Bahujan Literature and Criticism

This is an editorial in Forward Press's Bahujan Literature Yearbook: 2013. It briefly discusses the concept of Bahujan literature and Bahujan criticism. Bahujan literature is a big umbrella, under which falls Dalit literature (For convenience’s sake we can describe it as “Atishudra literature”), Shudra literature, Tribal literature and Women’s literature. Terminologies, thoughts, and viewpoints like Ambedkarite literature, OBC literature, etc. can be included in its internal discours

Serotonin receptors: Subtypes, functional responses and therapeutic relevance

Recent, rapid progress in the molecular biology of serotonin (5-HT) receptors requires conceptual re-thinking with respect to receptor classification. Thus, based on operational criteria (agonist and antagonist rank order), as well as transduction mechanisms involved and the structure of the receptor protein, the Nomenclature Committee of the Serotonin Club has proposed the following classification and nomenclature: the main receptor types 5-HT1 to 5-HT4, recombinant receptors (e.g. 5-ht5 to 5-ht7) and ‘orphan’ receptors. The aim of the present review is to discuss the events leading to this classification, the criteria for and functional responses mediated by various 5-HT receptors, as well as the therapeutic possibilities with 5-HT ligands

कोविड-19: सांख्यिकी, विज्ञान और वैज्ञानिक चेतना

कोविड महामारी से निपटने के लिए विज्ञान की भूमिका को सर्वोपरि बताया गया। लेकिन विज्ञान के नाम पर अनेक ऐसी चीजें भी हुईं, जिसने इस विभिषिका को निर्मित करने तथा इसे और भयावह बनाने में योगदान किया। इस दौरन सांख्यिकी के आंकड़ों को विज्ञान बनाकर प्रचारित किया गया तथा दुनिया के अधिकांश हिस्से को लॉकडाउन में धकेल दिया गया। ऐसे में सवाल यह उठता है कि विज्ञान महत्वपूर्ण है अथवा वैज्ञानिक चेतना? इस शोध आलेख में ऐसे कुछ तथ्यों और कार्रवाइयों को चिन्हित किया गया है, जो एक किस्म के अंधविश्वास थे, लेकिन जिन्हें इस दौरान विज्ञान के नाम पर प्रचलित किया गया। इस प्रकार विज्ञान को धार्मिक-कर्मकांड जैसा बनाने की एक प्रक्रिया चल पड़ी है, जिसमें कॉरपोरेशनों की बड़ी भूमिका है। यह शोध-आलेख प्रस्तावित करता है कि विज्ञान द्वारा प्रस्तावित निदानों को लोकतांत्रिक दायरे में लाया जाना चाहिए

Savarna reservation, Modi and a dampener for Ram Temple issue

The government had announced that poor savarnas would get 10 per cent reservation. In fact, this provision for poor savarnas should not be called reservation. It should be called “priority scheme”, “incentive scheme”, etc. The poor are not a community which can be given reservations or representation. Narendra Modi’s decision is definitely a master stroke but it is unlikely to fetch him savarna votes. He has left the vocal and influential sections of the savarnas confused and dumbfounded. They can neither oppose reservations for the poor among them nor accept it happily. They will use all ifs and buts at their command to reject it. This master stroke has dealt a fatal blow to the protagonists of emotional Hindutva, which wanted to make the Ram Temple an issue in the upcoming elections. Modi has (in the words of Ramdas Athawale) hit a sixer, tossing the ball out of the field. Reservation for poor savarnas would, in the short run, break the unity of the savarnas but the possibility is that in the long run, it would turn into reservations for all savarnas, rather than for the poor among them. The first scenario would strengthen the Bahujans and would help build a more egalitarian society. The Bahujans may now demand representation in proportion to their population. But a greater danger is that the Congress and the BJP may join hands to kill the basic spirit of the Constitution, which seeks to give representation to the oppressed and exploited sections in centres of power

Der Offenbarungseid

Wissenschaftler und Denker haben sich widerstandslos für die Durchsetzung der herrschenden Corona-Agenda einspannen lassen. Der durch das Coronavirus veranlasste Lockdown hat nicht nur unsere körperliche Freiheit ausgehöhlt, sondern auch unsere geistige Freiheit untergraben. In vielen Ländern wurde für das Denken Käfighaltung angeordnet. Offensichtlich stehen wir an der Schwelle zu einer gefährlichen Phase. Welchen Weg sollten wir von hier aus einschlagen? Das wird ganz davon abhängen, wie schnell und wie gut wir die Gefahr einschätzen und nach Wegen suchen, ihr entgegenzuwirken

