the support that he received by a national party.
 
DU’s Standing Committee on Academic Matters recommended this move on Oct 24 and said that they found the content insulting to Hinduism. The decision has to be approved by the Academic Council and a meeting will be held before November 15. It also recommended discontinuing the use of the word ‘Dalit’ in academic discourse.
 
Read Also:
DU plans removal of three books by Dalit writer Kancha Ilaiah
Members of DU’s Academic Council Protest Removal of Kancha Illaiah Shepherd’s Books

The post Rahul Gandhi writes to Kancha Ilaiah, expresses support appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
The entire text of the letter may be read here

Prof. Yogesh K. Tyagi
Vice-Chancellor
University of Delhi
Delhi – 110007
 
October 26, 2018
 
Sub: Reg. the Standing Committee on Academic Affairs’ decision to recommend removal of Sh. Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd’s works from the Political Science M.A. Syllabus and the decision to disallow use of the term ‘dalit’ in academic discussions, teaching and learning
 
Dear Prof. Tyagi,
We express our dismay and disappointment at the manner in which certain members of the Standing Committee on Academic Affairs have held academic exercises to ransom. On the basis of their ideological predilections, they have repeatedly resorted to censoring curricular content in the Humanities and Social Sciences. We have communicated our concerns to you on this matter previously, in relation to the Standing Committee’s arbitrary decision to recommend removal of Prof. Archana Prasad’s and Prof. Nandini Sundar’s work from the M.A. History syllabus. We are yet to receive any response from your office. We are compelled to write to you again, alerting you to the unnecessary and completely avoidable controversy that the Standing Committee has created around the use of the term ‘dalit’ and the works of the renowned Dalit thinker and political philosopher Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd that were included in the Draft M.A. syllabus of the Political Science Department.

Based on widely reported details in the media and public statements made by certain members of the Standing Committee, we have learned that Sh. Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd has been branded “anti-Hindu” and that the Standing Committee has decided to recommend removal of his works Why I am Not a Hindu (1996), Buffalo Nationalism (2004) andPost-Hindu India (2009) from the M.A. Political Science syllabus. We are also alarmed to learn that the Standing Committee has decided to replace the term ‘dalit’ with ‘bahujan’ in every possible academic reference within the context of teaching-learning in University of Delhi.   

If the above-mentioned details are true, we wish to place on record to the following points of contention:

1.      The term ‘dalit’ is widely used in academic discourse. It is an acceptable coinage, as can be evidenced from the widespread use of categories like ‘Dalit Movements’, ‘Dalit assertion’, ‘Dalit Political Philosophy’, ‘Dalit Literature’, ‘Dalit Poetics’ etc. The Standing Committee has been wilfully misled into believing that the Supreme Court has proscribed the use of the term. In fact, the Supreme Court has directed public institutions to use the terms ‘Scheduled Castes’ and ‘Scheduled Tribes’ instead of the terms ‘Dalit’ and ‘Adivasi’ in official correspondence pertaining to Government Policy as the former terms are strictly juridico-legal in nature whereas the latter terms are political and cultural. To conflate juridico-legal contexts with academic discourse shows a terrifying lack of sensitivity on the part of a Standing Committee that assumes the right to advise faculties and departments on the finer points of curricula and syllabi.
 
2.      Sh. Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd’s intellectual accomplishments need no certificate of merit from the University of Delhi. He is an internationally renowned political philosopher and his works are studied as part of course-readings and syllabi in the best universities across the world. The Standing Committee on Academic Affairs carries no brief on the privilege of determining the academic value of his works. By branding him “anti-Hindu”, it conflates the philosophical critique of Brahminical Hinduism with the abuse of faith. Abuse of faith is a recognisable offence in law and punishable under appropriate provisions of the Penal Code. To our knowledge, no criminal charge of abuse has ever been brought against his writings; nor have any of his books or articles been proscribed by law. Hence, the Standing Committee has clearly overreached itself. Additionally, in publicly representing the Standing Committee’s position against Sh. Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd’s writings as “anti-Hindu” the named members are guilty of defaming him and making libellous remarks to demean his stature. If the University of Delhi endorses the Standing Committee’s hasty decision and the justification provided by the members to the Press, it becomes complicit in defamation and invites legal action against itself.
 
3.      The Standing Committee neither possesses the required domain-expertise nor the statutory prerogative to excise readings from a Draft Syllabus prepared by an authorised Committee of Courses comprising of subject experts. It can advise or seek clarification from the concerned department (in this case, the Political Science department) but it cannot override the academic decisions of the department and faculty. If the Standing Committee is allowed to ignore the appropriate locus of academic decisions, it becomes an instrument of tyranny.
 
4.      The Standing Committee cannot be used as an ideological platform to police or limit the spectrum of opinion that learners are entitled to. It is unfortunate that in recent times, the Standing Committee has been repeatedly used to purge all divergent ideas and formulations that are found to be critical of the dominant ideology that the ruling dispensation subscribes to.
 
