Hatred in the Belly: Politics behind the Appropriation of Dr Ambedkar’s Writings

Hatred in the Belly is a Telugu phrase (kaDupulO kasi) taken from a speech delivered by poet Joopaka Subhadra, in Hyderabad, on the appropriation of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Annihilation of Caste. The speech, included in this volume, aptly summarises the deep-seated hostility of Brahminic India towards the Dalit Bahujan. Similarly, the other essays and speeches collected in this volume, written and delivered by a number of writers, academics, students, and activists (referred to as the Ambedkar Age Collective in this book), unfurl before you a critical tapestry dissecting the hegemonic brahminic discourse which works towards delegitimizing the radical legacy of Amebdkarite thought. The most stark example of these efforts, from the ‘left’ and the ‘right’ of the Indian political spectrum, is the Navayana edition of Babasaheb’s AoC with an ‘introduction’ by Arundhati Roy. The works collected here emerged as spontaneous reactions to the Roy-Navayana project from multiple locations and in multiple languages. The varied interventions, which began online, and the discursive terrains it opened up offer us a glimpse of the ways through which the marginalised resist continued attempts made at hegemonising their knowledge and lives by the brahminic oppressors irrespective of their political leanings. Authors include: Anu Ramdas, Kuffir, Gurinder Azad, Bojja Tharakam Adv. Dr. Suresh Mane, Anoop Kumar, U. Sambashiva Rao, Shakyamuni, Dr Sangeeta Pawar, Sunny Kapicadu, O.K. Santhosh, Dr B. Ravichandran, Dalit Camera: Through Un-Touchable Eyes, Karthik Navayan, Joopaka Subhadra Dr. K Satyanarayana, Vaibhav Wasnik, Nilesh Kumar, Asha Kowtal, Nidhin Shobhana, Gee Imaan Semmalar, Syam Sundar, Murali Shanmugavelan, Praveena Thaali, Dr Karthick RM, Huma Dar, Joby Mathew, James Michael, Akshay Pathak, Vinay Bhat, Yogesh Maitreya, Thongam Bipin, K K Baburaj, Sruthi Herbert, Gaurav Somwanshi, Kadhiravan, Rahul Gaikwad, Joe D’Cruz About the book 13 ~ Anu Ramdas & Naren Bedide (Kuffir) 13 Confronting Brahminical complacency 18 ~ Gurinder Azad 18 Ambedkar does not need any introduction 20 AoC does not need any introduction 23 ~ Bojja Tharakam 23 This is not Babasaheb’s Annihilation of Caste 27 ~ Suresh Mane 27 From Manusmriti to Navayana Publishing 38 Savarna India under permanent siege 40 ~ Anoop Kumar 40 A tactical, brahminical trick 45 ~ U. Sambashiva Rao 45 The Brahmean Machine: Distorting Revolt into Surrender 56 ~ Shakyamuni 56 Why strangulate the essence of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s AoC? 63 ~ Dr Sangeeta Pawar 63 Insurgency Tourism and Simplistic Modernism 68 ~ K K Baburaj 68 Does Arundhati have any other qualification than her stardom? 72 ~ Sunny Kapicadu interviewed by Dr O. K. Santhosh 72 From Manusmriti to Navayana Publishing: A history of appropriation 80 ~ Naren Bedide (Kuffir) 80 “I have taken the trouble to read Ambedkar” 90 Dalit Camera writes to Arundhati Roy 92 ~ Dalit Camera: Through Un-Touchable Eyes 92 Arundhati Roy Replies to Dalit Camera 96 Mahatmas raise dust, but raise no level 102 Introducing Arundhati Roy and Friends 104 ~ Karthik Navayan 104 The Judge, the Jury and the Goddess 111 ~ Akshay Pathak 111 Vedic Chants for the 21st