Omprakash Valmiki describes his life as an untouchable, or Dalit, in the newly independent India of the 1950s. "Joothan" refers to scraps of food left on a plate, destined for the garbage or animals. India's untouchables have been forced to accept and eat joothan for centuries, and the word encapsulates the pain, humiliation, and poverty of a community forced to live at the bottom of India's social pyramid. Although untouchability was abolished in 1949, Dalits continued to face discrimination, economic deprivation, violence, and ridicule. Valmiki shares his heroic struggle to survive a preordained life of perpetual physical and mental persecution and his transformation into a speaking subject under the influence of the great Dalit political leader, B. R. Ambedkar. A document of the long-silenced and long-denied sufferings of the Dalits, Joothan is a major contribution to the archives of Dalit history and a manifesto for the revolutionary transformation of society and human consciousness.

A Searing Memoir Of The Life Of A Sensitive And Intelligent Dalit Youth In Independent India.

Phil Brown argues that organized social movements are crucial in recognizing and acting to combat environmental diseases. His book draws on environmental and medical sociology, environmental justice, environmental health science, and social movement studies to show how citizen-science alliances have fought to overturn dominant epidemiological paradigms. His probing look at the ways scientific findings are made available to the public and the changing nature of policy offers a new perspective on health and the environment and the relationship among people, knowledge, power, and authority.

Literature Review from the year 2016 in the subject History - Asia, grade: 8, Presidency College, Kolkata, language: English, abstract: The malicious practice of the Caste system has formed an essence of Indian society, without any parallel of the same significance. The Caste system has consolidated a hierarchical division of society in which people are subjected to various privileges or discrimination, owing to their birth in a family belonging to a particular caste. Whether the caste system was a colonial construction or an ancient curse requires a separate debate. In this paper, an autobiography by Omprakash Valmiki, who was said to be a "Dalit" (an outcaste, belonging to the lowest echelon of society), has been reviewed. In it he has described daily struggles in the life of a low-born. While the world had cheered the process of decolonization and applauded the new notions of humanitarian values and worth of every human life, India, which was soon to be the largest democracy, could hardly break away from the shackles of the loathsome caste system. Valmiki has given us insights into the functioning of Dalit lives in the post independence era, that brought about changes in official documents and legal procedures but without much resonance of them in practical application.

This is an English translation of fifteen stories of the leading Hindi dalit writer, Omprakash Valmiki, best known for his autobiography Joothan. Together these stories vocalise the anguish and anger of the lowliest of the low in the caste hierarchy. More specifically, they deal with their sufferings at the hands of the dominant high castes and their questioning of their oppressors; their slender hopes and their small dreams; and their problems of identity as they try to make their way up the social and economic ladder. Omprakash Valmiki lists women of all classes among the dalits and there is a story in the collection that shows a high caste woman suffering at the hands of her male relatives. Softer emotions of love and longing are also not left out. Valmiki is acutely aware of the caste hierarchy among the dalits themselves and his story 'Shavayatra' makes for a deeply poignant reading. 'Amma' of the title is almost an epic tale of a dalit woman's resolve to keep her progeny away from the broom and the canister. At their best the stories are not merely dalit stories but a deeply human collection that will compel attention, engage the sympathies of the readers and make them ask inconvenient questions. The stories will also add a new dimension to dalit discourse. The English translation is being published in the hope that the stories will reach a much wider audience and will sensitise readers to the travails of the dalits and their efforts to make a space for themselves, and help prepare the climate for social change.

Imaginary Maps presents three stories from noted Bengali writer Mahasweta Devi in conjunction with readings of these tales by famed cultural and literary critic, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. Weaving history, myth and current political realities, these stories explore troubling motifs in contemporary Indian life through the figures and narratives of indigenous tribes in India. At once delicate and violent, Devi's stories map the experiences of the "tribals" and tribal life under decolonization. In "The Hunt," "Douloti the Bountiful" and the deftly wrought allegory of tribal agony "Pterodactyl, Pirtha, and Puran Sahay," Ms. Devi links the specific fate of tribals in India to that of marginalized peoples everywhere. Gayatri Spivak's readings of these stories connect the necessary "power lines" within them, not only between local and international structures of power (patriarchy, nationalisms, late capitalism), but also to the university.

Two friend Akash and Bijay went to Nagpur to meet their old friend Anand. They met after a long time and recalled their old college days. They had fun together and enjoy it a lot but it became a twist when Anand was leaving Nagpur forever and the railway platform was the witness of their love separation between Anand and his girlfriend Neha. Though the trip was memorable, it still has some sweet and bitter memories which no one wants to recall.

Contrary to popular opinion, the bulk of Islamic law does not come from the Quran but from hadith, first-hand reports of the Prophet Muhammad’s words and deeds, passed from generation to generation. However, with varying accounts often only committed to paper a century after the death of Muhammad, Islamic scholars, past and present, have been faced with complex questions of historical authenticity. In this wide-ranging introduction, Jonathan A. C. Brown explores the collection and criticism of hadith, and the controversy surrounding its role in modern Islam. This edition, revised and updated with additional case studies and attention to the very latest scholarship, also features a new chapter on how hadiths have been used politically, both historically and in the Arab Spring and its aftermath. Informative and accessible, it is perfectly suited to students, scholars and general readers interested in this critical element of Islam.