Covid-19: Role and limitations of doctors and treatment protocols

As was expected, the country is witnessing an explosion of Covid cases, leading to chaos and mayhem. People are dying for want of oxygen. The protocol for the treatment of Covid patients is faulty and that is one reason for the high number of deaths. Thanks to the protocol, deaths due to other causes are also being added to the Covid toll. In this article, we would try to look at the connections between the Covid pandemic and the doctors. So far, the discussion on the role of the doctors, which is decidedly very important, has largely been one-sided. hydroxychloroquine controversy was not limited to this spat between India and Trump. The kind of charges and countercharges related to this drug during the Covid pandemic amply demonstrate that for the forces which hoped to benefit by its growing demand, human lives were just numbers

Das große Sterben

"Corona-Tote“ — man denkt dabei nur an Menschen, die in der Folge einer Virusinfektion verstorben sind. Dabei zeichnet sich schon jetzt ab, dass die Todeszahlen infolge der unter Verweis auf Corona ergriffenen „Maßnahmen“ weltweit um ein Vielfaches höher sein werden. Je mehr Zeit vergeht, umso größer dürfte diese Differenz ausfallen. Weil aber nicht sein kann, was nicht sein darf, hört man davon in unseren Medien wenig — wohl auch deshalb, weil die Länder des globalen Südens in der europäischen Wahrnehmung im toten Winkel bleiben. Richten wir den Blick auf Indien, ein Land mit fast so vielen Einwohnern wie China. Dort zeichnet sich eine „maßnahmenbedingte“ Hungersnot von historischem Ausmaß ab. Die Betroffenen wird es nicht trösten, dass sie im Vorgang des Verhungerns Corona-negativ sind. Die verantwortlichen Politiker wähnen sich indes noch immer auf der Seite des Guten. Die Superreichen haben auch in Indien während der Krise beträchtlich an Vermögen zugelegt. Und die Politik denkt gar nicht daran, etwa mit einer Vermögenssteuer Abhilfe zu schaffen

Threats to the concept of social justice

In this paper, I have tried to define social justice in the Indian context and about the dangers shadowing its basic concept. Social justice means providing justice to all those people who have had to face injustice having been subject to some form of dominance. They may have had to face injustice due to their varna, ethnicity, profession, gender, economic status, region, religion, tradition, language or physique. Social justice, basically, is an incessant battle against privileges based meritocracy. Humanism and compassion are the cornerstones of this battle. The idea of securing an equal opportunity for all and the theory of social diversity are its sword and rifle. But today, the politics of social justice has come to mean electoral victories of a few people hailing from deprived communities. At the systemic level, it has been confined to reservations in government jobs and in government-run institutions of higher learning that, more often than not, provide low-quality education. At the most, some people demand that reservations should be extended to the private sector. This is considered the be-all and end-all of the battle for social justice

Bahujan discourse puts JNU in the crosshairs

If we closely study the recent string of incidents in JNU while keeping their background in mind, we will realize that the Bahujan-Left unity had set alarm bells ringing in the RSS camp. To grasp this better, we will have to revisit the first Mahishasur Martyrdom Day, organized by the All India Backward Students’ Forum (AIBSF) in JNU in October 2011 and the Food Freedom movement initiated by the New Materialists in September 2012. The Mahishasur and food-freedom movements were the manifestations of the new discourses that were replacing the old ones here. They drew nationwide attention. The traditional Left either looked the other way or made it clear that it would stand by the freedom of expression and would not oppose these voices coming from the deprived sections. This was, in a sense, the coming-together of Left and Bahujan ideologies or, at the very least, the two camps agreeing on a common minimum programme. The RSS calls itself a cultural organization and is perpetually busy in protecting and preserving the brahmanical culture. The young Bahujan intellectuals were dealing blow after fatal blow to the brahmanical culture, and this won them the approval of the Left in JNU. The amalgamation of the thoughts of Phule, Ambedkar, Periyar and Narayan Guru on the one hand and Marx, Lenin and Mao on the other threw up compelling arguments and incontrovertible facts. This, in turn, started influencing the students. A flummoxed Sangh did not know how to counter this assault. The deprived sections posed a stiff challenge – the stiffest in independent India – to the brahmanical culture, which the Sangh was trying to protect in the name of the Hindu religion, and behind it was the intellectual prowess of the JNU Bahujan research scholars. They were now capable of presenting their views in keeping with the highest academic standards