01-06-2021 The Asian Independent

www.theasianindependent.co.uk
NEWS
01-06-2021 to 15-06-2021
5
Casteism is deep-rooted in Kerala :
Malayalam anti-caste rapper Vedan
Vedan recently released the Malayalam rap song ‘Vaa’, which calls Dalits and other oppressed
communities to come together and stand united against systematic caste oppression.
Korah Abraham
Vaa, a recently released Malayalam
rap song, opens with the following
lines: Come friend, Shoulder to
shoulder, Let s go fight, Become fire,
Shatter the barricades (English translation).
Twenty-six-year-old Vedan
has made it clear in these opening
lines that his song is a call for some
form of united resistance. But resistance
against what?
There s a reason I released this
song on April 14, 2021, which is
Ambedkar Jayanti, birth anniversary
of Dr BR Ambedkar, Vedan says,
speaking to TNM over a telephonic
conversation from his hometown in
Thrissur, Kerala. This was Vedan s
way of sending a message that Vaa ,
which translates to Come , is a call
for Dalits and other oppressed communities
to come together and stand
united against systematic caste
oppression.
For years, rap music has been used
as an art form to voice out the injustices
happening in society especially
among the Black community in the US
and in Africa. Vedan s entry into rap
also stems from his experiences during
his growing up years and from the
stories he has heard from his paternal
grandmother. And therefore, his music
is personal and like they say, Personal
is political.
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Discrimination from childhood
The colony that I grew up in
Thrissur was surrounded by fields and
meadows that belonged to many private
individuals. We never knew or
cared about who owned these areas.
We used to go and play in these fields,
pluck mangoes and take a stroll with
our dogs, Vedan says. But one day,
the landowners warned them that people
from their colony were barred
from entering the fields. Back in the
day, I never understood why we
weren t allowed to enter their fields,
whereas certain other people could,
he recalls. It came to a point when the
Malayalam rapper decided that discussing
these issues and the discrimination
faced by the people of his community
within a small group of friends
was not enough. We felt that these
problems and ideas should be shared
with a wider audience and the best
way for that is through art in my
case, it was rap, he explains.
Ignorance about caste is dangerous
Vedan feels that there is a popular
misconception that there are few caste
issues in Kerala, and a major section
of society feels that just because they
do not believe in caste , caste discrimination
doesn t exist in the state.
This ignorance about caste is dangerous
as it removes all spaces for a Dalit
or a person from an oppressed caste to
Yogi, Ramdev now in varsity curriculum
Meerut (Uttar Pradesh) :
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath and yoga guru
Ramdev will now be part of the
Chaudhary Charan Singh
University curriculum.
University officials said that
this is part of their effort to teach
students about their "ancient cultural
heritage" and the architects
of this heritage. Yogi
Adityanath’s ’Hathyoga Ka
Swaroop va Sadhna’ and
Ramdev’s ’Yog Sadhna va Yog
Chikitsa Rahasya’ will be part of the first
year, second semester undergraduate philosophy
curriculum.
It can also be taken as an elective subject
by students, along with other courses.
Prof Y. Vimla, pro vice chancellor of the
university, said, "The Board of Studies on
philosophy has decided that the works of
Yogi Adityanath and Ramdev would be
included in the syllabus. The two books
have been recommended by the state government
and endorsed by the Board of
Studies of the university."
The recommendation from the state
government was made to the University
Grants Commission (UGC).
"Study and practice of this course will
provide a stressless and effortless life,
expansion of consciousness, regulation of
the nervous system, etc," said the syllabus
structure for the philosophy course recommended
by the state government to the university.
Under the New Education
Policy, the UGC has come up
with a new curriculum which
allows universities to decide
what makes up 30 per cent of the
syllabus for each course. This 30
per cent is designed to keep
regional relevance in mind.
The two books have been chosen
from a list of seven suggested
readings, the others being
’Gheranda Samhita’, ’Patanjali
Yoga Sutra’, a book by Swami
Satyanand Saraswati and two by
Paramhansa Yogananda.
Prof Vimla said, "The concept of the
New Education Policy is that students must
first be apprised of their ancient cultural
heritage and taught about the architects of
this heritage. For instance, when it comes
to botany, we need to teach students about
the ancient sages who developed Ayurveda
and the contributors to its evolutionary
process."
speak out. We hope to change this
through our music, he adds.
But the journey as a rap artist hasn t
been easy for Vedan. In a state like
Kerala, you are scorned for speaking
about Dalit politics or Ambedkar politics.
When we bring up caste politics, it
unsettles the supporters of certain mainstream
political parties that have dominated
the political narrative in Kerala
for so long, states Vedan, who goes on
to add that he has faced various forms
of abuse through social media and over
phone calls ever since the release of his
first song Voice of voiceless .
The artist admits that his close
friends had suggested that he come up
with a non-political rap music next, in
order to avoid the threats and abuses.
But that s not why I m here, Vedan
asserts. I feel that there is a sense of
life in my music only when I m political.
When asked whether he has
thought of expanding his work to larger
audiences by way of live shows and
participation in public platforms like
his counterparts in Tamil Nadu The
Casteless Collective and Arivu, Vedan
believes that the two states differ when
it comes to their approach to Dalit politics.
Unlike in Kerala, Dalit politics
is more openly discussed in Tamil
Nadu. There are Ambedkar statues in
every nook and corner of the state. But
things are slowly changing in Kerala
and I m hopeful of going mainstream
soon enough, he says.
Vaa, which is directed and edited by
Vedan s friend Hrithwik Sasikumar,
was a crowdfunded project, which
according to Vedan is the result of the
efforts of many of his friends and family.
Apart from his two rap songs,
Vedan has also lent his voice for a
song in the recently released
Malayalam movie Nayattu, directed
by Martin Prakkat.
He tells TNM that currently he is
going through a creative block but
that he hopes to be a part of the mainstream
commercial film industry
someday. Mainstream commercial art
is important as far as I m concerned
because that s where my target audience
lies majority of whom are
unaware of caste oppression. In order
to get my message out to the masses, I
have to go mainstream and I will make
it happen. Courtesy : TNM
Ram Jethmalani’s son
Mahesh Jethmalani
nominated to Rajya Sabha
New Delhi : Former Law
Minister Ram Jethmalani’s son
Mahesh Jethmalani has been
nominated for the Rajya Sabha
seat vacated following the
death of MP Raghunath
Mohapatra last month. The
tenure of Mahesh Jethmalani -
- one of the leading lawyers of
the country, as Rajya Sabha
MP would be till May 2024.
Mahesh Jethmalani was associated
with the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) in the past.
He has also been a member of
the National Executive of the BJP.
In 2012, Mahesh resigned from the BJP’s National Executive,
protesting against the then national BJP President Nitin Gadkari.
Last year, there were talks of Mahesh going to Rajya Sabha from
the nominated quota, although retired Supreme Court Chief
Justice Ranjan Gogoi was nominated then.