A notice issued to employees of The Hindu asking them to desist from bringing non-vegetarian food into the office canteen as it causes discomfort to a majority of the employees who are vegetarian has caused a fair amount of controversy. This article looks at how food and dietary customs mark out caste in "modern" India and suggests that public institutions, particularly those which have a commendable track record on matters of social justice, need to further introspect on the silent coding of caste into the institutional space.
Legislation against discrimination like the Prevention of Atrocities Act can be as much a starting point as an outcome of campaigns against discrimination. A comment in the context of the acquittal of the convicted in the Laxmanpur Bathe and Bathani Tola cases.
Tamil politics is dominated by the Dravidian parties and it is an indictment of their rule that untouchability and caste discrimination continue unabated in the state. Dalit movements arose in opposition, and as an alternative, to Dravidianism but have been shaped by their political context. A dalit-left alliance might offer one way out of the current impasse in dalit politics.
