The burden of maintaining the “purity” of caste falls unequally on women.
Tag: caste
A new study shows that working-age men, particularly from lower castes, are most vulnerable to fatal heatstroke in India. Experts warn how gender, caste, and occupation intersect in deadly ways amid rising temperatures.
Reservation is not the cause of caste — it is a consequence. Without dismantling caste-based discrimination, even reservations cannot create a level playing field.
As demonstrations spread across India after the rape and death of a doctor in Kolkata, women from a Mumbai slum were asked to leave a protest site by residents of a high-rise complex. A sign that caste and class issues may be getting in the way of solidarity?
A psychologist discusses with three individuals who are navigating diverse identities, as queer and Dalits, while battling anxiety disorders, ADHD and persistent depression.
India’s “untouchables” still face violence and discrimination for drinking or using water they are not supposed to. For the author, a Dalit himself, it’s time for Indian environmentalists and researchers who are striving to provide equal water access to acknowledge the role caste is playing.
India goes to the polls next year, with a united opposition hoping to unseat Prime Minister Modi after 10 years in power. Mallikarjun Kharge, who may be the best candidate, is from India’s “lowest” caste system.
Lower-caste cleaners must wear GPS-enabled smartwatches, raising questions about their privacy and data protection.
The inclusion of caste in its anti-discrimination policy by the California State Universities is as a major triumph for activists.
So far there’s been little obvious effort to hold authorities accountable for the rising number of people — especially Muslims, Dalits and other minorities — who die while in police custody.
CHENNAI — Twenty-six-year-old Arivu’s small room, on the fourth-floor terrace of an apartment in suburban Chennai, is as lively as his music. It is in this room that Arivu shot his now iconic rap song “Sanda seivom”, which effortlessly rips the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens apart. Pictures of Ambedkar and Buddha are looking over him and an ektara (the instrument) standing tall. “It was a gift from the Tata Institute for Social Sciences when I recently visited them,” Arivu says. “I intend to learn to play it and even use it in my rap.” A single […]
NEW DELHI — Mangesh and Aarti loved each other. Both belonged to the same village, professed the same religion, had the same cultural heritage. Their class and status in society did not differ much either. Yet, their families objected to their marriage. The two were from two separate castes. Marriage would mean going against the set conventions of society. The two, who had hitherto been loved and admired by their respective families, suddenly became the target of their own families’ hatred and disgust. The village panchayat (council) swung into action. It censured both and levied penalties on the girl’s family. […]
As India votes in national elections, manual scavengers are trying to overcome caste stigma and prejudice.
CHENNAI — In Murugavel Janakiraman’s office, his daughter’s drawings are pinned up next to family photographs. He proudly points out his children, Arjun and Anisha, his mother, who lives with them, and his wife, Deepa. They met on India’s most popular matrimonial website, Matrimony.com. And as the old saying goes, if you want something done, […]
NEW DELHI — Five months ago, Devanish Meena, a young Indian man from New Delhi, eloped with his longtime girlfriend. Now he is a widower. Adding to Devanish’s anquish is his belief that the young bride, Pratibha Gujar, was murdered — by her own family. In India, approximtely 1,000 young people are murdered each year in name of saving a family’s honor. The “honor killings,” as they’re known, are often committed when a forced or arranged marriage is rejected. Pratibha’s death seems to fit the profile. The young woman’s relationship with Devanish was very much opposed by her family. And […]
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The Myth Of India’s Middle Class
NEW DELHI — As India’s national elections approach, the country’s middle class is the center of attention. Analysts cite it as the decisive demographic in the vote slated next month. It is true that the electoral weight of the middle class hasn’t stopped growing: according to the Asian Development Bank, the Indian middle class rose […]
In the private sector as in politics, a small group of influential dynasties still rule the country. Being on the outside, makes a play on power virtually impossible.