We yet again urge you to intervene and ensure that fairness and objectivity is restored in the functioning of the Standing Committee and the decisions of the Academic Council. For a start, your office is urged to immediately reverse the exclusion of elected AC members of a different ideological persuasions from the Standing Committee on Academic Affairs. The recent decisions of the Standing Committee have drawn public criticism from many quarters of civil society and the international academic community. If this destructive trend remains unchecked, it will tarnish the reputation of our University as a liberal and democratic institutional space for free intellectual enquiry and exchange of ideas.

We hope that your office will consider this matter as urgent and issue appropriate caution to the Standing Committee so that the academic prerogatives of the Committees of Courses in the departments of Political Science and History are safeguarded and the erroneous decisions of the Standing Committee are set aside. We also hope that the University of Delhi will issue an official apology to Sh. Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd while immediately withdrawing the slander (attributed to the Standing Committee constituted by the University of Delhi) against him that has unfortunately been put on record in the public domain.
 
Regards,
Indira Chandrasekhar (Member, Executive Council and University Court)
Deo Kumar (Member, Academic Council)
Jyoti Sabharwal (Member, Academic Council)
Mohd. Riyazuddin Khan (Member, Academic Council)
Sachin N. (Member, Academic Council)
Saikat Ghosh (Member, Academic Council)
Shashi Shekhar Prasad Singh (Member, Academic Council)
V. S. Dixit (Member, Academic Council)
 
 

The post Members of DU’s Academic Council Protest Removal of Kancha Illaiah Shepherd’s Books appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: wikipedia
 
New Delhi: The Delhi University is planning to remove three books written by Dalit writer-activist and professor Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd from the political science syllable for Master’s courses.
 
DU’s Standing Committee on Academic Matters recommended this move on Wednesday and said that they found the content insulting to Hinduism. The decision has to be approved by the Academic Council and a meeting will be held before November 15. It also recommended discontinuing the use of the word ‘Dalit’ in academic discourse.
 
Committee member Professor Hansraj Suman said there was a discussion on the syllabus of nine Master’s courses. “We decided to remove the books ‘Why I am not a Hindu’, ‘Buffalo Nationalism’ and ‘Post-Hindu India’ because they are insulting to Hinduism. We felt it would not be appropriate for students to read it,” he said in a report by Indian Express.
 
Professor Geeta Bhatt, member of Delhi University (DU) academic council, told News18 that Ilaiah’s books were his understanding of Hindu faith and “there is no empirical data to establish his understanding”.
 
The report suggested one more book that was to be removed besides the three listed above. Apparently, the book ‘God as Political Philosopher: Buddha’s Challenge to Brahminism’ besides ‘Post-Hindu India: A Discourse in Dalit-Bahujan Socio-Spiritual and Scientific Revolution’ and ‘Why Am I Not a Hindu is also being reconsidered.
 
“The political science department should look into its syllabus. These books by Kancha Ilaiah are vitriolic towards Hindu faith,” Bhatt said, terming the author’s writing as unsubstantiated by facts. She added that Ilaiah wrote about how “Hindutva school wants me to treat my Christian and Muslim brothers as enemies” and how “the very sight of saffron tilak harasses him”.  “He has problems with a word like ‘tapasya’. It is all about his mind and his understanding of a faith. As an academic piece, there is no content in it and no reason to teach it. His every book has this vitriol,” Bhatt said,” the report added.
 
Speaking to News18, the political science head of department, professor Veena Kukreja, said: “There were some objections raised that considered the work of Kancha Ilaiah controversial. We were told that if we want to teach it, then there should be a counter-narrative as well. However, some wanted its removal. We are a democratic body, and the teachers and experts concerned will sit, decide and justify why we teach Ilaiah. It will be pursued democratically.”
 
According to the report, the teachers had objected to two more books and asked for their removal. The books were professor Nandini Sundar’s ‘Subalterns and Sovereigns: An Anthropological History of Bastar’ and professor Archana Prasad’s ‘Against Ecological Romanticism: Verrier Elwin and the Making of an Anti-Modern Tribal Identity (2003)’.
 
In 2017, The Supreme Court refused to entertain a PIL by an advocate of Delhi seeking to impose a ban on the book ‘Komatlu Samajika Smugglerlu’ (Komatlu Social Smugglers) published by Prof. Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd.
 
An extract from his book ‘Untouchable God’ can be read here.
 
Ever since BJP came to power, textbooks across the country have seen a sea change in syllabus. Mughals are slowly disappearing from school textbooks and history is being rewritten by distorting facts. Rajasthan is notorious for changing history and removed important material on Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru from school textbooks. School textbooks in Madhya Pradesh lie and say that India won the Sino-Indian war in 1962. Even the mention of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination by Nathuram Godse has been removed.
 
