Ambedkar King Study Circle (AKSC)
Background
Ambedkar King Study Circle (AKSC) was started in October 2016 after a concrete idea took place in August 2016. It is based out of California, USA. The organization is deeply rooted in the communist thought and has time and again celebrated it in order to combine it with the Ambedkarite thought.
Executive Note
➣ Ambedkar King Study Circle, has Ambedkar and King in it but members of AKSC are more interested in appropriating Ambedkar and King’s vision, struggle into Marxist-Leninist frame. This is not an act of ignorance or as Marxists like to claim, that of “false consciousness”. They are very well aware that King and Ambedkar though alike in struggle had never conform with Lenin or Marx but still a perpetual struggle to caste a narrative of caste politics in this frame is visible.
➣ Periyar and Tamil culture, out of many Indian cultures have most influence in members of AKSC. AKSC is found to give space to people who propagate Tamil separatism and who have blatant disregard for not only manifestation of Bharat’s eternal Dharma, culture and religion but towards their very true essence also. This condescending behaviour doesn’t arise alone from their caste-ist sufferings or interpreted from Ambedkar’s writings but also from Periyar and Communism.
➣ AKSC doesn’t limit its advocacy and interventions to Dalit issues but actively pursuits the agenda of some particular political faction in the Indian Political spectrum and also doesn’t shy away from exhibiting ideological inclinations, as can be noted from the themes of its interventions and shades of those who are provided space by AKSC.
➣ The study circle has ties with many Indian American teachers and professors in universities across the US, UK, Canada Australia and India. Mostly these intellectuals, academicians and scholars are from South Asian departments if not for Indology, Sociology and Anthropology. South Asian Studies can be seen as West’s modern day equivalent of Oriental Studies, which was born out of colonialism, with an exception that these departments of South Asian studies are filled people of South Asia who can be well regarded as intellectually-colonised or “colonisers with skin of color”.
➣ It will not be wrong to say that the activism it claims to do under the garb of Ambedkar and King’s name for the sake of Dalits is nothing but an attempt to radicalize the caste politics in India. The appropriation of Ambedkar’s idea to comfort the communists and misinterpretation of Ambedkar’s actions to annihilate caste as annihilation of Hindu Dharma and traverses to Indian culture and civilization in its totality.
Table of Content
Introduction
Ambedkar King Study Circle (AKSC) was started in October 2016 [1]after a concrete idea took place in August 2016. It is based out of California, USA. The organization is deeply rooted in the communist thought and has time and again celebrated it in order to combine it with the Ambedkarite thought. The associations of this organization with individuals and other organizations shows a distinctive trend. AKSC has close ties with Tamil Nadu based caste organizations and Periyar’s ideology. In the same vein, it also draws a parallel between Martin Luther King’s struggle in America and the struggle of Dalits in India.
Organizational Details
AKSC has a Constitution [2] to govern. The stated aim of the study circle is “Challenging caste, class, race, gender and religious oppression and oppressors on ideological, political and social fronts''. The strategy adopted is of Ambedkar’s, “Educate, Organize and Agitate” to harness and nurture “intellectual capacity” by methods of “regular reading and debates”. As per its Constitutional mandate it seeks to “Organize and participate in hall meetings, protests and demonstrations to sensitize and educate the people in the United States on class, race, caste, gender and religious oppressions taking place across the globe in general, and among Indians in particular.”
It is a membership based organization which is graded much on class distinction. The fee collected through the memberships is supposedly “to build the organization through conducting seminars, conferences, hall meetings and protests independently or jointly (with like-minded organizations).”Though the funds collected are not to be shared with like-minded organizations, a “separate fund has to be raised for them on voluntary basis.”
The organizational structure as per its Constitution is of an elected Secretary and Treasurer. Both the posts need to be elected each year by the members of the Executive. The study circle has many sub-committees, each chaired by a Chairperson. Earlier the active members of these subcommittees form the Executive committee and are mandated to attend all the book discussions, “As of now anyone who is part of any one of the sub committees and who delivers the tasks assigned to her/him will be an executive member. Every subcommittee will have a chair”.
An Annual General Body meeting is mandated “between Jul – Sep. NOT earlier than July and NOT later than September”. to elect a new executive committee and to daft “the annual report (of the tasks taken up previous years) and future task for the next 2 years.”
Leadership
Karthikeyan Shanmughan (S. Karthikeyan) is a founding member of the AKSC. He is an IT engineer living in Silicon Valley. He was active in the free software movement in India, and has organised a national seminar on reservation in the private sector [3] . He has played many roles in AKSC including Convenor [4] and secretary. Selvaraj was secretary [5] in 2020.
Elancheran Subramanian, Executive Committee Member, [6] AKSC ,[7] in 2018. Elancheran, presently a resident of SanJose California, works as senior software engineer in GoDaddy and has studied in NIT Tiruchirappalli. Shanthi Kathiresan, Executive Member, AKSC 2019 [8]. Some other members of the AKSC are: Udayabaskar, Kanakaraj, Asoka Boola, Chaitanya Diwadkar, Kanaglaxmi Ramesh and Thialikumaran.
Activities
AKSC has divide its activities in four parts:
Henceforth, a year wise chronological approach would be suitable to track the activities of the organizations.
The pandemic has brought a significant change in their working as the discussions have become frequent. Though the circle emphasizes meetings to be attended in-person but because of covid it has moved them online, explaining the increase in frequency.
|
Activity/Year |
2016-17 |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
2019-20 |
2020-21 |
|
Programs Organized
|
3 |
9 |
4 |
26 |
12 |
|
Books read and discussion sessions
|
11 |
12 |
11 |
5 |
15 |
|
Audio Conferences
|
5 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
|
Other Intervention Sessions
|
2 |
8 |
2 |
3 |
16 |
|
Newsletters (Quarterly)
|
NA |
1 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
Book Reading and Discussion Sessions:
The study circle meets every second Sunday of month to discuss and read books. The trend continued till pandemic, as evident here.
As the name is self-explanatory the study circle has been conceived to increase the reading of the literature amongst the targeted audience but what intrigues is why and who is the audience?
The answers to those questions can be interpreted from the text,
“In one way or another most of the members participating in reading and discussion are activists and making active intervention in their respective areas and aim of the AKSC has been to sharpen their theoretical and ideological understanding through reading and discussion. We , the activists, have become serious readers and debaters, NOT the otherway around that we started activism after we start reading.
Out of the zeal for activism AKSC has decided to organize public gatherings against oppressions and discriminations whose details are given below”
The readings of books from Ambedkar, MLK jr. and Periyar and discussion around them, appropriating them, in context of a limited understanding of the contemporary world, is done with purpose to derive legitimacy and justification for the audience to motivate and perpetuate one’s shallow idea.
2016-17
|
S. No. |
Title |
Date |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Annihilation of Caste by BR Ambedkar |
Oct 30, 2016 |
|
2 |
Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? By Martin Luther King, Jr. |
Dec 03, 2016 |
|
3 |
Revolution and Counter Revolution in Ancient India by BR Ambedkar |
Jan 20, 2016 |
|
4 |
Revolution and Counter Revolution in Ancient India by BR Ambedkar |
Feb 12, 2017 |
|
5 |
The Hindus: An Alternative History by Wendy Doniger |
Mar 12, 2017 |
|
6 |
Philosophy of Hinduism by BR Ambedkar |
Apr 09, 2017 |
|
7 |
Revolution and Counter Revolution in Ancient India by BR Ambedkar |
May 14, 2017 |
|
8 |
Who were the Shudras – How they came to be the Fourth Varna in Indo Aryan Society ? by BR Ambedkar |
Jun 11, 2017 |
|
8 |
Who were the Shudras – How they came to be the Fourth Varna in Indo Aryan Society? By BR Ambedkar |
Jul 09, 2017 |
|
9 |
B.R. Ambedkar – Indian and Communism. Introduction by Anand Teltumbde. |
Aug 20, 2017 |
|
10 |
Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? By Martin Luther King, Jr. |
Sep 10, 2017 |
|
11 |
Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? By Martin Luther King, Jr. |
Oct 08, 2017 |
2017-18
|
S. No. |
Title |
Date |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
The Untouchables: Who are They and Why They Became Untouchables by Ambedkar
|
Nov and Dec 2017 |
|
2 |
A people’s History of The United States by Howard Zinn |
Jan 2017 – Oct 2018 |
2018-19
|
S. No. |
Title |
Date |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
What Congress and Gandhi have done to the Untouchables? – Dr. Ambedkar |
Nov 2018 and May 2019 |
|
2 |
#BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor |
June 2018 – Sep 2019 |
2019-20
|
S. No. |
Title |
Date |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Annihilation of Caste: With a Reply to Mahatma Gandhi by B.R Ambedkar[9] |
May 17 & Jun 8, 2020 |
|
2 |
Riddles in Hinduism – Dr. Ambedkar[10] |
Apr 5, 2020 |
|
3 |
Marxism[11] |
Jan 27, 2020 |
|
4 |
CASTES IN INDIA: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development by B. R. Ambedkar On Contradiction by Mao[12]
|
Jan 6, 2020 |
2020-21
|
S. no. |
Title |
Date |
|---|---|---|
|
1. |
Caste – The Origins of Our Discontents” – By Isabel Wilkerson |
Sept 14, 2020-Mar 15, 2021 |
|
2. |
Republic of Caste: Thinking Equality in The Time of Neoliberal Hindutva by Anand Teltumbde |
Apr 5, 2021-Aug 9, 2021 |
Programs Organized
2016-17
|
No |
Program Name |
Date |
Date & Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Inclusive Campuses and Exclusive Society : Reality or Utopia |
Apr 16, 2017 |
Milpitas, CA |
|
2 |
‘Kakkoos’ Documentary Screening |
Aug 13, 2017 |
Milpitas, CA |
|
3 |
Periyar Birthday Celebration |
Sep 16, 2017 |
San Jose, CA |
Inclusive Campuses and Exclusive Society: Reality or Utopia
This was a Hall meeting organized to condemn what AKSC called “institutional murders” of J Muthukrishnan [13] on 14th March 2017. AKSC stated that between 2007 and 2017 April 22 students committed suicide in higher educational institutes of whom 95% students who took their own lives are Dalits.
S Karthikeyan anchored the program.
Joint organizers of this event beside AKSC are:
1.Ambedkar Association of North America (AANA),
2.Association for India’s Development (AID) [Bay Area Chapter],
3.South Asian Humanist Association (SAHA) and
4.Organization for Minorities of India (OfMI).
