Manchester Launch of Hatred in the Belly: Politics behind the appropriation of Dr. Ambedkar’s writings
by Ambedkar Age Collective
When: 6 – 8 pm, 6th October 2016
Where: Samuel Alexander A201,
The University of Manchester,
Oxford Rd, Manchester
Talks, Readings and Discussion
Chair: Rubina Jasani
Speakers: Anu Ramdas, Kuffir Nalgundwar, Gaurav Somwanshi, Sruthi Herbert, Sridhar Gowda, Kavita Bhanot
Hatred in the Belly published by The Shared Mirror is the powerful response by a number of Dalit-Bahujan writers to Arundhati Roy’s ‘much-needed-introduction’ to Ambedkar’s Annihilation of Caste, published by Navayana Press in 2014, and by Verso Press in the UK. While focussing on Arundhati Roy-Navayana’s project as a ‘case study’ of sorts, the book is an important and timely intervention that unpacks the wider politics
of the appropriation of Ambedkar and Ambedkar ‘s writings by brahmin/upper caste ‘progressives’. One of the important books of the 21st century, Hatred in the Belly raises important questions of representation, self-assertion and the damaging effects of an elite left and celebrity activism upon people’s movements and struggles.
The book and the discussion around it brings layers and complexity to decolonial discourse in Britain, addressing structures and hegemonies of media, publication and academic discourse within India and how this plays out globally through international collaborations between ‘progressive’ elites. The book is also remarkable for the ways in which, bypassing powerful publishing, marketing and distribution structures and networks, it has emerged from a collective process of writing, editing, translating, publishing, marketing and distribution. We will be joined, via skype, by Gaurav Somwanshi, contributor to Round Table India and Hatred in the Belly, and Anu Ramdas and Kuffir Nalgundwar, founders/editors of Round Table India and editors of Hatred in the Belly. Join us for a discussion about the book, with an opportunity to buy a copy.
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