Buffalo Soldier

Soma Wadhwa March 15, 2004 00:00 IST Buffalo Soldier -0001-11-30T00:00:00+05:53

Yet another ferocious indictment of Hindu Brahminism by author and activist in the Dalit-Bahujan movement Kancha Ilaiah. Devoted to "all those who have suffered apartheid, untouchability, casteism, patriarchy and brutal atrocities because of spiritual fascism...." There’s no doubting what to expect from Buffalo Nationalism, a collection of Ilaiah’s published articles in newspapers over the years. Especially for those familiar with Ilaiah’s earlier works.

Despite his predictability, though, Ilaiah’s writing has a fervour and intellectual rigour that makes this book an engaging read. It pushes one into taking note of Ilaiah’s perspective on what has gone into making India an unjust nation for the Dalit-Bahujans. The cow, not the buffalo, Ilaiah argues, is worshipped. Because, though both give milk, the cow is white, as were the Aryans ("Brahmins are basically Aryans"). So, it made sense for the Aryans to spin a philosophy around "white being good", and black, the colour of the Dravidians (and the "low castes"), being bad.

The discourse in Buffalo...