Celebrating Juneteenth with Prof Anand Kumar

On 19 th June 2020, Amitabh Kumar, Founder, Social Media Matters spoke with Prof Anand Kumar on Juneteenth against slavery for an initiative on Dalit Lives Matter.

Sharing his childhood experiences on casteism, Prof Kumar shared about his journey and when he first encountered the issue of Caste, “First time I came to know about caste system was when I took admission in a government school. The teachers there used to address students on the basis of their caste whenever they were offended with those students. It felt as if it was an identity. But I was born and brought up in Kashividyapeeth where everyone was a firm believer in Gandhian values. I belonged to a socialist family so caste made no difference to me since childhood. We always respected our elders and caste was never an issue.”

You can watch the complete live episode here:


Amitabh pointed out, “We do workshops in UP, Bihar, Rajasthan & MP. Since, my surname is also Kumar I’m often asked about my surname.” Sharing his experience Prof Kumar shared, “In North India your surname is often related to your caste. The same was in my case when my name was registered in school. During that time a socialist movement took over the country that stated if we want to abolish the caste system then at least surname shouldn’t be linked to the caste. Highlighting about the cultural fault in the country, Prof Kumar shared, as caste is a big hurdle. If you belong to the dominant caste, you’ll be treated differently. But if you’re a Dalit, people will overlook your qualities and only focus on your caste.

Taking the discussion further Amitabh asked about the rules and regulations that JNU followed for student’s admission from different castes and regions. Prof Kumar responded, “Its Founder’s name represented New Modern India. He was against caste. Although he was a nationalist but believed in progressive socialist ideas. When I became a student at JNU, then there were progressive teachers involved in movement against casteism and polarization. That optimistic environment, gave students like us an opportunity to create an admission process that those undergoing difficulties and hurdles must get some benefits. So, we considered deprivation points. Till that time reservation was already in picture. But we wanted to go beyond that.”

Prof Kumar felt the silence related to caste oppression, economic injustice, gender inequality is not existent anymore. He pointed out, “The feudal system is history and people are not willing to be mere victim in the present scenario. People are not afraid to raise their voices and speak up for themselves. Taboos attached to inter-caste marriage have no place in the present society. Today there is very positive Dalit discourse as it’s against an unjust social system.” Prof Kumar further emphasized, “If the country has to be progressive then all caste, gender, class related hurdles must end. Because of democracy, there is a lot of hope. As Dr B R Ambedkar emphasized on an organized unified movement, seeking knowledge and education, it’s shows the results in the present age. If you won’t study and develop your knowledge skills, then you cannot be empowered. There are no short cuts. In a democratic society social media has opened new avenues.”

Prof Kumar stressed on the need for Dalit representatives to be national leaders. He said, “If there is not an ideal situation we do not need to make it worse. You shouldn’t be self contained about the fact of being a Dalit or non-Dalit leader which is wrong. You shouldn’t create a bubble which is like a mutual appreciation society. Females must come forward as Dalit representatives. Women must be part of the discourse. Exclusion within the deprived and depressed conditions should be understood. Some people have started writing about it.”

Prof Kumar believes inter caste marriages can be a first step towards diminishing caste differences from our society and we need to promote it in order to bring communities closer. There needs to be a cordial relationship with Dalit families in the neighborhood also among Dalit families. To bring closeness among the communities and groups one should read more on caste issues. Amitabh referred to Anurag Kashyap’s movie ‘Masaan’ and many other movies that have raised caste issues and a Marathi film ‘Court’ also deals with the subject.

Speaking on inclusivity of marginalized groups both online and offline, Prof Kumar shared, “We’ve to see various possibilities on the basis of human psychology. What makes me attracted to something and what makes me to avoid some situations? What attracts me is joy, happiness and festivity. So, if you celebrate something and create a situation of festivity, dance, songs, food, awards, etc, then it gives a sense of collective joy.” He further added, “Lectures or seminars could be boring at times. But if you invite me to a film, I’ll take a chance. We’ll have to organize film festivals. Every Saturday evening you may organize a peculiar film of its time. It may be a Charlie Chaplain movie, an Akira Kurosawa or Satyajit Ray film, etc. You have to explore the ways. Comic stories are more attractive than multi volume novels by great writers and authors.

Amitabh concluded the session with, “We’re trying to combine pop culture with activism. There’s an image of angry activists while we want to present a picture of happy activists.”
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