The Speakers were:
1.Mr. Harishchandra Sukhdeve,
This hall meeting was attended by around 60 to 70 people. Thialikumaran welcomed the gathering, Kanakalaxmi read the letter written by Ms. Sunitha (mother of Ankit, student from IIT-Bombay, who was victim of institutional murder) to Ms. Radhika Vemula (mother of Rohit Vemula), Chaitanya has moderated the Q&A and Kanakaraj delivered the vote of thanks.
A memorandum was signed and sent to the office of the Prime Minister of India and the Human and Resource Development of India. The AKSC has decided to work “seriously on civic education” and believes that “it should be different for the oppressed and the oppressor followed by this meeting”.
Kakkoos Documentary Screening
[14] Various organizations from Silicon Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, USA screened ‘Kakkoos’ (Toilet) documentary film. ‘Kakkoos’, directed by Divya Bharathi - a social activist, is said to to be a “powerful narration of destitute and miserable lives of manual scavengers”. This program was attended by around 80 to 90 people which includes Indian diaspora, Americans and the people from other nationalities with their children.
Joint organizers of this program were:
1. Kalai Remea & Vidya Palanisamy, Association for India’s Development (AID) – Bay Area Chapter,
2. San Jose Peace and Justice Center (SJPJC),
3.Dr. Vasant Mhaske, Ambedkar Association North America (AANA),
4. Thillai.Ka.Kumaran, World Tamil Organization (WTO),
5.Thiagarajan, Siragu Tamil Online magazine (Siragu.com) and
6.Ravikumar, Naam Tamilar America Arakattalai. (NTAA)
2. San Jose Peace and Justice Center (SJPJC),
3.Dr. Vasant Mhaske, Ambedkar Association North America (AANA),
4. Thillai.Ka.Kumaran, World Tamil Organization (WTO),
5.Thiagarajan, Siragu Tamil Online magazine (Siragu.com) and
6.Ravikumar, Naam Tamilar America Arakattalai. (NTAA)
S Karthikeyan, Udayabaskar and Kanakarajan from AKSC were present.
Periyar Birthday Celebration
The theme of celebrations was: ‘Periyar’s Self-Respect Movement and Humanism’ at Dr. Martin Luther King.Jr Library in San Jose.
Joint organizers of this program were:
Joint organizers of this program were:
1.Periyar International – Bay Area Chapter(PI-BAC),
2.BR Ambedkar Sikh Foundation(BRASF) and
3.Organization for Minorities of India (OfMI).
2.BR Ambedkar Sikh Foundation(BRASF) and
3.Organization for Minorities of India (OfMI).
The program started with a felicitations from Dr.K Veeramani through a video recording. Speakers in the event were:
1.Prof. Amrik Singh from the University of Sacramento, California
2.Pieter Friedrich of OfMI,
3.S Karthikeyan of AKSC and
4.K.Karunanidhi of All India Backward Classes
2.Pieter Friedrich of OfMI,
3.S Karthikeyan of AKSC and
4.K.Karunanidhi of All India Backward Classes
Vinodhini Kantharaj of PI-BAC welcomed the gathering. Asoka Boola has anchored the event. This program is attended by around 40 people.
2017-18
|
No |
Program Name |
Date |
Date & Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
October: 10 days that Shook the World , Documentary Screening |
Nov 07, 2017 |
San Jose, CA |
|
2 |
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr , 89th Birthday Commemoration |
Jan 13, 2018 |
San Jose, CA |
|
3 |
Talk by Aloor Shanavas |
Feb 25, 2018 |
Fremont, CA |
|
4 |
Babasaheb Dr B.R Ambedkar Birthday Commemoration |
Apr 15, 2018 |
Stanford, CA |
|
5 |
Vladimir I Lenin Birthday Commemoration |
Apr 22, 2018 |
San Jose, CA |
|
6 |
Talk by Su Venkatesan and Aazhi Senthilnathan |
Jul 15, 2018 |
Fremont, CA |
|
7 |
AKSC Annual Conference |
Sep 08, 2018 |
Cupertino, CA |
|
8 |
Thanthai Periyar E.V Ramasamy 140th Birth Anniversary Commemoration |
Sep 22, 2018 |
Cupertino, CA |
|
9 |
Democracy and Dissent in India Today: Conversation with Niranjan Takle |
Oct 02, 2017 |
San Jose, CA |
October: 10 days that Shook the World, Documentary Screening
On Nov 7th, 2017 San Jose Peace and Justice Center and Ambedkar King Study Circle have jointly organized a screening of “October: 10 days that Shook the World” directed by Sergei Eisenstein to commemorate 100th anniversary of Russian Revolution.
AKSC believes that Russian revolution is a great source of inspiration for the toiling masses of the colonial countries to further their freedom struggle. India and the USSR had a good friendship beyond foreign relations. The USSR helped the new-born nation since 1947 with technology and trade. Indian government released a postage stamp in commemorating 50th anniversary of the USSR in 1972. It quotes Dr B.R Ambedkar from ‘Buddha or Karl Marx’, “the Russian form of government is good for all backward countries”.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, 89th Birthday Commemoration
On Sat Jan 13 2018 AKSC joined with San Jose Peace & Justice Centre for commemorating the Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday. Till 2017 it was Mr. Gandhi who was celebrated along with Dr. King. But this year SJPC decided to introduce Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar as AKSC believes that Dr. King’s and Babasaheb’s ideology of fighting for social justice and equality is aligned well.
The program was conducted at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Library, San Jose. The function was hosted by Dr. Ruth Wilson, started with African Music along with Parai music (musical instrument only oppressed caste used play in Tamil Nadu, India). Dr. Babasaheb was introduced to around 100+ audience from different racial and social backgrounds, by Mr. Elancheran Subramanian, Executive Committee Member, AKSC. He gave a brief introduction Dr. Ambedkar’s work as a social reformist and how did he able to achieve the constitutional rights for oppressed castes of India. He compared Mr. Gandhi’s stand with social order than the social justice.
Talk by Aloor Shanavas
On Feb 25, 2018, AKSC joined hands with American Adirai Forum and hosted a program having Mr.Aloor Shanavas – Deputy General Secretary of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), TamilNadu.
Mr.Shanavas delivered the speech on title “Keezhadi to Harvard – The Struggles being faced by Tamil People”. It was attended by more than 100 people at Irvington Community Center, Fremont, CA. Mr.Karthikeyan of AKSC welcomed all and Mr. Thillai.Kumaran introduced the guest speaker Mr. Shavanas while Ms. Kanagalakshmi of AKSC anchoring the entire program.
AKSC conducted the program to condemn India government’s closing down of a more than 3000 yrs old archaeological site at Keezhadi[15] village in State of TamilNadu and resist “wrong propaganda made by fascist estabil forces were trying to undermine the USA Tamil diaspora effort to setup Tamil Chair department in world prestige Harvard University to conduct research on Tail language antiquity”.
Mr.Shanavas questioned why Infosys Narayana Murthy wasn’t opposed when he funded Sanskrit Chair at Harvard University but at same time they were opposing the Tamil Chair which funded by entire Tamil diaspora of USA. He narrated explanantion to prove Periyar’s atheism is not based on religious belief but purely based on Social-Justice.
Babasaheb Dr B.R Ambedkar Birthday Commemoration
Babasaheb Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s 127th birthday was celebrated on April 15th, 2018, in Stanford University Campus. The theme of the commemoration was “Social Justice in Neoliberal Era.”
Quoting various writings of Dr.Ambedkar on inequality, democracy, social-justice and economic conditions Mr. Karthikeyan of AKSC welcomed the gathering. Mr. Elancheran of AKSC delivered important speech on Dr.Ambedkar’s Hindu Code Bill.
It was jointly co-sponsored by following organizations:-
- San Jose Peace and Justice Center
- Mr. Sharat of San Jose Peace and Justice Center (SJPJC) compared Dr.Sun Yat-sen of China and Dr. Ambedkar of India. He further made an appeal to the elite among the Dalits especially who has an opportunity to come to the USA to be politically more responsible in fighting against all inequality since they have sufficient material condition to do so.
- Alliance for South Asians Taking Action
- Organizations for Minorities of India
- Mr. Pieter Friedrich of Organization for Minorities of India(OFMI) talked about the argument on policies and beliefs between Mr.Gandhi and Dr.Ambedkar on Caste issue.
- Sri Guru Ravidass Sabha, Bay Area,
- Ambedkar International Center (AIC),
- Association for India’s Development (AID) – Bay Area Chapter
- Ms. Sonali of Association for India(AID) as a Silicon Valley Techie, narrated her own personal experiences and explained on how the so called upper caste family has privileges and advantage to get ahead of lower caste and untouchable people of India.
- Ms. Asti Board of Directors of AID delivered the Vote of Thanks.
- Asha for Education (Stanford Chapter).
The program is anchored by Mr. Kanak of AKSC and Mr.Pavan of Association for India(AID) co- hosted the event. Around 80 people including college students attended the program.
“Participants observed a moment of silence for victims of rape in Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, and for those 11 dalits killed in violence unleashed by the Hindutva forces during the April 2nd Bharat Bandh as a protest to Indian supreme court’s ruling to dilute SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.
Prof. Rajkumar Hans from India talked about fraudulent gods of Hindu religion and religious false practices and how Dr.Ambedkar vehemently opposed Hinduism.
Vladimir I Lenin Birthday Commemoration
Vladimir I Lenin (1870-1924) has been the source of inspiration for the working class across the globe. AKSC decided to respond to “False propaganda and terrorizing the people are means and methods of the communal forces” by organizing a small birthday celebration on April 22 on his 148th birthday by discussing one of the important book written by him, The State and Revolution by Lenin.
Most of people in AKSC identify themselves as professional / white collar workers and believes that they are disconnected from the working class issues and more importantly during the crisis wrongly they take position with the capitalist class rather with the working class. Therefore, they believe Lenin’s teaching will help them to raise their class consciousness to stand with the working class during the time of the crisis rather with the bourgeoisie class.
Learning from Lenin, AKSC alleges that this very ‘democratic republic’ itself is in danger under “semi fascist rule of the RSS/BJP”. This discussion took place in San Jose Peace and Justice Center and attended by Sharat of of SJPnJC and a few students from Anakbayan, an Filipino student organization.
Talk by Su Venkatesan and Aazhi Senthilnathan
2018-07-15: Organized a speech with Com. Su Venkatesan, Sahitya Academy Awards winner and Com. Aazhi Senthilnathan, a political activist from Tamilnadu. The talks focused on “how the Hindutva forces tried to erase the secular and intellectual tradition of Indian history and the necessity to strengthen Indian federal setup with more power to the states besides responsibility”. The program started with an international anthem.
