In Episode 2 of Clear Blue Skies, I'm talking about what I thought after reading Untouchables: The Children of India's Ghetto, and more importantly, what my dear friend Sumeet thinks about this text. We also discuss Jesús Francisco Cháirez-Garza's paperTouching Space: Ambedkar on the spatial features of untouchability and what it means to find ourselves in different locations (the city, the village).
Ambedkar saw cities as sites of emancipation, and if his dream hasn’t been entirely fulfiled, the fault lies very clearly on the backs of those who diverted and continue to divert Dalit-Bahujan activism and assertion.  
Going to the future requires looking to the past, & the music, defiant politics and courage of Comrade Bant Singh stand tall in this collective memory. 
"We are because he was" is a quote I've seen on a lot of t-shirts and posters about Ambedkar, & it captures the importance of knowing your history. It is also in the present tense, as in the future in flux because we are alive right now & the fight isn't over. 
Even as the farmers' protest and its allies prepare for the coming months, even as Nodeep Kaur & Shiv Kumar remain imprisoned, even though what's ahead looks grim - the fight isn't over.

Thanks so much to Ajinkya Dekhane (@azinzya on Instagram) for letting me use an excerpt from his writing! 

https://wordsoundpower.bandcamp.com/album/the-bant-singh-projectThis episode features clips from The Bant Singh Project by Word Sound Power and Comrade Bant Singh ()

Lyrics by Bant Singh & Delhi Sultanate @delhisultanate

The songs featured are & were produced by Chris McGuinness: 

01 - Comrades 

02 - Intifada - Shaheedanwali Manzil 

04 - Into The Fire 



It is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (https://creativecommons.org/use-remix/). 



Support the show (https://paypal.me/experiencingAmbedkar)

In Episode 2 of Clear Blue Skies, I&apos;m talking about what I thought after reading Untouchables: The Children of India&apos;s Ghetto, and more importantly, what my dear friend Sumeet thinks about this text. We also discuss Jesús Francisco Cháirez-Garza&apos;s paperTouching Space: Ambedkar on the spatial features of untouchability and what it means to find ourselves in different locations (the city, the village). Ambedkar saw cities as sites of emancipation, and if his dream hasn’t been entirely fulfiled, the fault lies very clearly on the backs of those who diverted and continue to divert Dalit-Bahujan activism and assertion.   Going to the future requires looking to the past, &amp; the music, defiant politics and courage of Comrade Bant Singh stand tall in this collective memory.  &quot;We are because he was&quot; is a quote I&apos;ve seen on a lot of t-shirts and posters about Ambedkar, &amp; it captures the importance of knowing your history. It is also in the present tense, as in the future in flux because we are alive right now &amp; the fight isn&apos;t over.  Even as the farmers&apos; protest and its allies prepare for the coming months, even as Nodeep Kaur &amp; Shiv Kumar remain imprisoned, even though what&apos;s ahead looks grim - the fight isn&apos;t over. Thanks so much to Ajinkya Dekhane (@azinzya on Instagram) for letting me use an excerpt from his writing! <a href='https://wordsoundpower.bandcamp.com/album/the-bant-singh-project'>https://wordsoundpower.bandcamp.com/album/the-bant-singh-project</a>This episode features clips from The Bant Singh Project by Word Sound Power and Comrade Bant Singh ()Lyrics by Bant Singh &amp; Delhi Sultanate @delhisultanateThe songs featured are &amp; were produced by Chris McGuinness: 01 - Comrades 02 - Intifada - Shaheedanwali Manzil 04 - Into The Fire  It is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (https://creativecommons.org/use-remix/). <a rel="payment" href="https://paypal.me/experiencingAmbedkar">Support the show</a> (https://paypal.me/experiencingAmbedkar)

As India descends into a genocidal frenzy, amidst the clamour & din, one legacy emerged from the margins to the mainstream. But outside of the spaces where he has always been remembered, not much is known about Dr B.R. Ambedkar. Riya Talitha, an aspiring journalist, in her final year at UBC, facilitated a for-credit course about the man best credited as the architect of India's Constitution. Clear Blue Skies is Riya's attempt to archive the discussions, analysis and discourse that her seminar, Experiencing Ambedkar, prompted. Along with experts, classmates & friends, Riya will explore Babasaheb Ambedkar's politics & philosophy; its influence on anti-caste movements then and now, and the living (breathing, fighting, roaring) inheritance that he has left in India.

Advertisement