Century 117 ~ Round Table India 117 Hatred in the belly 121 ~ Joopaka Subhadra 121 Resisting a messiah 125 ~ Anoop Kumar 125 Arundhati Roy failed to grasp the significance of AoC 128 ~ Dr K. Satyanarayana 128 The Question of Free Speech 138 ~ Vaibhav Wasnik 138 Stigmatizing Dalits, From the Wadas to the Web 141 ~ Nilesh Kumar 141 Flaunting noble intentions, nurturing caste privileges 146 ~ Asha Kowtal 146 Caste in the name of Christ: An angry note on the Syrian Christian Caste 150 ~ Nidhin Shobhana 150 The Not-So-Intimate Enemy: The Loss and Erasure of the Self Under Casteism 155 ~ Gee Imaan Semmalar 155 The incarceration of AoC 165 The New Harijan Sewak Sangh 166 ~ James Michael and Akshay Pathak 166 Arundhati Roy’s inquisition: How she groups Ambedkar with European fascists 186 ~ Murali Shanmugavelan 186 Between Saviour and Seller: Critiquing Preface Politics 193 ~ Praveena Thaali 193 A Tale of two Prefaces 197 ~ Karthick RM 197 The Ghost of Brahminical hegemony 201 A Rescue Project Initiated by the Oppressors 202 ~ Huma Dar 202 Masked Messiahs: The Politics of Comparison 208 ~ Joby Mathew 208 An Introduction to Anoop Kumar’s “Misogynistic and Xenophobic Rants” 213 ~ Vinay Bhat 213 My absence in those words 221 ~ Yogesh Maitreya 221 Arundhati Roy and Priyanka Chopra: The politics of authentic nationhood 227 ~ Thongam Bipin 227 Arundhati Roy—Homeless Nomad and Urban Legend 230 ~ K K Baburaj 230 The battle against caste is not just some ideology, it’s our existence 242 ~ Gaurav Somwanshi 242 Joe D’Cruz on saviours and censors 252 ~ An interview by Kadhiravan 252 Roy-Navayana on Savarkar’s Path 260 ~ Rahul Gaikwad 260 Authors, Speakers, Translators, Artists, Interviewers 265 ~ Anu Ramdas & Naren Bedide (Kuffir)......Page 13 ~ Gurinder Azad......Page 18 Ambedkar does not need any introduction......Page 20 ~ Bojja Tharakam......Page 23 ~ Suresh Mane......Page 27 From Manusmriti to Navayana Publishing......Page 38 ~ Anoop Kumar......Page 40 ~ U. Sambashiva Rao......Page 45 ~ Shakyamuni......Page 56 ~ Dr Sangeeta Pawar......Page 63 ~ K K Baburaj......Page 68 ~ Sunny Kapicadu interviewed by Dr O. K. Santhosh......Page 72 ~ Naren Bedide (Kuffir)......Page 80 “I have taken the trouble to read Ambedkar”......Page 90 ~ Dalit Camera: Through Un-Touchable Eyes......Page 92 Arundhati Roy Replies to Dalit Camera......Page 96 Mahatmas raise dust, but raise no level......Page 102 ~ Karthik Navayan......Page 104 ~ Akshay Pathak......Page 111 ~ Round Table India......Page 117 ~ Joopaka Subhadra......Page 121 ~ Anoop Kumar......Page 125 ~ Dr K. Satyanarayana......Page 128 ~ Vaibhav Wasnik......Page 138 ~ Nilesh Kumar......Page 141 ~ Asha Kowtal......Page 146 ~ Nidhin Shobhana......Page 150 ~ Gee Imaan Semmalar......Page 155 The incarceration of AoC......Page 165 ~ James Michael and Akshay Pathak......Page 166 ~ Murali Shanmugavelan......Page 186 ~ Praveena Thaali......Page 193 ~ Karthick RM......Page 197 The Ghost of Brahminical hegemony......Page 201 ~ Huma Dar......Page 202 ~ Joby Mathew......Page 208 ~ Vinay Bhat......Page 213 ~ Yogesh Maitreya......Page 221 ~ Thongam Bipin......Page 227 ~ K K Baburaj......Page 230 ~ Gaurav Somwanshi......Page 242 ~ An interview by Kadhiravan......Page 252 ~ Rahul Gaikwad......Page 260 Authors, Speakers, Translators, Artists, Interviewers......Page 265