BSG partnering with University of Massachusetts (Amherst) for International Annual Conference on “Caste and Race: Reconfiguring Solidarities: Unfinished Legacy of Dr B R Ambedkar”

Boston Study Group (BSG), an organization based in Boston (MA), USA, dedicated to working towards a just and equitable society, is sponsoring a bust of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar at the University of Massachusetts (Amherst). BSG also sponsored Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s bust at Brandeis University in 2017.

The bust, made of brass, weighing at 40 lbs, and 2 feet high, was made in Nagpur, India and shipped to the US. The unveiling of the bust will take place on Saturday 5 May, 2018 at 5.30 PM at the Students Union Ballroom and will be graced by the Chancellor of the University, Kumble Subbaswamy, academics like Sangeeta Kamat and Amilcar Shabazz, and members of the Ambedkarite community from across North America and Asia.

This coincides with the International Conference on “Caste and Race: Reconfiguring Solidarities: Unfinished Legacy of Dr B R Ambedkar” being organized at the University of Massachusetts (Amherst). The conference will feature plenaries and panels with attendees such as novelists Isabel Wilkerson and Sujatha Gidla; academics such as Gopal Guru, Meena Dhanda, Shailaja Paik, Suraj Yengde and Toussaint Losier; and activists and writers such as Thenmozhi Soundararajan, Karlene Griffiths Sekou and Anand Teltumbde. Workshops and panel discussions on topics such as “Organizing Anti-caste campaigns in the diaspora,” “Violence: Lynching, Incarceration, Dispossession,” “Caste and Race: Comparative and historical analysis,” and “Dalit cultures of resistance” are also scheduled at the conference.

BSG is also sponsoring the travel and participation of four research scholars from underprivileged backgrounds in India. Their research papers have been selected for presentation at the conference.

On Saturday, May 5, BSG is organizing a dinner for the conference participants followed by a cultural evening, Utsav, which will feature a variety of performances. The evening’s program will also include an event recognizing the contributions of various individuals towards the Ambedkarite cause. Professors Sangeeta Kamat, Amilcar Shabazz of University of Massachusetts (Amherst), Gary Tartakov of  Iowa State University, Vinaya Khobragade of the Global Empowerment Network (GEN), and Rajkumar Kamble of the Ambedkar International Mission (AIM) will be felicitated as part of the event.

BSG has been focused on Dr. Ambedkar’s call for Annihilation of Caste and works in solidarity with various groups in the US towards that end.

More details – 

http://bostonstudygroup.org/

http://engagement.umass.edu/crrs/

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