Dalit History Month

Gulmi, 1966. At the peak of the Panchayat period, this man sings songs about national glory: "Hamro Tenzing Sherpale Chadhyo Himal Chuchura" (Our Tenzing Sherpa has climbed to the top of the Himalaya). Gaines like him traveled from village to village singing songs about contemporary events. Photo: Carl Hosticka / Nepal Picture Library
Reviews
Reframing the Dalit experience
By
Laxmi Murthy
A new photobook on Dalits in Nepal brings out previously unheard voices and unseen visions.
Illustration: Akila Weerasinghe / Himal Southasian
Culture
The caste of Karnatic music
By
Deepa Bhasthi
An untold history of mrdangam makers.
"The Cow with 84 deities" by Raja Ravi Varma. Photo: Wellcome Images / Wikimedia Commons
Comment
‘Holy’ cow and ‘unholy’ dalit
By
S Anand
The bovine becomes divine, the cow becomes 'mother', the untouchables get dehumanised
Homi Bhabha and Australian physicist Mark Oliphant, 1954. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Archives
Castes and moulds
By
M V Ramana
Abha Sur exposes how caste, class and gender prejudices continue to shape Indian science.
The recently activated Section 9(5)(a) of the Equality Act 2010 prohibits caste discrimination in the UK, where B R Ambedkar, an icon of the anti-caste struggle, spent formative years as a student at the London School of Economics between 1916 and 1923. Photo: flickr / liits
Comment
Caste across the kalapani
By
Sinthujan Varatharajah
The long struggle to outlaw caste-based discrimination in the UK finally succeeds.
More
Himal Southasian
www.himalmag.com