Mainstream Weekly

Tribute to A. K. Biswas | Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Vidya Bhushan Rawat — 2025-03-08T04:27:11Z

Deeply sad to hear about the demise of Dr A K Biswas, one of the foremost historians of the Bahujan movement who has been consistently writing on issues hitherto kept under the carpet by the mainstream Brahmanical

- 2025

Sacrilege or blasphemy: The dirty attempt to cover up the caste prejudices against Dalits | Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Vidya Bhushan Rawat — 2021-10-29T17:55:40Z

There is no doubt in the fact that Sikhism actually was a revolt against the Brahmanical system and superstition. Guru Granth Saheb is perhaps the only holy book which contains matters from different religions as well as those of various Sufi Saints including Kabir, Ravidas, Baba Farid and others. The aim of Sikhism was to create an egalitarian society and definitely Punjab that way is far better than many other states in India where violence against Dalits is rampant. However, there are (…)

- 2021

Untouchability is worse than slavery in Mauritania | Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Vidya Bhushan Rawat — 2021-08-13T20:02:35Z

Mohammad Cheick Mkhaitir belongs to an untouchable community in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, a country of nearly five million population colonised by French once upon a time in Western Africa and surrounded by Atlantic Ocean, Western Sahara, Algeria, Mali and Senegal. Most of the Western Africa was under French control who tried to push ‘secular' laws in these countries and yet after their decolonisation process old superstructure of these societies. Mauritania is 28th biggest (…)

- 2021

Caste Discrimination in the lives of Sanitation Workers in India during the COVID-19 Crisis | Vidya Bhushan Rawat

Vidya Bhushan Rawat — 2020-07-17T18:18:41Z

by Vidya Bhushan Rawat
July 16, 2020
Calamities are the occasion when nations and societies unlearn many things and build bridges in the greater interest of humanity. The COVID-19 crisis had the potential to be a great learning opportunity for countries like India to overcome the historical baggage of deep-rooted prejudices, and to build social structures which respect the dignity of work and the contributions of those who have made our homes, offices, cities and villages clean and (…)

- 2020

Why are we Silent on the Grave Threat to Prof Kancha Illaiah Shepherd?

Vidya Bhushan Rawat — 2017-10-09T08:45:42Z

While it is nobody's suggestion that India was a tolerant land some three years back and has suddenly developed intolerance, none can deny the fact that the goons threatening intellectuals and activists have certainly become more arrogant and encouraged by the absolute ‘disinterest' shown by those in power. In the past few years we have lost a number of persons for the cause of human rights and secularism and probes have reached nowhere even though links with organisations associated with (…)

- 2017

Murder of Gauri Lankesh: An Attack on Media or Ideology?

Vidya Bhushan Rawat — 2017-09-23T20:56:19Z

The Press Club of India did not have space to even stand yesterday (September 6, 2017). The outpouring of grief and anger in the street as well as on the social media on the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh compelled many veterans to join hands and speak up against the culture of intimidation and violence against those who differ with the current dispensation and their politics of Hindu nationalism. There were political leaders of the Left, though Rahul Gandhi and leaders of other (…)

- 2017

Kashmir Needs a Healing Touch Today

Vidya Bhushan Rawat — 2017-04-24T15:27:58Z

What is the meaning of victory of Farooq Abdullah from the Srinagar constituency where not even seven per cent votes were polled? In many of the booths merely two per cent votes were polled. I know there are past precedences of such a situation in at least three Indian States when people boycotted and the government determinedly went for polls and was áble to form ministries. But when the world is watching and we claim to be the biggest democracy of the world, shouldn't it be a matter of (…)

- 2017

The Mother and her Deification

Vidya Bhushan Rawat — 2016-09-09T19:30:15Z

Many friends ask me why am I quiet on the issue of Mother Teresa and her canonisation. Well, I have been travelling and not really following much of the news. However, I have my position which I clarified several times in the past too. I have lots of respect for Christopher Hitchens and his absolutely phenomenal analysis. The Mother was a religious woman with a kind heart. Her main aim was to ‘serve' the God which she found in serving the people. A secular critique of Christianity cannot be (…)

- 2016

Nepal: Indian Media: Cause for Embarrassment

Vidya Bhushan Rawat — 2015-05-16T06:33:33Z

The self-respecting people of Nepal need to be congratulated for compelling the jingoist brahmanical Indian media to ponder over its follies and idiocies in reporting the painful stories of earthquake from Nepal. The thing is that the reportage of TRP-hungry TV channels is not new to us when they market our emotions and sentiments as these are the most ‘saleable' products in our market apart from sex, rape, babas, tantra, cricket, corporates and Bollywood. It is not unusual for the Indian (…)

- 2015

Miscarriage of Justice in Hashimpura

Vidya Bhushan Rawat — 2015-03-30T09:51:59Z

One of the most famous lines on the official All India Radio news bulletins during communal disturbances used to be ‘Sthiti tanavpurn lekin niyantran me hain (the situation is tense but under control)' and police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in the ‘sensitive' areas. It was well known to us as what ‘samvedansheel kshetra' or ‘sensitive areas' meant. Most of these ‘sensitive areas' were the Muslim localities in the walled cities, almost ghettoised in the aftermath of each ‘riot' (…)

- 2015