Kerala Thrissur 20/08/2025, Dalit activist and writer TS Shyamkumar lectures a lecture on “Dalitian representation in culture and institutions” at the International Literature in Keraral on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: Kk Najeeb
Democracy in India will remain incomplete unless Dalits and Adivasis are ensured by fair representation in power, administration and culture, the Dalitian activist and writer TS Shyamkumar said.
At the International Literature Festival in Kerala, he spoke here on Wednesday about the theme of “Dalitian representation in culture and institutions” and claimed that the root values of higher caste continues to exclude Dalit and Adivasis from decision -making structures.
“In order for Dalits and Adivasis to be justified, the regressive consciousness formed by the dominance of the upper caste must be discarded. Only then can we become truly democratic human beings,” he said.
He stressed the need for caste census to identify differences in sharing power. “What the Constitution guarantees that Dalits and Adivasis are sufficient, but excessive representation of the dominant caste must be corrected. Without the census we cannot know who controls power in this country,” said Mr. Shyamkumar.
Higher judiciary
He pointed out that even the CITC had less than 3% of the central secretaries, while 252 of the 282 Supreme Court judges have so far belonged to the UPPER Castes communities. “Why are Dalits and Adivasis missing in higher judiciary? Because exclusion is built into the system,” he said.
Also in Kerala he asked how many Dalitian vice -pre -pre -pre -pre -or -administrators existed? “If the red flag of the communist movement bears the blood of Dalits and Adivasis, then this movement has a moral responsibility to give them legitimate space in power,” he added.
Mr Shyamkumar also criticized cultural hegemony and pointed to practices such as administration only vegetarian food at school art festivals. “This is nothing but the influence of the upper caste culture,” he said.
He answered the question and said that Hindutva was forcing Valmiki’s distortion and passing as Dalits to store epic like Ramayan and Mahabharat on marginalized communities. Cultural institutions still cannot honor the reformers like Sree Narayan Guru. “Kerala named the university after Adi Shankar, but not Sree Narayan Guru. Reservation in cultural institutions is often subversive. If the administration itself is not democratized, Dalits and Adivasis will remain excluded,” said Mr. Shyamkumar.
About feminism
“Why should a woman be the same as a man?” The feminist writer and activist Sarah Joseph asked during an interview with Suja Susan George at the Literature Festival. “People become strong when they remain faithful to themselves. Why should a woman try to be men?” She asked.
She stressed that freedom only exists when an individual can increase his voice against practices that are contrary to their ideals and liberate from the oppression chains. “Only then can real freedom be realized,” she said.
She explained that men and women are biologically different, but are to unite spiritually, cooperate, move society forward and create future generations. Unfortunately, since the very beginning of social life, the patriarchy began to dictate the course of human existence.
“In a society marked by such inequalities, women were forced to question these biological differences,” said Mrs. Joseph.
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Published – August 20, 2025 9:01
