Gatha: Dalits

Law schools in India have remained largely isolated from discussions on the issues of Dalit identity, untouchability, and discrimination faced by students belonging to underprivileged and marginalized communities. The young lawyers to-be of the country have enormous social responsibility by virtue of being the torch bearers of rule of law and potential agents of social change. Alack of sensitization and awareness on issues surrounding caste and a need to extend support in academics to marginalized students in the university, especially those who are unable to utilize academic opportunities provided by the university due to language and other social barriers and disabilities led to the formation of the APPSC in 2015.

The Study Circle derives its name from three pioneers in social justice reform in India, Ambedkar, Periyar, and Phule, as their fight against various forms of social discrimination and work in the area of educational empowerment was tremendous.

Initial Journey

Over the span of a semester and a half, APPSC has organized events and programs in order to move closer to the objectives that we, as a group, set out to achieve at our inception. Some of our notable activities are talks by eminent speakers, such as Professor Sukhdeo Thorat (economist, Former Chairman of UGC and Chairman of ICSSR) and the dynamic and young Ananya Gaur and Nakul Sawhney, who have directed the critically acclaimed documentaries, Caste on the Menu Card and Immoral Daughters in the Land of Honour, which were also screened by us. We have started our independent online magazine, Savitri, named after Savitribai Phule. It is a platform to discuss opinions and counter-currents within society and provide recognition to Savitri Phule’s views and struggle. The Peer Project Guidance Program and the making of past years’ answer sheets available at the library have been some of the other endeavours undertaken by us to provide academic support to students.

APPSC organised an interactive session with Prof. Satish Deshpande, one of the most renowned social thinkers and sociologists of the country, on the topic 'identifying discrimination: How Institutions discriminate.’ He gave us his valuable insights and outlined the ways in which gender, caste and other forms of discrimination can get embedded in the institutional practice of higher education.

Ambedkar Jayanti

On the occassion of the 125th Birth Anniversary of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle in association with the Center for Social Inclusion and Minority Rights, NLU Delhi, organised a guest lecture titled ‘Dr. Ambedkar; The Maker of Modern India’ by Prof. Dr. Raj Kumar, Associate Professor, Political Science, University of Delhi. A formal tribute-paying ceremony was also organized on 14th April, 2016in the NLU Delhi campus, wherein our esteemed Vice-Chancellor and Registrar were also present.

Dalit History Month

The Study Circle celebrated Dalit History Month in April for the first time on campus. As a part of the same, a poster-making competition was organised. Students drew on various caste and minority-related issues.

On 19th April 2016, as part of Dalit History Month, the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle organised a talk in Hindi on ‘The Importance of Dalit Literature in 21st Century’ by Dr. Jai Prakash, who is a prolific Hindi Dalit writer and has a good understanding of the initial discouragement that Dalit Literature faced.

On 25th April 2016, Vira Sathidar, the actor who played Narayan Kamble in the Oscar-nominated movie Court shared his personal experience of the Indian legal system and judicial repression with students of NLU Delhi. He delivered a talk on ‘Branding Naxal and Beyond: State and Judicial Repression in India.’ He provided personal insights on the crackdown of state machinery and the legal system on voices of dissent and activists who fight against the system.

As part of Dalit History Month, Prof. Rajmohan Gandhi delivered a talk on ‘Nationalism and Some of its Meanings,’ and, in light of recent controversies, he addressed the relevance of slogans and symbols in assessing patriotism and nationalism of political identities. The students enjoyed the interactive session and had lots of interesting questions to ask Prof. Rajmohan.

Jai Bhim!

The Ambedkar Phule Periyar Study Circle at NLU Delhi is a students led initiative.

For any comments or suggestions, the group can be contacted at appsc.nludelhi@gmail.com

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Ambedkar-Periyar-Phule-Study-Circle-NLU-Delhi-133748560317383/?fref=ts

Ambedkar

Ambedkar Phule Periyar Study Circle (APPSC), National Law University, Delhi – Journey So Far

Law schools in India have remained largely isolated from discussions on the issues of Dalit identity, untouchability, and discrimina...

first they said

Hindu Rashtra

in righteous anger

they unfurled the tricolor

and it covered not only

the whole country

from kashmir

to kanyakumari

but also the shame

of mass graves,

of genocide,

of stolen lands

and dreams,

of rape as a weapon

in times of war and peace

then they said

Bharat Mata Ki Jai

in feverish nationalism

they claimed their territory,

hoisted up the flag,

smeared saffron on their faces

and sat on thrones

made of flesh and bones

of their victims

the dalits

the adivasis

(remember ghar-wapsi?)

the muslims and christians,

tell me, who said only whites

could be missionaries?