When Su.Venkatesan talked about women’s power and the rich culture of south India has been revealed more with the Keezhadi excavation. Azhi Senthilnathan talked about what was the real reason behind the India Pakistan separation and how that basis still not solved. Instead of being a state Tamilnadu forced to be a colony of India.
This was a big successful event with more than 100 participated and had very meaningful discussion. There was people from Sacramento and other places came and participated for this event.Tamil scholar Mamuthu Ayya and his granddaughter attended the event. She entertained audience with her song.
AKSC Annual Conference
AKSC’s first ever Annual Conference was held on 8th September 2018 in Cupertino, CA [16]. The theme of the conference was generally about the “rising tide of fascism all over the world” and in India in particular under the banner of Hindutva. The AKSC conference was attended and people came from Seattle, Portland, Redding and North Carolina.
The speakers in the event were:
1.Dr. Ruth Wilson, the Chair of the African American Studies program kicked off the conference with an inspiring talk about Dr. Martin Luther King.
2. Activist Teesta Setalvad spoke about the increasingly difficult conditions in India as the BJP and the Modi administration has become increasingly belligerent in its dealings with socio-economic issues relating to Dalits and minorities while promoting hyper-capitalist, neoliberal policies.
3.Dr. Max Elbaum gave a speech highlighting the necessity for the Left, of building broad coalitions to combat and stem the tide of fascism.
4.Dalit activist Ms. Thenmozhi Soundararajan, talked about her work in leading a Dalit women-centered, feminist, anti- caste struggle and recent events that bring to light the fascist and casteist agenda of the Hindutva diaspora in the US.
5.Thillaikumaran gave a talk on Dr. Palaniappan’s original research into the casteless society of Tamils during the Sangam age. Finally Dr. Moses Seenarine gave a very interesting talk which synthesized how the gravest threat to the planet, climate change, is a product not only of capitalism but also the privileges of toxic masculinity and thousands of years of patriarchy.
The conference is attended by close to 80 people. Participants are split into 6 groups and the groups discussed each topic presented in the conference after the talk and shared their group opinion and raised the questions discussed in the group. Such group participation helped the people to build organic link and share their opinion freely and importantly every one’s opinion was captured.
2 resolutions are passed[17]. One resolution on taking Dr Ambedkar’s writings to the American universities by institutionalizing Dr. Ambedkar Chair [18] and another one to hold a annual conference with other like minded organizations in bay area to challenge Hindutva ideology[19] .
Thanthai Periyar E.V Ramasamy 140th Birth Anniversary Commemoration
Dr. Vaa. Greetha addressed the audience over the video conference from India. She applauded how Periyar lived a A Model Public Life. She said Periyar upheld equality and self-respect over everything else. She added that Periyar was comfortable and confident to challenge and to be challenged publicly and even he was willing to share dais with his ideological opponents such as Sankaracharya a head of the Hindu Saivite section. Noted that Periyar’s writings are started to translate into other Indian languages such as Hindi so to challenge the Hindutuva at all India level.
Dr Victor, author of more than 100 books and have in-depth knowledge in Tamil literature addressed the audience that Tamil Nadu had such a conducive environment to produce leaders like Periyar though it was a progressive society since Sangam time i.e. 2000 years ago, when the word caste(Jati) itself was unknown in Tamil society. He recalled the anti caste activism and movement of pre Periyar era especially from Ayothidasar who published the Magazines such as ‘Dravidian’ and ‘One Penny Tamizhan’
Mr Mani M Manivannan, profession by software engineering executive and scholar in linguistic and social studies by interest , in his address to the audience vividly narrated Periyar’s radical life and conspicuous changes it has made in Tamil Society. He pondered and shared the interesting fact that even in his own and extended families the educated and professional classes are insensitive to Periyar while farmers and working classes are still celebrating Periyar and emotionally connected with him.
- San Jose Peace and Justice Center (SJPnJC),
- Association for India’s Development (AID), Bay Area,
- Ambedkar Association of North America(AANA),
- Ambedkar International Mission (AIM),
- Ambedkar International Center(AIC) and
- Kabila Pari Friendship Study Circle (KPFSC),
- American Tamil Radio(ATR)
Around 80 people with families and kids attended.
Democracy and Dissent in India Today: Conversation with Niranjan Takle
AKSC organized a session with investigative journalist Mr. Niranjan Takle from India at San Jose Peace and Justice Center.
Mr. Niranjan talked about his investigation of Judge Loya’s alleged murder who was investigating Sohrabuddin fake encounter case in which the BJP president Amit Shah was chargesheeted as 16th accused person. Mr. Niranjan expressed his agony over the suppression of free press in India recalling the event of 4 supreme court judges went public in the way cases are assigned in the Supreme Court and directly mentioned about Judge Loya.
Mr. Niranjan mentioned about the book he’s currently working about Dr. B.R Ambedkar role in preparing estab electoral roll in 1947 for the first Indian general election. Dr. Ambedkar and Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru are the only people assigned with the responsibility.
ICW(India Civil Watch) and the ASATA (Alliance of South Asians Taking Action) were co-hosts.The talk was live streamed with 15 persons attend in-person. This talk was quickly organized and held on a weekday evening.
|
No |
Program Name |
Date |
Date & Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Kilvenmani Massacre 50th Remembrance Day |
Dec 16 2018 |
Fremont, CA |
|
2 |
Workshop Report on What is Fascism and How to Resist it? |
Feb 23, 2019 |
San Jose, CA |
|
3 |
128th Dr Ambedkar Birthday Celebration in Cupertino, California |
Apr 13, 2019 |
Cupertino,, CA |
|
4 |
AKSC’S Second Annual Conference |
Sep 07, 2019 |
Cupertino, CA |
Kilvenmani Massacre 50th Remembrance Day, Documentary Screening
Ramiahvin Kudisai (The Hut of Ramiah) is a documentary directed by Bharathi Krishnakumar released in 2006 based on this gruesome incident. It documents the series of events which led to the massacre of 42 (or 44 as per the documentary) people and aftermath of the incident[20].
The event was attended by around 45 people with the family and kids to watch the documentary. Ms. Shanthi Kathiresan, Executive Member, AKSC, had delivered the vote of thanks.
128th Dr Ambedkar Birthday Celebration in Cupertino, California.
The theme of the celebrations was ‘Ambedkar on State Socialism’ to trigger a debate on Ambedkar’s position on state socialism and popularize and introduce his writings on the same, among the masses.
Dr Suraj Yengde, a Harvard fellow, apoke for one hour with pedantic details on Ambedkar’s state socialism. Besides the historical perspective of Ambedkar’s state socialism he connected the dots with contemporary Indian conditions. He said that if the land had been distributed equally across all the castes who are working on the land after Independence, caste discrimination and violence would have ended long before. Ambedkar’s state socialism provided more job security for the workers which would address their physical and mental health. Social discrimination against Dalits was directly linked to their economic dependence on so called upper castes. In the rural areas, Dalits depend on the so called upper caste for the land and in the urban economy Dalits depend on non-Dalits for jobs and employment. He concluded that the annihilation of caste is tantamount to annihilation of landlordism and redistribution of all lands across the castes. He emphasized reservation in private sector is an urgent need of social justice in the neoliberal era.
Mr Sandy Perry, the president of affordable housing network of Santa Clara county; California, walked the audience through the history of racism, racial discrimination and its current manifestation. He said that estabil racism is the product of estabil capitalism.
Mr Sharat G Lin, Research Fellow at SJPJC, talked about the intersectionality of class and caste. India’s social contradictions to some extent were addressed by the Public Sector Units (PSUs) but the PSUs have been shrinking due to privatization. He argued that Indian capitalism is casteism.
- Association for India’s Development (AID),
- San Jose Peace and Justice Center (SJPJC) and
- Organizations for Minorities of India (OfMI)
The event was well attended by 90 people who have come from different parts of the Bay Area and belong to different races and religions.
On Feb 23, Saturday , Ambedkar King Study Circle (AKSC) organized a workshop on ‘What is Fascism and How to Resist it?’ in San Jose , California. Aim of this workshop was to raise the working class conscious among the working class to challenge the fascist ideology.
Participants of the workshop has gone through two works of Com. Georgi Dimitrov[21]:
- Unity of the Working Class against Fascism and
- The Fascist Offensive and the Tasks of the Communist International in the Struggle of the Working Class against Fascism.
Ms. Nassim Nouri , member of Green Party , started with GP’s 10 key values and of which social justice and democracy are inextricably coupled. She walked the participants through the details of America’s imperialist intervention in estabilizing democracies across the globe and establishing dictatorship in Latin America in particular.
Mr. Mani M Manivannan , a well known Tamil and Indian scolar in Bay Area, explained about the evolution of the Hindutva from Jan Sangh to the Bharatiya Janata Party. He narrated about the social, cultural and political infiltration of Hindutva forces in the south India during the post Indian emergency period i.e. between June 1975 and March 1977.
Mr. Michael Paradela of Anakbayan[22], California based mass organization organizing the people of Philippines origin, tracked the fascist suffering of the Philippines by national bourgeoisie abetted by the imperialists [23]. He walked the participants through the rise of dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1960s- and 1972-people’s protest against outright corruption of Marcos’s regime.
This workshop provided a insight to the AKSC members on “how exactly caste is another manifestation of that fascist ideology and how capitalism is a force that drives that”.
AKSC’s 2nd conference was held successfully on Sep 7th, 2019 at Cupertino, California [24] with over 120 registered participants which had about 40% of women. Dr. Kancal Iliah and Dr. Suraj Yengde, were amongst the speakers. 3 Panels discussions were also done.
Dr. Ilaiah said that non-Brahmins are the producer class who developed agriculture by working on fields and developed various technologies in ancient India to meet the needs of the common men whereas the priestly class exploited the producers by chanting slogans. He took a strong position on the de-politicalized nature of Indian Christians. He appealed to the Indian Christians that the Indian Christians should take a leaf out of the book from American Christians especially the black Christians who used religion for their spiritual emancipation.
First panel discussion is ‘21st Century Organizing: Issues, Results, Challenges. The speakers were Mr. Kunal Shankar (Columbia University) and Ms. Sabiha Basrai (Co-ordinator, Alliance of South Asians Taking Action), this panel was moderated by Mr. Karthikeeyan, AKSC.
Dr. Suraj Yengde (Harvard University) and Ms. Rachel Herzing, Center for Political Education (CPE) spoke on the panel, Assimilation of Race and Caste Question & Building Global Organic Movement and this panel is moderated by Mr. Chaitanya Diwadkar, AKSC.
