Caste Conflict in Karnataka by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 27, Issue No. 28, 11 Jul, 1992

Mukti programme extremely useful in order to evade the land ceiling act of the state government. Moreover, this apparently liberal attitude that is shown by the big peasants toward Laxmi Mukti certainly hdps them in earning the goodwill of Sharad Joshi and respect from others in the Sanghtana. The Laxmi Mukti programme is criticised by some of the noted women activists on one more ground

KARNATAKA-Institutionalised Corruption by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 27, Issue No. 35, 29 Aug, 1992

hostility and persecution has been allowed to continue. The government allowed the district babu to abuse her. Nothing was done to change her work conditions. She was kept a slave of the department. Why not? Was she not a Lodha? Was not she given a job? The university authorities did nothing to throw out the caste-baiter. And the commission appointed by the government submitted its report three days after her death.

Karnataka Pre-Election Scenario by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 33, Issue No. 6, 07 Feb, 1998

A CONGRESS state till 1989 as far as Lok Sabha was concerned, where the party had swept practically all the seats, the 1991 and 1996 elections in Karnataka were a departure. In 1991 the party won 22 seats out of the 26 it contested, the lowest ever since the first general elections. In 1996 the party's presence was still feeble when it won only five seats. The political scenario has considerably changed ever since. The state gave to the country a ruralite prime minister from the agricultural community of vokkaligas, the prominent Janata Dal (JD) leader, Harnahalli Dodda Gowda Deve Gowda, His clout in Delhi further added to the consolidation of JD in the state. Though prime minister of India, the saying that did the round was PM of Karnataka and CM of India. Knowing fully well that his tenure in the capital may not last long, the man kept a complete hold on the party and its leaders in the state. His arch rival Ramakrishna Hegde who wielded influence on the upper middle classes and the upper castes was expelled from JD as soon as Deve Gowda reached the Delhi darbar. Prepared to stand up to his tormentor, Ramakrishna Hegde, the ex-chief minister of Karnataka who had built up the JD party in the state, founded Lok Sakti recently, a political party of his own with his followers and admirers.

KARNATAKA-State Protection for Dalits by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 32, Issue No. 39, 27 Sept, 1997

The recent events in Chitamani taluk is evidence of the confusion in people's minds about where the sympathies of the state lie. The police force was attacked by both the dalits who needed police protection for going ahead with Ambedkar Jayanti celebrations, and the vokkaligas who in fact had called for police intervention to prevent the celebrations from taking place.

End of Dravidian Era in Tamil Nadu by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 34, Issue No. 24, 12 Jun, 1999

Tamil Nadu politics was for long dominated by the Dravida movement which emphasised Tamil identity, language and culture in opposition to north Indian attempts at integration. This was replaced by M G Ramachandran, a popular matinee idol and a populist in politics. Today the politics in the state has accepted BJP's hindutva and also globalisation, making a complete break from the Dravida movement.

Hindutva vs Ambedkarism by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 35, Issue No. 41, 07 Oct, 2000

Both the hindutva forces and the dalit leaders understand the liberating effects of the work of Christian missionaries, including conversions. For Ambedkar and his followers, conversion was a device of protest to gain social acceptance. Hindutva forces see missionary work as subversive - one that would provide equality to those marginalised in Hinduism.
For more: http://www.epw.in/journal/2000/41/commentary/hindutva-vs-ambedkarism.html

Atrocities on Dalits in Gulbarga-Upper Caste Hold on Police by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 29, Issue No. 16-17, 16 Apr, 1994

The resurgence of the daltt movement in Gulbarga district of Karnataka has resulted in growing upper caste violence on the dalit with the police playing a partisan role and ignoring dalit complaints.

UN Conference against Racism by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 36, Issue No. 30, 28 Jul, 2001

While strongly opposing the move by certain dalit activists and groups to raise the issue of caste discrimination in the WCAR scheduled later this year, the Indian government insists that caste and race are two dissimilar and anomalous entities. But successive constitutional insertions, legislative amendments and even judicial pronouncements show the case to be otherwise - in several instances, caste discrimination is indeed seen at par with race.

Karnataka Cabinet Reshuffle Unviable by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 29, Issue No. 25, 18 Jun, 1994

with the principles and practice of democracy would assign the role of a reformer to a judge. One may not have serious differences with the end result but that cannot be permitted to be secured by perverse means.

Karnataka University Act 2000 by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 36, Issue No. 34, 25 Aug, 2001

The recently-passed new legislation tightens the hold of the government on universities, drastically reducing their autonomy and leaving no role for either teachers or other intellectuals in the management of universities. The irony is that most of the teachers' bodies in the state have failed to recognise how critically the new legislation affects the future of higher education and have been concerned only with their narrow professional interests.

Karnataka Assembly Elections An Overview by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 29, Issue No. 53, 26 Nov, 1994

The state party leader Eswarappa's win in Shimoga city speaks of further consolidation of its gains, impressive since the Karnataka Congress Party's leader, Bangarappa, claims a wide following in the district.

KARNATAKA-Badanvalu Emerging Dalit Paradigm by Ambrose Pinto

Published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 30, Issue No. 15, 15 Apr, 1995

The atrocities on dalits of Badanvalu have evoked a retaliation from them indicating that the dalits in Karnataka are in no mood to bow to the state's callous indifference and lingayat's oppressive hegemony.