then they said

Hindustan Zindabad

in blood soaked patriotism

they wielded manu’s laws

as though loaded guns,

jailed some protestors

caged some women

and the rest were beaten

into submission

by upper-caste men

by upper-caste women

by brahmin preachers

by their own teachers

by their mothers and fathers

and neighbourhood gossips

in the end you said

india is our motherland

in blind loyalty

you participated wholeheartedly

in the subjugation

of those deemed inferior

you raised your children

on notions of purity, morality,

superiority and then…

you called them communists

and hunted them

you called them anti-national

and hanged them

you called them traitors

and hated them

in the end you said

SARE JAHAN SE ACCHA

in devotion to your country

you changed history textbooks

to reflect false accounts

of your victories

you debated the merits

of reservation, sitting

in ivory tower institutions

you didn’t hold up guns

but you wiped out villages

with the stroke of a pen

you didn’t kill anyone

but you certainly

didn’t speak up for them

in the end you said

MERA BHARAT MAHAN

and watched the country burn

Kavya Kartik a LLB student at Jindal Global Law School.

Caste system

To my Fellow Upper-Caste Country People

first they said Hindu Rashtra in righteous anger they unfurled the tricolor and it covered not only the whole country fr...

किस मिटटी से बने हो तुम

कि अपने सपनों के आगे

तुम्हे कोई चीज़ दिखाई नहीं देती ?

किस मिटटी से बने हो तुम

कि सफलता प्राप्त करने के लिए

तुम भ्रष्टाचार का रास्ता चुनते हो?

किस मिटटी से बने हो तुम

कि लाखों रूपये कमाने के बाद भी

और धन पाने की प्यास नहीं बुझती?

खुद की प्यास पानी से

खुद की भूख पकवान से

सरकार की मांग रिश्वत से

और मजबूर की वेदना लात से?

ज़ालिम दुनिया के नशे में ही खो गए

कि फायदा ना रहा तुमसे पूछने का

कि किस मिटटी से बने हो

किस मिटटी से बने हो तुम

कि अपनी शांति को कायम रखने के लिए

मासूम के जीवन को हिला देते हो?

किस मिटटी से बने हो तुम

कि पुरस्कार जीतकर आगे बढ़ गए

जिस हाथ से सहारा दिया, उसे पीछे छोड़ आए ?

एहसान लेकर दुनिया देख आये

फिर मूह फेर लिया, और उनकी मदद नहीं कर पाए?

अरे ऊंचे पद से संसार छोटा ही दीखता है

चाँद छूकर कुछ पाया नहीं,

जब तुमने अपना बाकी सब खोया है

खैर कोई फायदा ना रहा तुमसे पूछने का

कि तुम किस मिटटी से बने हो

किस मिटटी से बने हो तुम

कि अपने आप को महान दिखाना के लिए

अपने दुलारों को नीचा दिखाते हो ?

किस मिटटी से बने हो तुम

कि लोगों का प्यार पाने के लिए

उन्हें खरीद लेते हो?

अपनी सलामती के अलावा

अपने भाई की पीड़ा नहीं समझ पाते

अपने मित्र की काम्याबी से

तुम्हे सिर्फ जलन होती है?

नंगे पैर चलते चलते इतनी दूर आ गए

कि अब भूल गए जूते कहाँ उतारे थे

कोमल एढियां कड़क बन गयीं,

निर्मल दिल, पत्थर बन गया

और अब कोई फायदा ना रहा तुमसे पूछने का

कि तुम किस मिटटी से बने हो

अरे तुम किस मिटटी से बने हो

कि मेरी आँखों में झाँककर

तुम्हे सच नहीं दीखता?

किस मिटटी से बने हो

कि मुझसे झूठ पर झूठ कहकर

तुम्हे कभी शर्म नहीं आती?

किस मिटटी से बने हो तुम

कि अपने स्वार्थ में खोकर

मेरे बारे में भूल गए?

भूल गए कि तुम्हारा कोई है

भूल गए कि प्यार कैसे किया जाता है

भूल गए? भूल गए कि ख़ुशी क्या होती है

अपनी इस अकड़ ही गम गए

कि फायदा ना रहा तुमसे पूछने का

कि आखिर किस मिटटी से बने हो तुम?

Vasudhaa Ahuja is a first year LLB student at JGLS. She’s passionate about poetry and theatre. She has won an award for this poem and it was also read out at the NCPA poetry festival.

Caste

किस मिटटी से बने हो तुम ?

किस मिटटी से बने हो तुम कि अपने सपनों के आगे तुम्हे कोई चीज़ दिखाई नहीं देती ? किस मिटटी से ...

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Ambedkar Phule Periyar Study Circle (APPSC), National Law University, Delhi – Journey So Far

To my Fellow Upper-Caste Country People

किस मिटटी से बने हो तुम ?

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Ambedkar Phule Periyar Study Circle (APPSC), National Law University, Delhi – Journey So Far

To my Fellow Upper-Caste Country People

किस मिटटी से बने हो तुम ?

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