Prof. Hatem Bazian Director, Islamophobia Research & Documentation Project Center for Race and Gender. The University of California, Berkeley and Mr. Anto Akkara, award-winning investigative journalist & author were part of ‘Religious Freedom and Freedom in Religion.’ And this panel was moderated by Ms. Anu Mandavilli, ASATA.
Overall this conference was a great success in terms of the number of participants increased by about 30% and 40% of women attendance. And most of the participants engaged in a very healthy discussion throughout the panel discussion. Dr. Kancha Ilaiah patiently listened to all those panel discussions and actively shared his insights in those discussions.
|
No |
Program Name |
Date |
Date & Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
PERIYAR 142nd BIRTHDAY (Topic: CASTES & ECONOMICS) by Thozhar G.JAKKAIYAN [25] |
Sept 18, 2020 |
Online |
|
2 |
Practice of Caste in USA: Discussion Series [26] |
July 10, 2020- Sept 12, 2020 |
Online |
|
3 |
Lessons, Urgent Need and Success of Uniting the I-T Workers [27] |
July 03, 2020 |
Online |
|
4 |
AKSC Let’s Read Ambedkar – 10 Lectures Series by Dr V Geetha [28] |
March 30, 2020-Apr 29, 2020 |
Online |
|
5 |
V.I. Lenin, 150th Birthday Celebration [29] |
April 22, 2020 |
Online |
|
6 |
Dr.Ambedkar 129th Birthday Celebration (online) [30] |
April 16, 2020 |
Online |
|
7 |
Workshop for Activists on Social Science [31] |
Feb 1, 2020 |
48 S 7th St, San Jose, CA 95112-3531, United States |
|
8 |
Protest Against Indian Citizen Amendment Act(CAA) and NRC [32] |
Dec 22, 2019 |
Stevenson Blvd / Paseo Padre Parkway Intersection |
Workshop for Activists on Social Science
To Introduce Marxism to the Indian activists in the bay area who are part of AKSC’s volunteering for social and cultural organizations. Develop class consciousness in them to connect dialectically how social/cultural and class issues are inseparable.
Introduce them to a Marxist world outlook ie materialistic and connect with exclusive Indian social condition ie caste. In this workshop, most focus was on Marxism. Also, they encourage the activists who belong to one of the advanced sections of the working class, the IT workers, to be part of class organizations too besides social and cultural organizations.
Workshop was taught by
Topics focused were:
- Dialectical Materialism.
- Historical Materialism.
- Capitalism, the State and Philanthropy.
- Neo-Liberalism, Fascism and Imperialism.
Practice of Caste in USA: Discussion Series
The State of California Department of Fair Employment and Housing(DFEH)’s lawsuit against Cisco Systems for caste discrimination recognizes a long-hidden malaise in the Indian diaspora.
The aim of this series is to encourage anti-caste Indians to openly discuss the practice of caste in the USA and to educate the broader American public about the caste system and the discriminatory practices that surreptitiously continue, especially among those working in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
This is a 10-part series by AKSC where lectures were conducted and testimonies were also called for.
|
S.no. |
Speaker |
Description |
Title |
Date (USA) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Author, Speaker and Activist |
Caste Practices Among Diaspora: How to Stop It? [33] |
July 10, 2020 |
|
|
2 |
Dr. Natrajan’s books include “Culturalization of Caste in India: Identity and Inequality in a Multicultural Age” (London: Routledge, 2011) on the persistence of caste in India today. |
JUL 18, 2020 |
||
|
|
Researcher and consultant, London, UK |
Everyday Caste–Speech, Practice, and Discrimination [35]
|
||
|
3 |
Dr.Ajantha is also author of “Shorelines: Space and Rights in South India” and “The Caste of Merit: Engineering Education in India” books published by Harvard University Press
|
Professor of Anthropology and of South Asian Studies. Chair – Department of Anthropology, Harvard University
|
JUL 23, 2020 |
|
|
Dr. Suraj is an author of the bestseller book “Caste Matters”. Co-editor of “The Radical in Ambedkar – Critical Reflection” book
|
Post-Doc, Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, MA |
California State vs Cisco–Caste Discrimination Lawsuit: American Brahminic Fiasco [37] |
||
|
4 |
|
Advocate, Delhi High Court & Supreme Court of India |
Treatment of Caste inJudicial Decisions [38] |
JUL 25, 2020 |
|
Senior Standing Counsel of Social Welfare Department, Karnataka, India
|
||||
|
5 |
Author of the book Dalit Women’s Education in Modern India: Double Discrimination.
|
Associate Professor – Department of History University of Cincinnati, OH |
Building bridges:Dalit and African American women’ssolidarity [40] |
AUG 1, 2020 |
|
Discuss the 200 years history and make suggestions for where Dalits and Blacks in the US should go from here. |
Richard S. Melvin Professor, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Bloomington, IN . |
History of the African-American Relationship to Oppression on the Indian Subcontinent and Where Dalits and Black Go from Here? [41]
|
||
|
6 |
Professor of Philosophy and Cultural Politics, University of Wolverhampton, UK
|
AUG 8, 2020 |
||
|
Reader in Human Rights Law, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
|
||||
|
7 |
Professor, University of Melbourne, Australia |
How the Caste System Maintains and Increases Economic Inequality [47]
|
AUG 13, 2020 |
|
|
Co-Director, Asian Political Economy Program and Associate Professor of Economics.
|
||||
|
8 |
Professor, History and MESAAS at Barnard College, Columbia University, USA
|
AUG 22, 2020 |
||
|
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Center For Modern Indian Studies, Göttingen University, Germany
|
||||
|
9 |
Barger Leadership Institute Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan
|
AUG 27, 2020 |
||
|
10 |
Adjunct Professor, Department of Sociology, Georgetown University Washington DC |
Cultural Resistance among Dalit-Bahujan Students in Indian Universities [56] |
||
|
11 |
Professor of Social Anthropology, Department of Anthropology, SOAS University of London, UK |
CASTE & RELIGION: Caste discrimination and claims to castelessness in law and economy [58]
|
SEP 12, 2020 |
Following which AKSC released a Solidarity Statement:
On June 30, the State of California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) sued Cisco Systems – a major supplier of computer networking gear that makes the internet work – indicting the company of discriminating against an engineer because he is Dalit1 (formerly “untouchables”). This statement from Ambedkar King Study Circle seeks solidarity from media, technology, academic community and industry professionals to end caste-based discriminationand practices in the US[59].
And a Press Release was released to CEOs of Tech companies to “Combat Caste Discrimination in your firm” Alliance Against Caste Tells CEOs. Testimonials Collected by Coalition Point to Widespread Caste Discrimination Across the USA [60] .
The Indian American Alliance Against Caste (IAAAC) today urged the CEOs of the 25 US high-tech companies to combat caste based discrimination in their firms immediately. The letter draws their attention to a landmark case on caste discrimination filed on June 30, 2020 by the California Fair Housing and Employment office against the tech giant Cisco. That case highlights the discriminatory practices of two dominant caste Cisco employees against another Cisco employee who belongs to the Dalit (formerly ‘Untouchable’) community. According to the letter: “Caste based discrimination has long been an unacknowledged problem in Silicon Valley and the US. The Cisco case names it and asks all of us to take it seriously. Caste discrimination is as toxic as race and gender-related discriminations. Neglecting caste is tantamount to allowing your company to be a hostile workplace.”
The letter demands that CEOs intervene immediately to institute policies to combat caste based discrimination alongside similar policies on race, gender and sexuality in their firms, to integrate caste into their diversity and inclusion programs, and to review recruitment policies to eliminate bias. The letter notes that the Indian high-tech workforce…is overwhelmingly composed of ‘dominant caste groups’ who enjoy a ‘traditional’ social power and status over other caste groups. What this means is that every tech company is potentially a Cisco in terms of active caste discrimination at your workplaces. Speaking on the occasion of the release of the letter to the CEOs, Prof. Subramanian of Harvard University pointed out that “the prevalence of caste discrimination in both elite technical education and private industry in India makes its entry into the American workplace not the least bit surprising” Prof. Brown (Indiana University) argued that the Cisco case highlights the absolute “importance of integrating the issue of caste discrimination into every level of policy in the United States.
IAAAC is a coalition of the most prominent community-based organizations representing Dalits in the USA and other social justice organizations from the Indian diaspora. “We aim to transform the American workplace into a safer and more productive space through this campaign” said a spokesperson for the coalition and Ambedkar International Mission USA (AIM USA), an IAAAC member. Mr. Selvaraj, Speaking on behalf of the Ambedkar King Study Circle, a Silicon Valley based Dalit community organization, noted that “As per the testimonials that we are receiving, casteism is widespread within the Indian community in US. It is time that our employers take note of this since it negatively impacts workplace morale, trust and synergy.” Dr. Yengde, of Harvard University commenting on the launch of the campaign said, “Caste is always one of the last things that is acknowledged.
Many Indians of the dominant caste lot are ready to support social justice issues around racism, homophobia, but do not acknowledge the casteism in our midst for which they are responsible. ‘Indians for BLM’ is their barter to ‘Indians against Casteism’. We are determined to have American companies do the right thing.” The coalition is hopeful that the progressive leadership of the tech industry will respond positively and quickly to its demands.
Lessons, Urgent Need and Success of Uniting the I-T Workers
Lessons, Urgent Need and Success of Uniting the IT Workers in Tamil Nadu,Indiaby Alagunambi Welkin, General Secretary,UNITE
Alagunambi talked about the problems in Indian IT Sectors and solutions his organization is working on. Issues discussed were:
- Retrenchments & Forced Resignations
- Transparency & Unilateral Decision Making
- SexualHarassments & Existing Laws
- Work place discrimination based on Caste, Gender, Language, Religion & Region
AKSC Let’s Read Ambedkar - 10 Lectures Series by Dr V Geetha
This teach-in adopts a historical as well as a thematic approach to understanding Ambedkar’s life and work. It actually comprises 7 lectures. Of the 7, three lectures comprise two parts (Part 1 & Part 2) each.
She has a reading list that goes with the lectures [61] . These comprise extracts from Ambedkar’s writings (available on ambedkar.org; velivada.com). She has referenced the English volumes, but there are Tamil translations of all volumes available on velivada.com. If anyone wishes to access the Tamil texts, she will upload details of those volumes as well.
