Dalit Voice
Dalit Voice is a political magazine published in Bangalore, India that claims to express the views of the Dalit movement. The current full title is Dalit Voice: the voice of the persecuted nationalities denied human rights and it appears fortnightly in both internet and print formats. It was founded in 1981 [citation needed] by V.T. Rajshekar, a former journalist for the Indian Express, who is still its editor.
Positions
The magazine has been described as characterized by a strong anti-Brahminist, anti-caste and anti-racist and a anti-colonialist perspective, which explains their anti-Zionist stance, advocacy of liberation from Brahminism, and a polemical tone. It proclaims itself as "the sole spokesman for the entire deprived, dehumanised lot of India...", Dalits, Backward Castes, Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, women, whom it describes as "all victims of the Aryan Brahminical racism."[1].
Its stance has been described as an "Indian variant" of Afrocentrism.[2][3]
The publication attacks Hinduism, Jews, Zionism and American neoconservatism. Authors in this publication have also claimed that the religion of Hinduism and the Hindu nationalist ideology of Hindutva are inseparable:
"One cannot save Hinduism and destroy only Hindutva. The idea of difference, though it may be perceptible theoretically for the highly intellectual, is useless for the masses and needs to be abandoned. Let all Bahujans consider that Hindutva and Hinduism is one and the same thing and the Bahujans need to oppose and fight against both." (from Dalit Voice, vol.25, No.1)
Dalit Voice has published several articles praising Hitler as a "patriot" and praising Nazi Germany, claiming that "Zionist Jews" have "deliberately mis-portrayed" him as a villain. They have also praised Hitler's Mein Kampf on their website[4][5][6][7].
Its anti-Brahmin rhetoric, frequently follows to further anti-Semitism with claims of Brahmins in India being descended from Jews and deriving their "fanaticism" and "arrogance" from "Jewish Zionist Racism"[8] [9].
Dalit Voice has also made various anti-Semitic accusations and touted "Jewish conspiracy theories"[10][11]. The editor V.T. Rajasekhar has treated the hoax text Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion a legitimate [12] and has accused Indian Jews of a conspiracy to "join hands (with Hindus) to crush Muslims, Blacks and India's Dalits"[13]
Dalit Voice, in addition to publishing articles about "Zionist conspiracies" regarding Hitler and the Third Reich[14][15], have also supported the Iranian regime and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's denial of the holocaust[16].
It has also claimed that the September 11, 2001 attacks in USA were a "total falsehood manufactured by the zionists controlling the Bush Administration".[17]
Responses
The writer Koenraad Elst has criticised the publication for having anti-Hindu views. [18], counter-claiming that claims of racism in Hinduism are a "crank ideology".
Dalit Voice has also been criticized for "buying into anti-Jewish conspiracy theories" by the far-left "Maoist International Movement". While praising the Dalit Voice for having "some good information on caste and other problems in India", they suggest that[19]:
"We hope to see Dalit Voice drop its conspiracy theories about Jews that underestimate the oppressiveness of oppressor nation people in the United States and Western Europe and take up Marxism-Leninism-Maoism[19]."
Yoginder Sikand has criticized the publication, referring to it as "radical" and asserting that its rhetoric does not help alleviate the Dalit situation[20]:
"Far from alleviating the prevailing situation the militant rhetoric of the writers of Dalit Voice offers nothing substantial and instead create even more disunity. One writer calls the [Islamic] Ulema as the ‘progeny of iblis’ and appeals to the Muslims to stop reading their literature at once[20]."
References
- ^ Columbia University Library entry for Dalit Voice
- ^ African Studies Review, Vol. 43, No. 1, Special Issue on the Diaspora (Apr., 2000), pp. 189-201online
- ^ Vijay Prashad (2000). "Afro-Dalits of the Earth, Unite!". African. 43 (1): 189–201.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|quotes=ignored (help) - ^ dalitvoice.org
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ Brighter side of Hitler : DV to reveal facts suppressed by history
- ^ Heuzé, Gérard (1993). Où va l’Inde moderne? (p 87). L’Harmattan.
- ^ Rajshekhar, V.T. Brahminism (p 28). Dalit Sahitya Akademy.
- ^ etext.org
- ^ Google Cache of etext.org
- ^ Dalit Voice, 1-12-1991##
- ^ Dalit Voice, 16-1-1993##
- ^ dalitvoice.org
- ^ Google Cache of Dalitvoice article See "Abuse of History" Hitler not worst villain of 20th century as painted by "Zionists"
- ^ Defeat in Iraq & fall of Bush: India warned to quickly adjust to big changes in West Dalit Voice Article
- ^ 9/11 was a hoax. Dalit Voice. September 2007.
- ^ [3] Ayodhya and After, Koenraad Elst (Chpt 14)
- ^ a b Dalit Voice, Google Cache of the Maoist International Movement article
- ^ a b Sikand, Yoginder (2004). Islam, Caste and Dalit-Muslim Relations in India. Global Media Publications, New Delhi Pg. 98.