T.H.P Chentharassery Memorial Lecture (via hybrid mode)
Annihilation of What: Caste or its Discourse?
Speaker: Professor Gopal Guru
Editor, Economic and Political Weekly & Former Professor, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Date and Time : 09th January 2025 (Thursday) 3.30 pm
Venue: TNG Hall, Press Club, Thiruvananthapuram
Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/95959476026
Abstract: In post-independent India, particularly in the most contemporary times, the discourse of caste is ‘fated’ or tagged in fate with the discourse that surrounds the year 1936, where Ambedkar’s speech on caste could not be delivered by him. Arguably the free public articulation of caste has become difficult if not impossible in contemporary times. He in protests against the stipulation of the organizers preferred to back out. However, during the pre-independence period, there were some attempts to talk sometimes openly but mostly obliquely about not annihilation but bringing some minor and mild changes in the caste practices.
Arguably, the nationalist thought was not romantic as it was not bereft of its reality of untouchability and caste. Social reformers were at least ready to listen and discuss the issue of caste. Thanks to the efforts that were notably made by Phule, Mahatma Aayankali, Narayan Guru, and Ambedkar who seem to have forced dialogue on those who found it difficult to avoid participating in the discussion on the caste question. Annihilation of caste, inversely, sets the ground on which other thinkers particularly Gandhi find limits not only in nationalist thinking but in his self as well. Even today, the public talking about caste is being undermined and discussion on caste does not find easy ground either institutional or even political.
The speech is divided into two parts. In the first part, the liberal conditions that allowed public articulation of caste through institutions and public spheres will be delineated. The shrinking of the liberal sphere, particularly during the last decade, has led to the silencing of discourse on caste. In the second part of the speech, the modalities of this silence will be discussed.
About T.H.P. Chentharassery: Thiruvan Heera Prassad Chentharassery (1928–2018), popularly known as T.H.P. Chentharassery, was born in Othera near Thiruvalla in the Pathanamthitta District of Kerala. His family was deeply involved in the Sadhujanaparipaalana Sangam, a movement dedicated to the upliftment of marginalized communities. A prominent historian from Kerala, Chentharassery is renowned for his extensive studies on the caste system in India, offering critical insights into the region's social structure.
He completed his education at St. Berchmans College, Chenganassery, Mar Ivanios College, and Mahatma Gandhi College, Thiruvananthapuram, after which he worked for many years in the Accountant General Office in Thiruvananthapuram. During this time, he became increasingly aware of the limitations of the historical narratives he had been taught. This realization sparked his passion for historical research, leading him to explore and document Kerala's past's often overlooked or distorted aspects.
Chentharassery made significant contributions to the study of Kerala's social history. He is particularly credited with introducing Ayyankali, the pioneering social reformer who revolutionized the Dalit movement in Kerala, to the wider public. His influential work helped shed light on Ayyankali's legacy and its transformative impact on the state’s social fabric.
Among his notable achievements, Chentharassery was awarded the Dr. Ambedkar National Award for his book History of the Indigenous Indians. His other well-known works include Ambedkar on Indian History, Ayyankali: The First Dalit Leader, Chaathurvarnyam and Ambedkarism, Bhaaratharatnam Ambedkar, and Keralacharithrathile Avaganikkappetta Edukal.
About the speaker: Professor Gopal Guru retired from the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Currently, he is the Editor of Economic and Political Weekly. Prof. Guru's engagements with caste as an analytical category transformed Social Science writing and theorizing. He is one of the foremost thinkers and theorists of Indian political processes. He has authored several books and specializes in political theory and philosophy. His research includes significant works on Indian political processes and the politics of multiculturalism. Caste and Dalit politics have remained his core areas of interest during his long academic career. One of his earlier edited works, Humiliation: Claims and Context helped rethink the idea of ‘experience’ and is a very important contribution to the discipline. This was developed further in the set of essays in The Cracked Mirror: An Indian Debate on Experience and Theory, which he co-authored with Sundar Sarukkai, where the two debate on the importance of Dalit experience as a category to evolve new theoretical frameworks in Indian social sciences.