The short reading list for the course comprises essays marked in blue. All other essays are part of the long reading list, which includes two book-length works, Thoughts on Pakistan and The Buddha and His Dhamma. Depending on the participant’s time, one could go on to read either list, after the lectures.
|
Lecture no. |
Title |
Date |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Ambedkar in His Time and Ours: An Introduction [62] |
Mar 30, 2020 |
|
2 |
|
Apr 01, 2020 |
|
3 |
Caste, Untouchability and Democracy (Part 1)[64] |
Apr 06, 2020 |
|
4 |
Caste, Untouchability and Democracy (Part 2) [65] Q&A Session[66] |
Apr 08, 2020 |
|
5 |
Ambedkar’s Critique of Brahmanism and Nationalism (Part 1)[67] Q&A Session[68] |
Apr 13, 2020 |
|
6 |
Ambedkar’s Critique of Brahmanism and Nationalism (Part 2)[69] Q&A Session[70] |
Apr 15, 2020 |
|
7 |
The Question of the Economy: Untouchables, Labour, Socialism (Part 1)[71] Q&A Session[72] |
Apr 20, 2020 |
|
8 |
The Question of the Economy: Untouchables, Labour, Socialism (Part 2)[73] Q&A Session [74] |
Apr 22, 2020 |
|
9 |
Buddhism and the Annihilation of Caste (Part 1) [75] Q&A Session[76] |
Apr 27, 2020 |
|
10 |
Buddhism and the Annihilation of Caste (Part 2) [77] Q&A Session & Closing Remarks [78] |
Apr 29, 2020 |
Dr. V. Geetha lives in Chennai, Tamilnadu. For over 30 years, she has been active in the Indian women’s movements and a fellow traveller with left and anti-caste movements. She writes in Tamil and English on a range of concerns: gender, caste, sexuality, labour, education and culture. Amongst the better known of her books is the one she co-authored with Mr. S. V. Rajadurai: Towards a Non-Brahmin Millennium: from Iyothee Thass to Periyar. Her most recent book is Undoing Impunity: Speech After Sexual Violence.
Mr. S. V. Rajadurai and she have also written lengthy introductory books in Tamil on western Marxism: on Louis Althusser, the frankfurt school and on the life and work of Antonio Gramsci. The last is a very comprehensive introduction to Gramsci’s life and thought.
Since 2015, she has been conducting these ‘Let’s Read Ambedkar’ sessions and to date have done over 20 of these classes, across India, including in various parts of Tamil Nadu.
V.I. Lenin, 150th Birthday Celebration
Lenin and Martin Luther King Jr.: Their Ideas and Times by Mr. Rajendra Sahai, The Institute for the Critical Study of Society at the Niebyl Proctor Marxist Library.
Lenin and B.R Ambedkar: Their Ideas and Times by Mr. V Shankar, All India president of All India Central Council of Trade Unions.
AKSC fnds many similarities in the King and Ambedkar:
- Dr Ambedkar and Dr King took same position in many things. Both rejected capitalism, both were interested to reform parliamentary democracy esp elections funded by the 'Big Business'.
- Both needs religion and both rejected the idea of dictatorship of the proletariat. Dr King saw communism as a threat to Christianity and individual freedom. Dr King didn't accept communism meanwhile he rejected capitalism and proposes a synthesis of these two. Dr Ambedkar proposed state socialism.
Aim of this program was to promote a debate on the differences between Lenin and Ambedkar & King and it's relavnace in today's context. Also encouraged the people who read Ambedkar and King to read Lenin and encourage people who read Lenin to read Ambedkar and King.
Dr. Ambedkar 129th Birthday Celebration (online)
Dr. Sujatha Surepally, Sr. Faculty Member at Satavahana University, India was invited to speak on the Indian Contradiction: Socially Feudal and Economcally Digital What needs to be done?
PERIYAR 142nd BIRTHDAY (Topic: CASTES & ECONOMICS) by
Thozhar G.JAKKAIYAN
Thozhar G.JAKKAIYAN. Founder and President of Aathi Thamizhar Katchi, Tamilnadu, India was invited to speak on the program. He spoke on, CASTES AND ECONOMICS.
This speech was in Tamil language but translated to English in parallel to engage non tamil speaking audiences
2020-21
|
No |
Program Name |
Date |
Date & Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Intellectual Property(IP) Rights and The Political Economy of India's Covid-19 Vaccine Policy [79] |
May 14, 2021 |
|
|
2 |
Interaction with "ENJOY ENJAAMI" Mr.ARIVU: EMANCITORY ART - Today's Challenges & Opportunity |
Apr 24, 2021 |
Online |
|
3 |
Ideas Behind Bars |
Apr 24, 2021 |
Online |
|
4 |
Collective Strength in Collective Voices: Courage in Time of Crisis |
Apr 24, 2021 |
Online |
|
5 |
Hathras Updates + Unique Challenges Facing Dalit Leadership |
Apr 18, 2021 |
Online |
|
6 |
Sacred Circle of Dalit Truths |
Apr 10, 2021 |
Online |
|
7 |
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 92nd Birthday Commemoration |
Jan 16, 2021 |
Online |
|
8 |
Remembering Prof. Tho.Paramasivan (Tho.Pa) - Tamil Program |
Jan 04, 2021 |
Online |
|
9 |
உயர் தொழிற்நுட்ப அடிப்படைவாதிகளும் - இணையவெளி சமூகநீதி போராட்டங்களும் |
Nov 06, 2020 |
Online |
|
10 |
Why to Vote No on California Prop-22? |
Oct 16, 2020 |
Online |
|
11 |
WHAT IS CA's PROP-16 AND WHY IS IT NEEDED? |
Oct 10, 2020 |
Online |
|
12 |
CALIFORNIA'S PROP-16: USING THE BALLOT BOX TO INCREASE ACCESS AND EQUITY |
Oct 03, 2020 |
Online |
Intellectual Property(IP) Rights and The Political Economy of India's Covid-19 Vaccine Policy
AKSC invited Prof. R. RAMAKUMAR, NABARD Chair, Professor, Economist at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, India to speak on IP Rights and Political Economy of India’s Covid 19 vaccine.
Ideas Behind Bars
This webinar aimed to shed light on “alarming authoritarian developments in India that have scarcely received adequate international attention”. It walso tries to critically examine the state’s strategies to target individuals and all forms of dissent to unpack the mechanisms of what has been described as India's autocratic turn. Through the lens of the Bhima Koregaon case that includes 16 people incarcerated since 2018 (the BK-16), AKSC and partner organizations explore how apparently different strategies of suppression come together to destabilise democratic structures and constrict public discourse, freedom of speech and dissent. The webinar brings together experts who will speak about the legal, technological, media and human rights dimensions of the case.
The webinar is part of InSAF India's campaign demanding the release of all jailed scholars, students and civic activists in India. For those not familiar with the BK-16 case, organizers recommended watching the 5-minute video 'The Strange Case against the Bhima Koregaon Political Prisoners' [80] released by The Polis Project[81] for an excellent introduction to the case.
The webinar is part of InSAF India's campaign demanding the release of all jailed scholars, students and civic activists in India. For those not familiar with the BK-16 case, organizers recommended watching the 5-minute video 'The Strange Case against the Bhima Koregaon Political Prisoners' [80] released by The Polis Project [81] for an excellent introduction to the case.
Panellists were:-
1. Jed Crandall Associate Professor, Biodesign Center for Biocomputation, Security and Society and School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, USA
2. Suchitra Vijayan Author of Midnight's Borders: A People's History of Modern India and Founder and Executive Director of The Polis Project
3. Tarunabh Khaitan Professor of Public Law and Legal Theory, and Vice Dean, Faculty of Law, Oxford University, UK
This event was co-hosted by
3. Scholars At Risk,
4. Amsterdam School of Cultural Analysis (ASCA), University of Amsterdam,
5. The Forum on Education in Asia (UCL), and
Collective Strength in Collective Voices: Courage in Time of Crisis
AKSC organised this event as a space to draw on the strength, healing, love, and collective care needed to sustain through this devastating crisis under the second wave of covid in India. AKSC believes that of the tragedy unfolding in India, it disproportionately and catastrophically affecting Dalit and Bahujan communities. Therefore, in keeping with Ambedkarite shairi's rebellious and hopeful cultural musical tradition, the program is invited.
Navayan Mahajalsa [82] , an Ambedkarite cultural shahiri group [83] that aims to spread anti-caste and pro-democracy movement messages. The event featured songs/ballads by two members of the collective—Sachin Mali and Shital Sathe and a conversation with the duo facilitated by ICWI’s Prachi Patankar.
Filmmaker Somnath Waghmare who is working on an Ambedkarite Songs Documentation project to document and archive Ambedkarite Song[84] and tradition in rural areas across Maharashtra also joined.
Navayan Mahajalsa is a shahiri troupe that carries forward the rebellious cultural tradition in Maharashtra. After being successful as Shahirs* for 15 years, Sheetal Sathe and Sachin Mali established this troupe in 2017. The troupe has been conducting “Shahiri Jalsa” events not only in Maharashtra, but all over India, with a mission of annihilation of caste, class, and patriarchal oppression.
Navayan Mahajalsa is their official YouTube channel and they regularly publish their new creations on this channel. In addition to being an audience, Sathe and Mali appeal to the public to actively support Navayan Mahajalsa in building a cultural movement for fighting inequity.
Hathras Updates + Unique Challenges Facing Dalit Leadership
Dr. Ruth Manorama, recipient of The Right Livelihood Award, discuss her political representation as a Dalit Feminist Activist, specifically in the context of the Modi Government.
Beena Pallical of the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights, and Abirami Jotheeswaran from All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch (National Campaign for Dalit Womens' Human Rights) provided an update on the Hathras situation.
Sacred Circle of Dalit Truths
This year in Dalit History Month, Sacred Circle of Dalit Truths introduced listeners to works of prose, poetry, and fiction embodying Dalit cultures and identities, in a special vigil held in the format of the Sacred Circle, drawing on Indigenous American traditions.
Dalit Tamil novelist Bama read from her classic work, Sangati. She was joined by Rev. Dr. Evangeline Rajkumar; ICWI Board Members, Rev. Dr. Sarah Anderson and Prof. Roja Suganthy-Singh; and young poets and artists Nivedhan, Eklan, Saara, and Thaai children from Pudukottai—Gomathi and Bhuvaneshwari. The presenters read passages from Annhilation of Caste, Spotted Goddess, and pieces of their own prose and poetry. Prof. Roja Suganthy-Singh presided.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 92nd Birthday Commemoration
AKSC and the San Jose Public Library partnered with the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Committee to commemorate the 92nd birthday anniversary of Dr. King by remembering his real legacy and considering how he would respond to this current critical inflexion point in our history with the question he once posed, "Where do we go from here?" and his call to move from "chaos to community!"
