IN A staggering display of literary gymnastics, Sekhar Bandyopadhyay and Anasua Basu Ray Chaudhury have managed to write a book ostensibly to address the "discursive absence of the caste question and the Dalit from the long history of Partition in Bengal", using virtually no theoretical contribution from Dalit intellectuals. This is not to say that the book does not quote Dalits. It does have interviews, speeches, newspaper articles, stories and references to empirical studies conducted by them.
The authors talk about the history of the anti-caste struggle in British India without so much as mentioning G Aloysius, a scholar-in-residence at the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, whose 1997 book Nationalism Without a Nation in India is of direct relevance to the subject matter of this book, in that it painstakingly delineates, among other things, how partition was a compact between upper caste Hindus and Muslims against the interests of the lower castes in both religions. BR Ambedkar is used only as a historical figure, as a politician made speeches and conducted movements, and not once as an academic or intellectual. To say that Ambedkar sought to politicise the structural violence of untouchability, they have quoted and referenced Anupama Rao, a professor of history at Barnard College, Columbia University. They did not even design to quote Ambedkar's academic work directly.
Denne historien er fra September 16, 2022-utgaven av Down To Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra September 16, 2022-utgaven av Down To Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Trade On Emissions
EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, a tariff on imports, is designed to protect European industries in the guise of climate action.
'The project will facilitate physical and cultural decimation of indigenous people'
The Great Nicobar Project has all the hallmarks of a disaster-seismic, ecological, human. Why did it get the go-ahead?
TASTE IT RED
Popularity of Karnataka's red jackfruit shows how biodiversity can be conserved by ensuring that communities benefit from it
MANY MYTHS OF CHIPKO
Misconceptions about the Chipko movement have overshadowed its true objectives.
The politics and economics of mpox
Africa's mpox epidemic stems from delayed responses, neglect of its health risks and the stark vaccine apartheid
Emerging risks
Even as the world gets set to eliminate substances threatening the ozone layer, climate change and space advancement pose new challenges.
JOINING THE CARBON CLUB
India's carbon market will soon be a reality, but will it fulfil its aim of reducing emissions? A report by PARTH KUMAR and MANAS AGRAWAL
Turn a new leaf
Scientists join hands to predict climate future of India's tropical forests
Festering troubles
The Democratic Republic of Congo struggles to contain mpox amid vaccine delays, conflict and fragile healthcare.
India sees unusual monsoon patterns
THE 2024 southwest monsoon has, between June 1 and September 1, led to excess rainfall in western and southern states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, while others like Nagaland, Manipur and Punjab recorded a deficit.