Dalit Voice

Dalit Voice is a political magazine published in Bangalore, India that claims to express the views of Dalits, Muslims, Sikhs, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Castes of India which it claims make up 85% of India's population. 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 by V.T. Rajshekar, a former journalist for the Indian Express, who is still its editor. It is the largest circulated Dalit journal in India^[1]. The writings of Dalit Voice and its editor have been alleged by some to be one of the contributory reasons behind the 2010 Kashmir Unrest.^[2]

Positions

The magazine is described by the Columbia University library as

"characterized by strong anti-Brahminist, anti-caste and anti-racist stance, advocacy of liberation from Brahminism, and claims to be "the sole spokesman for the entire deprived, dehumanised lot of India...", -- Dalits, Backward Castes, Christians, Muslims, Sikhs,women -- "all victims of the Aryan Brahminical racism."^[3]

The magazine has published articles that attack Hinduism, Zionism, Judaism, Communism and American neoconservatism.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]}

Its anti-Brahmin rhetoric, frequently follows to further anti-Zionism with claims of Brahmins in India being related to Jews and deriving their "fanaticism" and "arrogance" from "Jewish Zionist Racism",the magazine calls Brahmins "the Jews of India" and says that Jews and Brahmins are both races and Brahmins are blood brothers of Jews though on many occasions it contradicts itself calling Brahmins as Aryans and saying that they elevated Krishna to godhood and built the sex filled story of Mahabharat round him, to co-opt the rebellious Yadavas.^{[11] [12][13][14]}

Dalit Voice has also made various Brahmin-Zionist conspiracy claims and touted 'Zionist conspiracy theories',the magazine claims that Lenin and all communist leaders were Jews and communism was a Jewish conspiracy to destroy Christianity and establish Zionist Israel^[15][16][17] The editor V.T. Rajsekhar has treated the hoax text Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion as legitimate^[18] and has accused Brahmins and Zionists of a conspiracy to "join hands (with Hindus who he says are only upper castes) to crush Muslims, Blacks and India's Dalits."^[19]

Dalit Voice, in addition to publishing articles about "Zionist conspiracies" regarding Hitler and the Third Reich,^[20][21] have also supported the Iranian regime and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's denial of the holocaust.^[22] It has also claimed that the September 11, 2001 attacks in USA were used by Zionists contolling America to attack and destroy Muslim nations.^[23]

He has also published articles in Dalit Voice that call for shifting the Jewish state of Israel to the United States. ^{[24] [25]}

Dalit Voice has also expressed praise for Barack Obama and Dalit Voice has praised Suicide Bombing calling it the art of dying,the supreme sacrifice and claims to be the first in the world to predict defeat of U.S in the War On Terror.^[26]

Reception

A scholar, Vijay Prashad, has written of the links between a group of authors including V.T. Rajshekar, Ivan van Sertima and Runoko Rashidi and writers in the Afrocentric movement. He called this a "submerged network of Afro-Dalit literature". He mentioned Rajshekar's editorship of Dalit Voice, saying that its pages had "welcomed African American scholars for at least a decade". He criticized the views of this group of writers as "epidermal determinism" (seeking solidarity on the basis of skin colour alone rather than on the experience of oppression).^[27]

The writer Koenraad Elst has criticised the publication for having anti-Hindu views.^[28]

Leon Poliakov writes that the antisemitism exhibited by Dalit Voice is a fairly recent and unrepresentative phenomenon among India's Dalits^[29]

Dalit Voice has also been criticized for "buying into anti-Jewish conspiracy theories" by the far-left 'Maoist International Movement' though they praised the Dalit Voice for having "some good information on caste and other problems in India".^[30]

References

1. ^ Human Rights Watch Article
2. ^ http://www.dalitvoice.org/Templates/sep2010/editorial.htm
3. ^ Columbia University Library entry for Dalit Voice
4. ^ K. Jamanadas, "Is it possible to destroy Hindutva without harming Hinduism?", Dalit Voice, Vol.25, No.1 undated
5. ^ Iqbal Ahmed Shariff, "Hitler not worst villain of 20th century as painted by zionists", Dalit Voice June 16–30, 2005 [1]
6. ^ Iqbal Ahmed Shariff, "A Reply to Critics of D.V. Article on Hitler: Jews & the "Jews of India", Dalit Voice, vol.25, No.1 undated
7. ^ "D.V. and Foreign Affairs", Dalit Voice, vol.25, No.1 undated
8. ^ Dalit Voice - The Voice of the Persecuted Nationalities Denied Human Rights
9. ^ Dalit Voice - The Voice of the Persecuted Nationalities Denied Human Rights
10. ^ Brighter side of Hitler : DV to reveal facts suppressed by history
11. ^ http://www.dalitvoice.org/Templates/march_a2011/editorial.htm
12. ^ http://dalitvoice.org/Templates/feb2011/index.htm
13. ^ Heuzé, Gérard (1993). Où va l’Inde moderne? (p 87). L’Harmattan. 
14. ^ Rajshekhar, V.T.. Brahminism (p 28). Dalit Sahitya Akademy. 
15. ^ http://www.dalitvoice.org/Templates/jan_a2011/articles.htm
16. ^ http://dalitvoice.org/Templates/nov_a2010/reports.htm.
17. ^ http://dalitvoice.org/Templates/feb_a2011/articles.htm
18. ^ Dalit Voice, 1-12-1991##
19. ^ Dalit Voice, 16-1-1993##
20. ^ dalitvoice.org
21. ^ Google Cache of Dalitvoice article See "Abuse of History" Hitler not worst villain of 20th century as painted by "Zionists"
22. ^ Defeat in Iraq & fall of Bush: India warned to quickly adjust to big changes in West Dalit Voice Article
23. ^ 9/11 was a hoax. Dalit Voice. September 2007.
24. ^ http://www.dalitvoice.org/Templates/feb_a2006/editorial.htm
25. ^ http://www.dalitvoice.org/Templates/july2006/articles.htm
26. ^ http://www.dalitvoice.org/Templates/july2009/editorial.htm
27. ^ Vijay Prashad (April 2000). "Afro-Dalits of the Earth, Unite!". African 43 (1): 189–201. 
28. ^ [2] Ayodhya and After, Koenraad Elst (Chpt 14)
29. ^ Poliakov, Leon (1994). Histoire de l’antisémitisme 1945-93 (P.395). Paris.
30. ^ Dalit Voice, Google Cache of the Maoist International Movement article

External links

• Official website