Speakers include:
1.Tiffany E. Garcia, SJPL Librarian, welcoming remarks
2.Mary Celestin, founder, San Jose Strong
3.Rev. Jethroe Moore, president, NAACP San Jose/Silicon Valley
4.Prof. Scott Myers-Lipton, San Jose State University
5.Maricela Gutiérrez, executive director of SIREN
6.Raven Malone, BLM activist and past candidate for Palo Alto City Council
7.Lucila Chávez, co-founder, San José Roll Call
8.Tomara Hall, founder of TEYA and past candidate for SJUSD Board
9.A. Selvaraj, executive committee member, Ambedkar King Study Circle
10.Dr. Sharat G. Lin, San Jose Peace and Justice Center & Human Agenda
The program opened with Indian Parai drum music.
Why to Vote No on California Prop-22?
Proposition 22 is a California ballot initiative up for a vote in November 2020. The proposition seeks to exempt gig companies like uber, Lyft, doordash etc from California labor law as framed in AB5. It is opposed by all driver unions across California and the United States.
Speakers:
1. Prof. Biju Mathew, Secretary, National Taxi Workers Alliance (AFLCIO) and Associate Professor of Information Systems, Rider University, New Jersey. Biju Mathew, is a leading national voice on Taxi and TNC driver rights.
2. Prof. Veena Dubal, University of California, Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco. Prof. Veena Dubal was a critical and exemplary commentator in the debate leading up to the passage of AB5.
Ambedkar King Study Circle endorsed Vote NO on proposition 22.
WHAT IS CA's PROP-16 AND WHY IS IT NEEDED?
AKSC invited Ms. RESMA SHAMASUNDER
Campaign Strategist - PROP16 [85] to speak dispell the myths [86] .
Ms. Reshma Shamasunder [87] has worked with Asian Americans Advancing Justice and the National Immigration Law Center.
CALIFORNIA'S PROP-16: USING THE BALLOT BOX TO INCREASE ACCESS AND EQUITY
SPEAKER:
Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig, Ph.D Dean and Professor
University of Kentucky College of Education
Dr. Heilig [88] leads nearly 3,000 students, staff and faculty as the Dean and a Professor of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation at the University of Kentucky College of Education.
Audio Conferences
2016-17
|
S.No |
Program |
Date |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Direct Report from a Student of IIT Madras: On Sooraj's Attack in Particular and Caste Apartheid in IIT-Madras in General. Abhinav Surya |
Jun 08, 2017 |
|
2 |
Ambedkar on Brahminism and Capitalism : United Struggles for Annihilation of Caste. Dr.Anand Teltumbde |
Jun 10, 2017 |
|
3 |
On Honor Killings : Anything is Fair in Love But Caste P Suganthi Secretary AIDWA and Kausalya Social Activist |
Sep 01, 2017 |
|
4 |
NEET : Why it’s Against Federalism and Social Justice Dr. Mani Nachimuthu , Co-Ordinator, Federation to Defend Right to Education. |
Sep 09, 2017 |
|
5 |
Struggles faced by Aathithamizhar Peravai Athiyamaan, Founder, Aathithamizhar Peravai (ATP) |
Sep 30, 2017 |
2017-18
|
S.No |
Program |
Date |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
The challenges of building a unified movement of Oppressed, Marginalized and Exploited in India today by Dr. Goldy M. George,Chief Editor, Journal of People’s Studies |
Nov 18,2017 |
|
2 |
Manifestation of Caste and Gender Based Violence in Contemporary India and AIPWS’s Interventions by Com. Kavita Krishnan, Secretary of All India Progressive Women’s Association |
Dec 09,2017 |
|
3 |
Andal: Assault on Freedom of Expression? By Com. Tamilselvan, Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association |
Jan 27,2018 |
|
4 |
Oppressed castes and Swabimhani Dalit Shakti:A dialogue on the movements interventions in Karnataka with Com S Sivalingam, President,Swabimhani Dalit Shakti |
Mar 30,2018 |
2018-19
|
S.No |
Program |
Date |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Neo fascism and the tasks of class struggle by GN Nagaraj |
Feb 2019 |
|
2 |
Pon Parrapi Attack - Conference call with Aloor Shanavas, Dy Secretary of VCK, on the election day attack on the Dalits to deny their voting rights happened on Apr 18th 2019 |
Apr 2019 |
|
3 |
Conference Call with Com. Brinda Carat on Abrogation of article 370 & 35A on Kashmir |
Aug 23 2019 |
2019-20
|
S.No |
Program |
Date |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Defeat the RSS - S. Sasikanth Senthil, IAS[89] |
Mar 6, 2020 |
|
2 |
Why I left Hinduism? - Dr. Raees Mohammed, Founder Dalit Camera [90] |
Feb 21, 2020 |
|
3 |
[91] by Mr. Nagai Thiruvalluvan, President, Tamil Puligal Katchi |
Feb 07, 2020 |
|
4 |
Women’s March for Violence Free, Liquor Free Tamilnadu [92] |
Dec 13, 2019 |
|
5 |
The Brahminical Campuses - Ms. Arulmozhi, Advocate[93] |
Nov. 23, 2019 |
Other Interventions
Besides organizing the above kind of discussions and conference calls, AKSC under common banner or sometimes without any banner participates or organizes in demonstrations.
2016-17
|
S.No |
Program |
Date |
Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Abolish NEET Protests in Bay Area |
Fermont, CA |
|
|
2 |
Condemning TN Police brutality on Fishermen in the aftermath of Jallikattu Protests in Chennai, TN |
Abolish National Eligibility-Cum-Entrance(NEET) Protests in Bay Area
AKSC organized this protest to mark and condemn the suicide of Anitha [94] , a Dalit girl who has scored 1178/1200, i.e. 98%, but couldn’t get a MBBS seat based on newly introduced selection method i.e. NEET. She would have got an MBBS seat under the existing mark-based selection.
AKSC perceives NEET is
1. Pro urban and pro rich since NEET needs extra paid coaching which poor can't afford
2. Reversing the social justice where many students from Backward castes and a considerable number of students from scheduled caste were able to get medical college admission under open category and NEET is an attempt to reverse this trend.
3. Based on CBSE where vast majority i.e. close to 97% of the students study under State board and NEET reserves only 85% seats for the state board and hence against state board students and it's direct violation of nature of federalism.
4. NEET is a initial step of implementing a National level eligibility tests by Central Govt’s Joint Seat Allocation Authority, which is unconstitutional and denies State’s rights to have specific educational policy according to social demography.
Hence, AKSC claims that NEET is unconstitutional, against federalism, and Class and Caste issue. It partnered with other Organizations to mobilize Indians in Bay Area for a protest in Fremont CA and then before Consulate General of India, SFO and submitted a memorandum to abolish NEET and move the Education from Concurrent list to State’s list. The protest, according to AKSC, in Fremont was attended by 200+ Indians.
Condemning TN Police brutality on Fishermen in the aftermath of Jallikattu Protests in Chennai, TN
AKSC alleges that TN Police has charged many innocent Fishermen Folks with false Sedition charges in Pro-Jaikattu protets. Therefore, AKSC organized this to register their protest against TN Police’s “brutal attack”.
2017-18
|
S.No |
Program |
Date |
Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Intervention in California Social Science Textbook Issue [95] |
Nov 09, 2017 |
Sacramento, CA |
|
2 |
Public Demonstration Against Attack on Bhima Koregaon [96] |
Jan 13, 2018 |
Dr. Martin Luther King Library, San Jose |
|
3 |
Bay Area Tamil Women Protest Misogynist Tweets by Community Member, Demand Apology |
May 19, 2018 |
|
|
4 |
Justice For Asifa |
April 29, 2018 |
San Jose, CA |
|
5 |
Public Demonstration Against Sterlite* |
Apr 2, 2018 |
Milpitas |
|
6 |
Public Demonstration Against Thoothukudi Firing* |
May 26, 2018 |
Consulate General of India, San Francisco, California |
|
7 |
Public Demonstration to condemn the arrest of Bhima Koregaon Activists |
September 07, 2018 |
Cupertino |
|
8 |
Intervention and Campaign Against WHC [97] |
Intervention in California Social Science Textbook Issue
In 1988 California Department of Education (CDE) adopted a social science framework for school education which is deemed as major overhaul of social science syllabus and subsequently the framework is implemented in 1994. The framework has included ancient civilizations to be taught in grade 6 includes the caste and religion as part of Indian social system. From 1994, this framework is reviewed and adopted for every 6 years.
2006 adaptation turned as a battlefield AKSC fought against California Parents For the Equalization of Educational Materials (CPFEEM)’s decision to challenge CDE in the court.
Process for 2018 adaptation was started in 2016 and final hearing took place on Nov 7th 2017. AKSC mobilized 11 members to represent themselves as border coalition of South Asian History for All (SAHFA). AKSC requested IQC to make the below changes in the IQC framework [95].
1.In grade 6 framework, please remove ‘Today many Hindus, in India and in the United States, do not identify themselves as belonging to a caste’, or change as ‘Today majority of the Hindus, in India and in the United States, identify themselves as belonging to a caste with a very few exception.
2.In grade 7 framework, please elaborate how the caste system become irreparably rigid during the Gupta dynasty (3rd and 6th Century CE) by stopping sub caste, Jati, mobility. It’s during Gupta’s period Brahmins firmly established their social status by monopolizing education, art and culture. Sati as practice, widows were forced to burn themselves on the funeral pyre of their husbands, was introduced. According to Dr B.R Ambedkar it’s during this very period ‘Untouchability’ was introduced by making cow killing as sin and beef-eating as an offence. As secular Indian historians put that during the rule of Guptas Indian society becomes Aryan Patriarchal Society.
3.Studying of ancient history remain incomplete without studying ‘Mauryan Empire’ (322 BCE and 187 BCE) and how the counter-revolution staged against this empire by a Brahmin general Pushyamitra through an assassination of Brihadratha, the last Mauryan king. Please include about ‘Mauryan Empire’ and its unparalleled contribution to ancient Indian society.
Public Demonstration Against Attack on Bhima Koregaon
On Sat Jan 13 2018 AKSC have joined hands with SJPC and IAMC to register the protest against the alleged attack on Dalits who were commemorating Bhima Koregaon victory peacefully.
So AKSC decided to bring this injustice to larger forum, with the help of the SJPC and IAMC, there was a demonstration done before the Dr. Martin Luther King Library, San Jose, which was attended by more than 30 people, raised slogans against BJP Govt and demanding the release of youths arrested on false charges and demanding the arrest of the perpetrators.
