About
I am what I am by what I am not
I am not: a journalist. an ngo activist. a professional writer. or a full time student [at this point]
I am: 21 years old. indian. male. “delhiite”
I enjoy: talking and debating about politics, talking and debating in general, telling stories, cricket, good food, travelling,newspapers,magazines,fiction and non-fiction,rock music,video games, technology, and using [ ] instead of ( )
I hate: censorship, moral preaching, discrimination, intolerance, over use of the words ‘caste’ and ‘dalit’
For me, the highest values are: freedom, justice and intolerance for intolerance
the past
I had a successful and boring life in school. And a tumultuous experience in college, strewn with wrong choices, along with some heady highs. I am ready to absorb and move on.
In college, I was associated, as Coordinator and Spokesperson, with United Students. We did work that was good. And original. US is defunct now.
contact
You can contact me by commenting anywhere on this blog, or by email:
You’re only 20???
I don’t lie in writing.
two comments.
1. why you term your feelings as ‘anger’ and frustration that too ‘impotent’?
2. why your age 20 should surprise anyone?
hey i have known him since school this chap is surely 20..
And i thought he would go into being a software professional,seems like i was wrong
I thought so too. But DU spoils you.
Hi Ritwik,
I’m sorry if this seems redundant, but what is the context for your dislike for the “over use of the words ‘caste’ and ‘dalit’”? What is ‘overuse’? Am a little befuddled.
@Apurva: I believe there is over-emphasis on identity in media, academics and politics, at the cost of categories such as class, which often give a fuller picture of things.
Note that when I talk of identity I am talking of identity ascribed at birth, like caste or religion.
This is not to deny the importance of identity, but I feel deeply uneasy about judging people and their opinions solely through the prism of their identity. In india, this has often come to take the form of caste identity.
Not only does each individual carry multiple identities, I also believe that somebody’s individuality is defined by the extent to which they can think beyond their own identity.
Why I particularly mentioned caste and dalit was because over the last few years, these terms have come to dominate media space like nothing else. There is also a disturbing trend of equating “poor” with “dalit” and in my view, such opinions reflect an incomplete understanding of Indian realities.