Articles by Anand Teltumbde

In the swirl of contradictions that tug and bind India, none may be as conflicting and as similar as histories of the Dalit and the communist movements. The cause of the dichotomy between caste and class struggle in India was the misunderstanding of Karl Marx's concept of the base and superstructure. Ambedkar, in fact, demonstrated over and over again that the struggle against caste could be organically unified with the class struggle.

Maharashtra has seen strange developments over the last two months. Marathas, the most populous community, considered to be dominant in the state in every sphere, have come out on the streets in unprecedented numbers and with unusual calm to present their grievances.

The contentious razing of the Ambedkar Bhavan and the Buddha Bhushan printing press started by Babasaheb Ambedkar in Mumbai has shown how wide the gap is between the Dalit "class" and "mass".

The answer to a situation where institutions that at least maintained a facade of democracy are being destroyed and any dissenting opinion is being targeted, can come from students who oppose such moves. Perhaps, it is such students who will ensure justice for Rohith Vemula. 

The more than four-month-long Bhim Yatra that culminated a day before the 125th birth celebrations of B R Ambedkar highlighted the pitiable conditions of the most downtrodden of the Dalits, the manual scavengers. While there are a slew of laws to check manual scavenging, they remain largely on paper. The Dalit leadership has also ignored the plight of manual scavengers.