Bay Area Tamil Women Protest Misogynist Tweets by Community Member, Demand Apology
May 19, Saturday, nearly 60 Tamil-speaking Indian community members peacefully protested against “sexist and misogynist” comments made on social media by Thirumalai Sa alias Thirumalai Sadagopan put up in Mountain House, California, USA . In April , popular Indian theatre and film actor S Ve Shekar (based in Chennai, India), re-shared this derogatory Facebook post (see screenshot with translation caption), which then went viral, causing a stir in Tamil community forums and media.
A self-organized group of Indian women called Bay Area Progressive Women (BAPWA) led this silent protest with AKSC’s support that culminated in front of Thirumalai Sa's house. The women demanded to apologize for his derogatory comments casting aspersions on women journalists as being of “loose morals,” and willing to sleep with officials for the sake of a story.
The protest itself was a peaceful gathering that saw women and male allies holding placards and signs silently walking from the Mountain House High school campus to the offender's house and back.
BAPWA has also put forth an online petition demanding Thirumalai Sa to apologize – this petition has garnered over 500 signatures.
Justice For Asifa
On April 29, Sunday IAMC(Indian American Muslim Council) and AKSC along with the other like- minded organizations held a protest in San Jose, CA against the rape and murder of 8 year old Muslim girl at Kathuva, Kashmir and Unnao rape victim.
Allegedly, hundreds of women, children and men took part in the protest. The protestors carried the placards against the RSS/BJP government. Slogans were raised against the government of India for being “insensitive to violence in the name of religion and caste BUT also protector of the people accused in such crimes through popular means”.
Public Demonstration Against Sterlite
[ This public demonstration is NOT organized under any banner and AKSC members were active organizers and participants. This report is prepared by one of the organizer Mr. Kesav]
To show solidarity to tuticorin, protest on April 2 2018 was organized. As part of SFO bay area AKSC conducted protest in Milpitas on Apr 2 2018. Around 60-70 people joined the protest. They signed and sent a petition to Consulate general SFO to be forwarded to Prime minister office of India.
Public Demonstration Against Thoothukudi Firing
[ This public demonstration is NOT organized under any banner and AKSC members were active organizers and participants. This report is prepared by one of the organizer Mr. Kesav]
AKSC named unfortunate incidents in Tuticorin as Massacre on May 22 which killed 13 people and several injured and protested on May 26 in front of Consulate general SFO. Around 200 people joined the protest to condemn the act of government to oppress its own people. They submitted petition to Consulate general SFO to be forwarded to PMO.
Public Demonstration to condemn the arrest of Bhima Koregaon Activists
AKSC organized a public demonstration on Friday September 7th in Cupertino, to condemn “the unlawful and unnecessary arrests of human-rights activists in India who had raised their voices against the right-wing Hindu, privileged caste violence against the celebrations in Bhima Koregaon”.
Intervention and Campaign Against WHC
According to AKSC, currently the NDA is controlling 22 Indian state assemblies. The NDA may go to any extend to win the 2019 general elections.
There were several public protests at the WHC by various Sikh, Dalit-Bahujan Muslim, and social justice groups. Chicago South Asians for Justice, consists of 2nd generation Indian youths entered into the WHC conference hall to protest. The AKSC encourages such behaviour and calls them “brave and young people who stood against the fascist forces”.
The AKSC worked with Coalition for the Defense of the Constitution and Democracy (CDCD) to stop the membres holding the public offices and demanded them to make a public statement. The AKSC involved in 2 such public campaigns. The AKSC with 8 other organizations demanded Rep.Tulsi Gabbard, a democrat congress women, NOT to attend the WHC and to issue a public statement on the same.
In another campaign the AKSC and other 12 organizations took up a campaign to demand Rep. Ash Kalra, a democrat from California state legislative, NOT to attend the WHC and to issue a public statement, Rep Kalra has NOT attended the WHC BUT he’s NOT issued a public statement.
2018-19
|
S.No |
Date |
Program |
Venue |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Demonstration against Kashmir Abrogation 370 & 35A [98] |
Sep 07, 2019 |
Homestead & De Anza, Cupertino, CA |
Demonstration against Kashmir Abrogation 370 & 35A
AKSC organized a protest against the Abrogation of 370 & 35A for Jammu & Kashmir. The gathering of about 20 people “who have raised their concern and against militarization of Kashmir and remove the unlawful imposed curfew in Kashmir”
2019-20
|
S.No |
Program |
Date |
Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Fight Hindutva at Times Square [99] |
Aug 06, 2020 |
Nasdaq, New York |
|
2 |
Demand Immediate Release of Anand Teltumbde and BK12 activists [100] |
May 30, 2020 |
Online |
|
3 |
Ensuring transparency and accountability in governance [101] |
October 27, 2019 |
Wally Pond Irvington Community Center, 41885 Blacow Rd, Fremont, CA 94538-3352, United States |
Fight Hindutva at Times Square
AKSC with ICWI protested against what it calls as “naked display of fascism is planned for tomorrow at Times Square”, when digital billboards took up Ram Mandir images. ICWI released this youtube video to prove that “there is nothing holy about this”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyor92UzJ5k
Recently elected elected NY Assembly Member Zohran Kwame Mamdani decided to join protest against “Hindutva bigotry and Islamophobia” and called protests as fight against fascism[102]. Hashtag #SayNoToHate was trended.
Demand Immediate Release of Anand Teltumbde and BK12 activists
AKSC with other organizations gave a call to Stand with Dr Teltumbde and others who were arrested for organising Bhima Koregaon Centenary Celebrations [103] .
Sample statements like these were circulated and joinees were asked to post them with intent that “2 min of your time may unite the families torn apart by the arrests. It will help the people to realize the power of collective voice. It will remind the authoritarian regimes that people’s voice can't be silenced even in any unprecedented situation”:
1. I demand the immediate release of Dr Anand Teltumbde.
2. I demand the immediate release of Dr Anand Teltumbde and 10 other human rights activists who are falsely arrested in the pretext of anti-national activities.
3. I demand the immediate release of Dr Anand Teltumbde and 10 other human rights activists. Expedite the investigation on real Hindutva culprits such as Bhide and Milind Ekbote.
4. Covid-19 lockdown may make physical mobilization impossible but should NOT suppress the freedom of expression itself. I demand the immediate release of Dr Anand Teltumbde and 10 other human rights activists.
Other Organizations were:
Ensuring transparency and accountability in governance
AKSC hosted a discussion with Jayaram Venkatesan, the Convener and Cofounder of Arappor Iyakkam, a citizens' movement in Tamil Nadu, India. Arappor Iyakkam (Tamil for "Peoples' association for justice through non violent war") was formed in August 2015 and is aimed at creating a just and equitable society. Jayaram has been leading several campaigns over the last 4 years. He has been instrumental in exposing blockbuster corruption cases involving politicians of ruling parties as well as the opposition, all with strong evidence and through democratic and legal means.
2020-21
|
S.No |
Program |
Date |
Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
The Farmers' Movement, Bhagat Singh, and the Indian Independence Struggle |
Mar 27, 2021 |
Online |
|
2 |
End The F****ng Forever Wars – Discussion And Rally [104] |
Mar 19,2021- Mar 20, 2021 |
Winchester & Stevens Creek Blvd |
|
3 |
Why Academics Need to be Part of the Farmers' Protests in India |
Feb 27, 2021 |
Online |
|
4 |
Global Indian Diaspora In Solidarity with Indian Farmers [105] |
Jan 31, 2021 |
Online |
|
5 |
Agrarian Crisis: Discussion Series [106] |
Dec 17, 2020-Feb 25, 2021 |
Online |
|
6 |
Repeal Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)! Repeal Anti-Farmer Laws! |
Dec 12, 2020 |
|
|
7 |
Seattle Learning Club: How to Be Anti-Caste in Tech |
Nov 9, 2020 |
Online |
Seattle Learning Club: How to Be Anti-Caste in Tech
AKSC with Tech workers coalition and Dr. Ambedkar International Center organized this event. All tech workers interested in attending were welcome. This meeting was not recorded. Readings and discussion questions can be found here[107] .
In aftermath of Cisco case AIC wrote to DFEH officials providing help with their expertise in Caste matters. AIC also invited many reporters to hear the first hand stories of Scheduled Castes and Tribes people, here in the USA. These accounts were published in various papers here like Nytimes, thewire.in, new18.com and various other publications. AIC also conducted an email drive to write CA Senator and Vice-Presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Over 100 emails were sent.
Repeal Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)! Repeal Anti-Farmer Laws!
On Dec 12th 4pm @ Harvard Square AKSC with other organized: Repeal Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)! Repeal Anti-Farmer Laws!
Organizers termed Farmer’s protest as Shaheen Bagh of farmers. They demanded:
1. Repeal Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019.
2. Withdraw National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR).
3. Release all anti-CAA activists and Political Prisoners, including Bhima Koregaon 16
4. Arrest all the perpetrators of the Delhi Pogrom.
5. Hold a special session of parliament and repeal all the anti-farmer laws.
Other Organizations were:
3. Coalition Against Fascism in India Alliance for a Secular & Democratic South
Why Academics Need to be Part of the Farmers' Protests in India
This webinar brought together scholars and farmer union members to discuss how the process of “corporatisation undermines education and agriculture in similar ways”. It tries to reflect on the caste dimensions of the protests, and how academics, farmers and agricultural workers can forge solidarities in times of dispossession and crises.
SPEAKERS:
1. Harinder Bindu, President, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) Women's Wing, India
2. Vijoo Krishnan, All India Joint Secretary, All India Kisan Sabha, India
3. Surinder Jodhka, Professor of Sociology, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, India
4. Shreya Sinha, Research Associate, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge
MODERATOR
1. Scholars At Risk,
3. The Amsterdam School of Cultural Analysis (ASCA), University of Amsterdam,
4. The Forum in Education in Asia (UCL), and
The Farmers' Movement, Bhagat Singh, and the Indian Independence Struggle
Prof. Chaman Lal talked about the revolutionary views of Bhagat Singh as relevant in the context of the contemporary farmers' movement. March 23rd is commemorated as Martyrs' day as three revolutionaries (Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev) fighting for South Asia's independence were executed in 1931 by the colonial British government. The ensuing movement threw out the British from the sub-continent. N the same light, organizers of this event see the present Farmer’s protest. “The recent rise of the farmers' movement in India has shaken the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. The farmers' movement has now spread to most parts of India with the kisan (farmers) holding maha-panchayats (large inter-village meetings) all over the country. The movement that started as a protest against the three pro-corporate farms laws, which would destroy small and medium farmers and lead to massive unemployment of agricultural workers, has spread all over India with strong support from the South Asian diaspora. The farmers' movement is building into one of the largest movements in the world.”
