000 02328nam a2200217Ia 4500
999 _c230946
_d230946
005 20220215224207.0
008 200208s9999 xx 000 0 und d
020 _a9788178242767
082 _a305.56 NAG
100 _a"Nagaraj, D. R"
245 0 _aFlaming feet and other essays
260 _aRanikhet
260 _bPermanent black
260 _c2010
300 _a254p.
365 _b9000
365 _dRS
520 _aDescribed by ashis nandy as the foremost non-brahmin intellectual to emerge from indias vast non-english speaking world, dr nagaraj (19541998) was a profound political commentator and cultural critic nagarajs importance lies in consolidating and advancing some of the ideas of indias leading dalit thinker and icon, br ambedkar following ambedkar, nagaraj argues that the dalit movement rejected the traditional hindu world and thus dismissed untouchable pasts entirely; but, he says, rebels too require cultural memory their emotions of bewilderment, rage and resentment can only be transcended via a politics of affirmation this book gives us nagarajs vision of caste in relation to dalit politics it theorizes the caste system as a mosaic of contestations centred around dignity, religiosity and entitlement examining moments of untouchable defiance, nagaraj argues out a politics of cultural affirmation within his redefinition of dalit identity more significantly, he argues against self-pity and rage in artistic imagination and for re-creating the banished worlds of gods and goddesses nagarajs importance lies in suggesting a framework for an alliance of all the oppressed communities of india this involves, first, a reconciliation of gandhi and ambedkar; second, a recognition that modernity has caused a technocide vis--vis artisans; third, a reimagining of the dalit rejection of history, for an alternative reading of untouchable pasts shows that these humiliated communities possessed an autonomous cultural domain nagaraj was that rare observer of politics who did not offer standard social science fare: in fact, he used the phrase competent social scientist to damn the person he was speaking of not only were his themes unusual, his analytical methods and quirky reliance on cultural texts for analysis were equally so
650 _aDalit movement-India
942 _cB
_2ddc