“New school textbooks in India promoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship policies have prompted fresh criticism that the government is using the education system to further his political agenda. An analysis of 25 textbooks by the Indian Express newspaper found examples of newly inserted paragraphs casting Modi’s policies in a positive light, including programs like “demonetization” that wiped out more than 85 percent of India’s cash or one to educate girls, which has been criticized for underfunding,” reported Washington Post.

The post DU plans removal of three books by Dalit writer Kancha Ilaiah appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Recently, a statue of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, jurist, social activist, and Dalit icon, was vandalised in the Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh, sparking widespread controversy. Although it was promptly replaced, the new statue depicted Dr. Ambedkar clad in a saffron sherwani. This new statue was eventually painted blue, reportedly by Himendra Gautam of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). “They painted Ambedkar’s statue Saffron to own him and showcase him as per their own ideology,” says author and Dalit rights activist Kancha Ilaiah, adding, “This is also why they are highlighting ‘Ramji’ in his name. Today people from different backgrounds are busy claiming Ambedkar, because he has shaken them! The OBCs are also claiming Ambedkar as their own as he was the man who gave us our constitution and laid the foundation for our democracy. Neither the BJP nor any Hindutva group can survive without the support of OBCs. So they are busy carrying his pictures and showing how much they respect Ambedkar.”
According to Bharat Singh Jatav, District President of the Aarakshan Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, “There is anger among the community members due to the colour of the coat. Saffron is unusual as we have always seen his pictures and statues in dark coloured western outfits, blazer and trousers. It must be repainted,” he had added. Sinod Shakya, a former BSP MLA, said, “After painting many buildings saffron across the state, the BJP government now wants to saffronise Ambedkar statues, which is unacceptable.” The vandalism of the Ambedkar statue was not an isolated incident; there have been reports of Ambedkar statues being damaged in several other districts in Uttar Pradesh. 
 
Why so blue?
Several Dalit protests in the recent past have involved carrying blue flags. But why is the colour blue so significant for Dalits? According to Raosaheb Kasbe, formerly a political science professor at the Savitribai Phule Pune University, “The idea behind it was that blue is the colour of sky—a representation of non-discrimination, that under the sky everyone is believed to be equal. There are many theories around this, but there is no settled history on why blue became the colour of Dalit resistance”. Ilaiah says, “I read somewhere, I don’t remember where exactly, but I read that Ambedkar had said that the blue sky is all over us. Just like how Dalits, Shudras and tribals are all over the country. We should therefore claim this universal colour as our own. We are all equal under the blue sky.” 

Many Indian towns have statues of Ambedkar clad in a three-piece blue suit and carrying India’s constitution; Beena Pallical of the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights has opined that Ambedkar’s blue suit was one of the primary inspirations for the blue flag of Dalit movements.

Ambedkar’s suit itself was reportedly a symbol of “political resistance,” flouting the rules regarding what Dalits were permitted to wear. According to Dalit writer and entrepreneur Chandra Bhan Prasad, “Manudharma, or the laws of Manu, codify the rights and duties of various social groups prearranged into castes. According to that, we are told we can only wear the apparel of corpses, or ragged, old, dirty clothes. We are not supposed to be nicely dressed or even be clean”. In 2002, Ramachandra Guha wrote of Ambedkar, “By the canons of tradition and history, this man was not supposed to wear a suit, blue or otherwise. That he did was a consequence of his extraordinary personal achievements: a law degree…a Ph.D. from America and another one from England, the drafting of the Constitution. By memorialising him in a suit, the Dalits were celebrating his successful storming of an upper caste citadel.” In Ilaiah’s opinion, Ambedkar “favoured the colour blue for his suit as it represented the blue sky under which everyone is equal. Also, he was educated in Amercia where all Presidents wore blue suits on important occasions. Perhaps, this might have influenced him. Blue in America represents democracy, republicanism and equality, all ideas that meant a lot to Ambedkar.”  
 
According to the 2017 paper Fabric-Rendered Identity: A Study of Dalit Representation in Pa. Ranjith’s Attakathi, Madras and Kabali, “Blue as a colour is often used by Dalit communities especially in protests and rallies as a mark of empowerment.” The paper notes that the colour blue “emerged as a self-identifying sign for Mahar Dalits in Maharashtra.” Mahars comprise the largest group of Dalits in the state. The paper, while citing the book Dr. Ambedkar and Untouchability: Analysing and Fighting by Christophe Jaffrelot, explains, “Ambedkar is known to have introduced the blue Mahar’s Flag as his party flag for the Independent Labour Party. It is representative of identifying with Dalit consciousness that is non-discriminatory. It also appeals to the masses as in the ‘blue collar workers’.” However, the colour blue has also been employed to single out the Dalit community; the paper recalls a 1995 instance when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra implemented a policy requiring Dalit children to wear blue uniforms.
 

The post The Significance of the Colour Blue in the Dalit Movement appeared first on SabrangIndia.