Chaman Lal is Professor (Retired) and former Chairperson of Centre of Indian Languages at Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi (India), is EX Dean, Faculty of Languages, Panjab University Chandigarh. Presently he is Honorary Advisor to Bhagat Singh Archives and Resource Centre, Delhi Archives, Govt. of NCT Delhi. He has sixty plus authored/edited/translated books to his credit in Hindi, Punjabi and English languages, including ‘Understanding Bhagat Singh’ and The Bhagat Singh Reader and Bhagat Singh:Sampuran Lekhan in four volumes.
End The F****ng Forever Wars – Discussion And Rally
The US continues to fund wars and militarization in this country and elsewhere through sanctions, destroying innocent lives and worsening the impact of this pandemic. It’s time to end the “forever wars”, defund the Pentagon, and use those trillions of war dollars for our human needs.
March 19, 2021: Discussion
March 20, 2021: Rally
Agrarian Crisis: Discussion Series
To understand the lies are “the RSS/BJP administration is spreading through their huge propaganda machinery about MSP(Minimum Support Price) and APMC(Agricultural Produce Market Committee)?” [108]
|
S. no. |
Speaker |
Description |
Title |
Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
All India Kisan Sabha (All India Peasant’s Assembly) |
AGRARIAN CRISIS:
ATTACKS ON AGRICULTURE AND GROWING RESISTANCE
|
DEC 17, 2020 |
|
|
2 |
All India Agricultural Workers Union |
DEC 23, 2020 |
||
|
3 |
Professor – Center for Economic Studies and Planning, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University. [110] |
THE CRISIS OF INDIAN AGRICULTURE: WHY ARE FARMERS IN DISTRESS? [111] |
JAN 7, 2021 |
|
|
4 |
THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF 2020 FARM LAWS [112] |
JAN 21, 2021 |
||
|
5 |
Assistant Professor in the Department of History at William Paterson University, New Jersey[113] |
CONTINGENT SOLIDARITY AND THE KISAN-MAZDOOR STRUGGLE IN INDIA [114] |
JAN 28, 2021 |
|
|
6 |
DALIT CAMERA REPORTER | Research Scholar at School of Social Sciences, JNU, Delhi. |
DIRECT REPORT FROM GROUND ZERO on INDIA FARMER’s PROTEST [115] |
FEB 5, 2021 |
|
|
7 |
Professor – Center for Study of Developing Economies, School of Development Studies,
Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) 116]
|
WHY ARE THE FARMERS PROTESTING? WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS TO FARMER’S IMPASSE? [117] |
FEB 11, 2021 |
|
|
8 |
National Council member of All India Kishan Mahasabha (AIKM) | Tamil Nadu State President of AIKM | Tamil Nadu State Executive Member of All India Kisan Sangarsh Coordination Committee(AIKSCC) |
FEB 18, 2021 |
||
|
9 |
FILMMAKER | WRITER | CINEMATOGRAPHER ‘LANDLESS’ MOVIE DIRECTOR |
FARM WORKER & INDUSTRIAL LABOR SOLIDARITY IN THE INDIAN FARMER PROTESTS [119] |
FEB 25, 2021 |
Co-Sponsors:
6. International Solidarity for Academic Freedom in India, UK (InSAF)
8. Humanism Project, Australia
10. Voices against fascism in India, USA (VAFI)
Partner Organizations
As we have in short here summarised the activities, themes and political-social-cultural activities that are done by the members of AKSC here, we have found that they were many a times partnering with different organizations having varied interests. Though having 4-5 organizations as co-host or co-sponsor doesn’t increase either the number in audience or the effect, they are intended to make but what it does is canvassing different political identities under same umbrella, generally over same activity, to give an impression that whatever that has been demanded or condemned by them is a concern of not a numeric minority but a substantial faction of society represented by them.
AKSC choses its partners well:
1. San Jose Peace and Justice Centre (SJPJC) [120]
a. It has partnered with AKSC number of times. It provides space, physical as well as social for many events organized by AKSC.
b. “We serve as a resource and action center for progressive activism, seeking to develop and nurture the growing community of people who work to create and participate in a just, peaceful, and non-violent society, one that ensures human rights for all people and ensures the continuation of, and respect for, all life on earth.”
c. The Collins Foundation was founded in 1985 to support the San Jose Peace & Justice Center by providing its non-profit status and by owning and maintaining the Collins House at 48 S. 7th St. in San Jose, California where the Peace & Justice Center has its office.
d. SJPJC earlier used to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday and used to pay respect to Mahatma Gandhi, who influenced King and inspired him with his non-violent struggle but AKSC has instead changed Gandhi with Ambedkar, terming their, King & Ambedkar’s, struggle alike.
2. Organizations for Minority of India (OFMI)
a. A body buy backed a influential Church.
b.Right from very beginning of formation of AKSC, they have supported it.
c. Need to understand if the support provided is for having same agenda, or a support of opportunity or they consider Dalits in purview of “minorities”, as scholars have argued. The can be an overlap of such interests to support AKSC.
4. Ambedkar International Mission, USA
5. Association for India’s Development, USA
6. Bay Area Against Hindu Fascism, California, USA
7. Boston Coalition, USA
8. Coalition of Seattle of Indian-Americans, USA
9. Dalit Solidarity Network, London, United Kingdom
10. Global Indians Progressive Alliance, USA
11. India Civil Watch International, USA
12. International Dalit Solidarity Network, Copenhagen, Denmark
13. Periyar International USA, Gurnee, Illinois
14. Political Action Platform for Tamils (PAPT), Sacramento, CA
15. Sadhana, Coalition of Progressive Hindus, USA
16. Students Against Hindutva Ideology (SAHI), UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
18. World Tamil Organization (WTO),
19. Naam Tamilar America Arakattalai. (NTAA)
20. Alliance for South Asians Taking Action (ASATA)
The names reiterated here are for convenience and reader shall understand the list isn’t exhaustive.
Reference Link
[1] Ambedkar King Study Circle. (n.d.), https://akscusa.org/.
[2] Constitution. Ambedkar King Study Circle. (2023, November 2), https://akscusa.org/constitution/.
[3] Karthikeyan, S. (2021, February 28). The Hindu American Foundation’s warped position on caste in the cisco case. The Caravan, https://caravanmagazine.in/caste/cisco-haf-hindu-american-dalit-diaspora.
[4] Dr Meena Kandasamy ?????? மீனா கந்தசாமி. (2020, May 19). Karthikeyan Shanmughan, Convenor of AKSC (Ambedkar King Study Circle) @akscsfba based in California places the arrest of dr. Anand within the larger history of resistance, and arrest.#repealuapa #standwithanand #releaseallpoliticalprisonershttps://t.co/KJCRGPQU8G. Twitter, https://twitter.com/meenakandasamy/status/1262799454035378178?s=20.
[5] Ambedkar king study circle of usa observed ambedkar jayanti. justicenews. (n.d.), https://www.justicenews.co.in/ambedkar-king-study-circle-of-usa-observed-ambedkar-jayanti/.
[6] Elancheran Subramanian. LinkedIn. (n.d.), https://www.linkedin.com/in/elancheran-subramanian-956935.
[7] AKSCUSA. (n.d.), https://akscusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/lecture-2-collated-readings.pdf.
[8] AKSCUSA. (n.d.), https://akscusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/aksc-3rd-general-body-meeting.pdf.
[9] Annihilation of caste by B.R Ambedkar. Facebook. (n.d.), https://www.facebook.com/events/329919864641199/329919874641198/?active_tab=about.
[10] AKSC- reading and discussion riddles in hinduism - dr. Ambedkar. Facebook. (n.d.-a), https://www.facebook.com/events/204775867422366/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A%5B%7B%22surface%22%3A%22page%22%7D%5D%7D.
[11] AKSC - reading and discussion - jan 26, Sunday. Facebook. (n.d.-a), https://www.facebook.com/events/2581860825393200/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A%5B%7B%22surface%22%3A%22page%22%7D%5D%7D.
[12] AKSC - reading and discussion - jan 05, Sunday. Facebook. (n.d.-a), https://www.facebook.com/events/472838966708520/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A%5B%7B%22surface%22%3A%22page%22%7D%5D%7D.
[13] JNU student’s death: What J Muthukrishnan’s last words tell us about the state of the nation. Firstpost. (2017, March 15), https://www.firstpost.com/india/jnu-students-suicide-caste-injustice-suppression-of-dissent-under-modi-govt-killed-muthukrishnan-jeevanantham-3334262.html.
[14] Govindarajan, V. (2017, March 21). “kakkoos”: Documentary reveals the brutal reality of manual scavenging. Scroll.in, https://scroll.in/reel/832273/kakkoos-documentary-reveals-the-brutal-reality-of-manual-scavenging.
[15] Annamalai, S. (2021, December 3). Keeladi: Unearthing the “Vaigai Valley” civilisation of Sangam era Tamil nadu. The Hindu, https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/unearthing-an-ancient-civilisation/article61624500.ece.
[16] AKSC conference 2018. Ambedkar King Study Circle. (2018, September 10), https://akscusa.org/aksc-annual-conference-2018/.
[17] Resolutions. Ambedkar King Study Circle. (2018b, September 10), https://akscusa.org/conf-2018-resolutions/.
[18] Resolution#2. Ambedkar King Study Circle. (2018b, September 10), https://akscusa.org/conf-2018-resolution2/.
[19] Resolution#1. Ambedkar King Study Circle. (2018b, September 10), https://akscusa.org/conf-2018-resolution1/.
[20] Kilavenmani Dalit massacre : Screening of Ramiahvin Kudisai (the hut of ramiah). Dr. B Karthik Navayan. (2018, December 5), https://karthiknavayan.wordpress.com/2018/12/05/kilavenmani-dalit-massacre-screening-of-ramiahvin-kudisai-the-hut-of-ramiah/.
[21] Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Georgi Mikhailovich Dimitrov. Encyclopædia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Georgi-Mikhailovich-Dimitrov.
[22] Anakbayan preys on young minds to join NPA, Cabinet exec says. Philippine News Agency. (n.d.), https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1104154.
[23] Anakbayan USA. (n.d.), https://www.anakbayanusa.com/.
[24] AKSC conference 2019. Ambedkar King Study Circle. (2019, September 20), https://akscusa.org/aksc-conference-2019/.
[25] Periyar 142nd birthday (topic: Castes & economics). Facebook. (n.d.-e), https://www.facebook.com/events/710168169711004/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A%5B%7B%22surface%22%3A%22page%22%7D%5D%7D.
[26] Practice of caste in USA: Discussion series. Ambedkar King Study Circle. (2023b, May 11), https://akscusa.org/caste-practice-in-usa-discussion-series/.
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