To Mahasthivar Bhikku Bodhanand (1874-11 May 1952), who laid the ideological foundation of the Bahujan cultural movement 1 Mahishasur A people’s hero Pramod Ranjan 2 Email:
[email protected] Phone: +91-7827427377, 9968527911 © Forward Press Books ISBN: 978-81-932584-4-6 Cover painting: Dr Lal Ratnakar Mahishasur: A people’s hero (A discourse on culture) Edited by Pramod Ranjan 3 Contents The power of a book A cultural battle Expression of different life values Re-rendition Who are the Bahujans really worshipping? - Premkumar Mani Why this celebration of death? - Premkumar Mani On Dussehra - Premkumar Mani “I am proud to be an Asur!” - Shibu Soren Durga the Santal Slayer - Madhushree Mukerjee Asur traditions in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh - Rajan Kumar Dalitbahujan perspective on the Mahishasur debate - Braj Ranjan Mani Mahishasur: A linguistic view - Rajendra Prasad Singh The real Durga - Nutan Malvi Mahishasur and Bali Pratipada - Gail Omvedt Mahishasur, Ravan and Mahabali - Ajay S. Sekher Cultural War ‘Mahishasur’s daughter’ gets award from President - Sanjeev Chandan Mahishasur’s descendant Sushma - Ashwini Kumar Pankaj 4 ‘Pluralist democracy is an imperative’ - Misa Bharti Kannada intellectuals on Mahisha’s side - M. Dileep Kumar Four years of a cultural movement - Pramod Ranjan & Ravi Prakash ‘There is no stopping these cultural battles’ - Kancha Ilaiah Durga, Mahishasur and caste politics - Ram Puniyani Understand India, Modi ji - Premkumar Mani Mahishasur via the Hindi media - Karmanand Arya The truth about a myth - Suresh Pandit Satiating your curiosities About the contributors 5 The power of a book I would like to begin with a quote of the great Bahujan thinker Bhikku Bodhanand.