2nd Ayyankali Conference

z

Ayyankali was a social reformer who fought tirelessly for the rights of Dalits, who were ostracized and persecuted by upper-caste individuals in a caste apartheid society. He faced backlash from the upper-castes for his actions, which often led to violent confrontations, but he persisted in promoting educational opportunities for Dalits, contributing to their upliftment, democratizing public spaces, and politics. However, like many other Dalit icons, Ayyankali’s contributions have been erased by Brahminical Indian academia. To honour his legacy, the 2nd Ayyankali Conference on Critical Caste Theory has been organized to democratize education spaces for marginalized scholars and connect with global academic interventions that challenge hegemonic oppressive norms. The conference has accepted 36 papers, and all presenters come from marginalized communities and academic institutions at the periphery of Indian academia.

Day 1 March 25th Saturday 2023

Inaugural Address by Guest Speaker Anoop Kumar (Founder Director of Nalanda Academy Wardha) excerpts from his speech. 

Anoop Kumar in his speech described the struggles of individuals from marginalised communities to gain recognition in academic spaces dominated by upper-castes. He spoke about the discrimination faced by students and the lack of representation of anti-caste leaders in academic discourse. The creation of platforms such as Insight Magazine and the Nalanda platform aim to challenge notions of merit and produce knowledge from their own perspective. The Ayyankali Conference on ‘Critical Caste theory’ is one such platform for academicians to come together, share their experiences and produce knowledge that relates to their reality. The resilience of anti-caste leaders such as Ayyankali, who faced repeated setbacks in their attempts to set up schools for untouchables, serves as an inspiration to the current movement seeking to promote education as a tool for empowerment.

Panel 1. Ambedkarism, Social Reform and Legal Systems. 

The first panel of a conference, which was moderated by Dr. Ravikant Kisana, and had four speakers from different universities in India. Prashant Randive presented on the history of Matang mobilization and their position in the Ambedkarite movement. Vishakha and Mayuri presented their paper on custodial deaths in India and highlighted the existing legal mandate regarding police interrogation. Deepak presented on the intersection of caste and disability in India.

Panel 2 was on Community Assertion and Public Spaces

The second panel of the conference had speakers from top universities and independent researchers who presented their research on the assertion of caste communities. The panel was moderated by Nilesh. Topics presented included the Dabgars community in Rajasthan, UP and Gujarat, the role of Buddha Viharas, aesthetics and Navayana Buddhism, and gendered spaces like Kottil for Moosaris.

Panel 3 on Women, Agency & Community Struggles

The third panel featured three women speakers from top Indian universities and was moderated by Nalanda’s Manager of Digital, Sapana Jambhulkar. Suvarna More from Savitribai Phule Pune University discussed women’s emancipation through the analysis of neo-Buddhist religious conversion. Bincy from IISER, Bhopal shared the autobiographical life history of two powerful Christian Dalit women, Saleena Prakkanam and Mariyamma Chedathi. Shainal Verma gave an auto-ethnographical account of “Ambedkarite Mahila Mandal’s” and their impact on feminist praxis in Delhi’s South West Delhi district.

Panel 4. Education, Ambedkarism, Social Reform 

In the fourth panel, four speakers presented their research work on Ambedkarite oral history and education philosophy. The panel was moderated by Dr. Ravikant. Three students from Delhi University presented their paper on the biographical portraits and struggles of Ambedkarite women teachers in Delhi. Shubham from Central University of Haryana presented his research on education philosophy and the resistance put forth by Ambedkarite movement.

Ayyankali Memorial Lecture (online) dialogues with Caribbean Studies, intersecting Caste-Race discourses by Dr. Charissa Granger, University of West Indies, and Dr. Francio Guadaloupe, University of Amsterdam. The talk was moderated by our Alumni Arati Kade (doctoral candidate University of Amsterdam).

Day 2 March 26th Sunday 2023

Women & Ambedkarite Leadership, Sapna Jambhulkar, Managing Director of Digital Nalanda and one of the core founders of Nalanda Academy spoke about ‘Women & Ambedkarite Leadership’, connecting Ambedkarite women’s contribution with her own lived experiences, educational journey with Nalanda Academy first as a student and later as a Managing Director of Digital Nalanda.  

Panel 5. Language, Music & the Counter-Publics 

In the fifth panel, there were five presenters who presented their four papers, moderated by Subodh. Shakar Naik and a TISS graduate presented his work on the Lambani community of Karnataka, discussing the uniqueness of their mother tongue and linguistic challenges they face. Maya Somkuwar, a PhD candidate from TISS, presented her research on the Dalit Counterpublic and its influence on the Bheemgeets of Maharashtra. Rahul Bishnoi, a graduate student of IIT Gandhinagar, unraveled the nuances of Dalpat Chauhan’s prose in his paper. Dr. Swarnmala and Arati co-presented their paper on the Indian woman’s ‘Padar’ and the politics of Brahmanical capitalist aesthetics, problematizing the gaze.

Panel 6. Ambedkarite grassroot Histories

The sixth panel had three presenters from top universities in India and was moderated by Dr. Ravikant. Ashna from NLS, Bangalore spoke about Ambedkarism and Social Transformation through organisation and institutionalisation. Vaishali Khandekar from IIT Hyderabad presented her fieldwork on the emergency and rise of Bhim Army in Uttar Pradesh. Gorvika Rao traced the history of the Ambedkarite movement from the 1960s to the 90s and the changing Dalit socio-political landscape of Delhi.

Panel 7. Poetry, Aesthetics and Digital Resistance 

The panel was moderated by Nilesh and had three speakers from renowned Indian universities. Diwaker presented his research on the importance of Dalit digital media ventures and the absence of Dalits from mainstream media. Prasenjit Sarkar discussed how technological advancements are affecting caste consciousness in his paper on caste modernity. Megha Kshirsagar analyzed assertive women characters in filmmaker Pa Ranjit’s movies from a caste and gender perspective.

Panel 8. Navayana Buddhism, Lost Histories & Leaders

The final panel of the conference featured two scholars from India’s top universities who were moderated by Subodh. Harikrishnan presented on Kavarikuklam Kandan Kumaran, a friend of Ayyankali and a leading figure in the struggle for dignity among untouchables in Kerala. His work traces Kumaran’s life and work through forgotten archives. Aravind, a PhD scholar from JNU, compared Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s Navayana Buddhist movement with Iyothee Thass’s Tamil Buddhist movement.

Vote of Thanks

Anoop Kumar from Nalanda Academy Wardha gave a vote of thanks at the end of the two-day conference on behalf of Samyak Research Centre. He thanked all the participants for attending the conference and delivering their research papers, and promised to publish them in an edited journal or book form. He also expressed gratitude to his team and Nagaloka for providing the space for the conference.