hegemony

Most mainstream films that centre caste have, even if unknowingly, not understood the historical roots and cultural background of Dalits.

The 2015 gram pradhan elections in Uttar Pradesh present a distinct picture of local elections as compared to state-level and national elections. Three factors— money, power, and violence with localised overtones— have driven the course of elections lately. Large-scale monetary benefits accruing from the position of pradhani motivate the contestants to make substantial investment in elections. The second important element is power that is primarily based on caste status. Although caste positions have changed, the power of caste remains intact. Middle castes have gained salience but relative empowerment of certain communities within the Scheduled Castes is a notable feature in rural societies. The most visible expression of power assertion is violence which is colloquially referred to as dabangai.

Tackling the question of how to recalibrate the relationship between history and theory in our favour without falling into the trap of either an unqualified universalism or a naïve historicism, this article proposes that we move from the position of being a critic of Western theory to that of being a composer and assembler of a new theory from different sources and different histories.

The subject of religious conversion is rarely studied with reference to Hinduism. On the other hand, reports of adivasi 're-conversion' imply that their Hindu identity is taken for granted, justifying in turn the need for re-conversion. As a further contradiction, while Hinduisation involves their integration with the varna order, they are simultaneously regarded as outcastes - a process that involves hegemony and exploitation of the adivasis and outcastes. This paper, based on the questioning and interrogating the way conversion has been located, takes up the history of conversion in Orissa over the last 200 years