Margin Speak

It is one thing to revere one's hero but quite another to consider him to be god. Following Ambedkar means being inspired by his vision of "liberty, equality and fraternity" and acting in accordance with his advice to "educate, agitate, organise" so as to realise his goals of annihilation of castes and achievement of socialism.

Prakash Ambedkar's recent statements that the political reservations given to dalits (scheduled castes) and the requirement of mentioning caste in school leaving certifi cates should be done away with, as also his stand against the hanging of Afzal Guru, all of which have evoked varied reactions, need to be refl ected upon.

Questioning the thesis that foreign direct investment in retail will have a favourable effect on the fl edgling class of dalit entrepreneurs in India because processes of capitalist modernisation automatically undermine the significance of social identities like caste, creed and race, this article argues that only a minuscule section of dalits has benefi ted from globalisation while the majority, being "uncompetitive", has been pushed to suffer ontological insecurities and existential uncertainties.

In the wake of 19 cases of gang-rapes of dalit girls in Haryana in just one month, and the utter callousness with which the state government has dealt with such criminality, the time has come for dalits to embrace class unity in the struggle for liberation.

The Indian state now legitimises its violent suppression of just struggles by branding the participants of those campaigns "Maoists". The Maruti Suzuki workers of Manesar are thus the latest "Maoists" on the block.