YouSaid · the spoken record

Sujatha Gidla

lines on the record: 65
first: 2017-11-15
most recent: 2017-11-15
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“No, it's a worldview. I would say Marxism is a worldview. And Marxism looks at the world in terms of class, like feminists look at world as men and women and religious people look at the world as Christians and non-Christians. And Marxists look at people as workers and capitalists. And that is the worldview I hold. And I look at problems arising out of class difference and I look at solutions that could arise out of class action.”
2017-11-15 · Conversations with Tyler · Sujatha Gidla on Being an Ant Amongst the Elephants (Live) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I really went blank. After I got arrested, I really went blank. And things were happening to me, things were being done to me, but I really, really went blank. And I accepted torture also in the same manner. And I was in the jail. And for three months, and then I was released. And my fervor has had certainly calmed down in the sense that like, I don't want to be romantic by getting arrested and killed or something like that. But I still held the views of equality and justice, social justice.”
2017-11-15 · Conversations with Tyler · Sujatha Gidla on Being an Ant Amongst the Elephants (Live) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Sacrificed that, and they were fed into the maw of state repression. And I was one of them. I wanted to do something for the people.”
2017-11-15 · Conversations with Tyler · Sujatha Gidla on Being an Ant Amongst the Elephants (Live) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I was 19 years old. I lived in a very poor neighborhood and it affected me a lot. And also I must say that Christianity had an effect on us. Your family is Christian. We view Christianity as a religion of kindness and compassion. And so that is how we started then we moved into communism. And so I always want, I thought Christian brotherly love is the way to emancipation of all oppression in the world. But when I grew up and I saw in churches people being discriminated, rich people and poor people in church, I thought, yeah, I don't know what Jesus is going to do in the other world, but nothing is happening now. It was very highly romantic movement, you know, like young people from high caste and very wealthy young people, people who had like great future.”
2017-11-15 · Conversations with Tyler · Sujatha Gidla on Being an Ant Amongst the Elephants (Live) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I haven't said this. Everybody is dying to know whether I got into university because of reservations. My answer to them is go ahead and die. So, because this is going to be out in the public, I'm not going to give them the satisfaction of knowing whether I got in because of reservations or not, but I can tell you in private how I got into engineering in big union institutes.”
2017-11-15 · Conversations with Tyler · Sujatha Gidla on Being an Ant Amongst the Elephants (Live) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's not, I mean, if I were there in the circumstances where that's being implemented or written into constitution, I wouldn't have been fighting actively for reservations because reservations is like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. So I would not be fighting for that. What I would be fighting for is equal access in all spheres of life. But reservations are here, whether I fought for it or not.”
2017-11-15 · Conversations with Tyler · Sujatha Gidla on Being an Ant Amongst the Elephants (Live) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Think How do you feel about how we do identity politics? I am against identity politics. For sure, yeah. Yeah. And yeah, I have seen bad things happen with identity politics, with untouchables as well. I mean, all they fight for is reservations. Reservations is based on your suffering or suffering of untouchables in the villages. So if you want reservations, then you are indirectly asking for discrimination to be continued on the basis of which you can gain a few seats in universities and political places.”
2017-11-15 · Conversations with Tyler · Sujatha Gidla on Being an Ant Amongst the Elephants (Live) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“With regard to race, what's going to happen if you recognize this as a legally objectionable thing? Nothing happens. And I don't think any of such thinking can happen with caste. And these people, the Brahmins are firmly entrenched in all high places in America. If you look at TV anchors, they're all Brahmins. If you look at people who work in New York Times, they're all Brahmins. If you look at people who are in Trump's administration, they're all upper caste. And they're never ever going to allow this thing to be recognized as a discrimination.”
2017-11-15 · Conversations with Tyler · Sujatha Gidla on Being an Ant Amongst the Elephants (Live) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Very much. I had bad experiences when I first came here because I knew nobody else but Indians. And once I was able to make friends with Americans, I never, never went back to Indian networks. It's a very rabid system. So immigrant associations ostensibly they are there to celebrate Indian culture and festivals, but they're actually the caste groups. openly say that this is Brahmin American association and if you want to join the Facebook page you have to tell their shibolets like what's your Gothra what's your this what's your horoscope this that and we are not able to tell them because we don't know what you know”
2017-11-15 · Conversations with Tyler · Sujatha Gidla on Being an Ant Amongst the Elephants (Live) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well caste is basically, you know, it stems out of an economic system. It stems out of occupation. It stems out of what job you do in the society. So as long as the production is such organized in such a way that you want a certain group of people always be available to do menial work and do the hard work if the economic system requires that, then the forces will try to keep untouchables in their place so that they can be used as laborers. So it does not go away unless the system of the economic system and system of production are radically changed.”
2017-11-15 · Conversations with Tyler · Sujatha Gidla on Being an Ant Amongst the Elephants (Live) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I can't comment on that very much, but I mean, I don't think it makes it any more difficult. It's already difficult enough, you know.”
2017-11-15 · Conversations with Tyler · Sujatha Gidla on Being an Ant Amongst the Elephants (Live) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“No, it doesn't, you know, there is a confusion introduced in the caste system because people think Hinduism is casteism. It's in a way right because Hinduism is a tailor-made religion. And as one anthropologist said, it's a mysticism, but basically it's a system to prop up caste system. It tells you the rules for untouchables and for women. That is all Hinduism is about shorn of mysticism. It's a prop for caste system. And so the caste system is a social issue, but the religion coincides with the social. That's why it looks like it's a religious issue. It's not actually a religious issue. Therefore, when people convert to other religions, hoping that they will not be untouchables anymore, they will be disappointed because there is casteism in Christians and Dalits and Sikhs and any other religion. It's a social issue”
2017-11-15 · Conversations with Tyler · Sujatha Gidla on Being an Ant Amongst the Elephants (Live) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That is not true. I mean, caste is basically a village based institution. That's where it is most rigorously practiced. But even when you come to towns like my family did, we lived in a segregated area and we were not allowed to rent houses in other areas. At one time, my father's friend agreed to take us in, but when we went there with all our things the wife said, no, you can't have them here.”
2017-11-15 · Conversations with Tyler · Sujatha Gidla on Being an Ant Amongst the Elephants (Live) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, first of all, somewhat timid people will say there is no such thing as caste. And some people will say caste is by your merit. It's not discriminatory based on your caste. Whoever is intelligent can become Brahmins. That is like pure nonsense because caste is by birth. And some people actually like the person in your blog says that caste gives color to society, you know, like different castes make it interesting. So why doesn't he want to be an untouchable for a change if that's what he wants?”
2017-11-15 · Conversations with Tyler · Sujatha Gidla on Being an Ant Amongst the Elephants (Live) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“You know, untouchables are the main features. Segregation And the inheritance of caste caste is by birth, you cannot acquire caste. Untouchable if you're born to untouchable family This is maintained by analogamy that is marriage within one's own caste, marriage outside of the caste is very, very Stigmatized Allowed Extent that parents themselves can kill The girl for marrying outside of the village.”
2017-11-15 · Conversations with Tyler · Sujatha Gidla on Being an Ant Amongst the Elephants (Live) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source