Gail Omvedt
Encyclopedia
Dr. Gail Omvedt is an American
born India
n scholar, sociologist and human rights activist. Omvedt has been involved in Dalit
and anti-caste
movements, environmental
, farmers'
and women's movements.
, and at UC Berkeley where she earned her PhD in sociology in 1973. She has been an Indian citizen since 1983.
In recent years she has been working as a consulting sociologist on gender, environment and rural development, for the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), Oxfam Novib
(NOVIB) and other institutions.
Omvedt's academic writing includes numerous books and articles on class, caste and gender issues, most notably:
Her more recent works are:
She is currently a Fellow-In-Residence at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Rashtrapati Nivas, Shimla (INDIA).
groups foster an ethnic definition of Hinduism
based on geography, ancestry and heritage in order to create a solidarity amongst various castes, despite the prevalence of caste-based discrimination.
Omvedt endorsed the stand taken by Dalit activists at the 2001 World Conference Against Racism
that caste discrimination is similar to racism in regarding discriminated groups as "biologically inferior and socially dangerous".
She has called the United States
a "racist country" and has advocated for affirmative action
She has on occasion supported big-dam projects and GMO crops.
, who acknowledges that discrimination exists but opposes treating caste as a form of racism simply to protect against prejudice and discrimination, calling such an attempt "politically mischievous and "worse, scientifically nonsense".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
born India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n scholar, sociologist and human rights activist. Omvedt has been involved in Dalit
Dalit
Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...
and anti-caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
movements, environmental
Environmental movement
The environmental movement, a term that includes the conservation and green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues....
, farmers'
Farmers' movement
The Farmers Movement was, in American political history, the general name for a movement between 1867 and 1896 remarkable for a radical socio-economic propaganda that came from what was considered the most conservative class of American society...
and women's movements.
Biography
She was born in Minneapolis, and studied at Carleton CollegeCarleton College
Carleton College is an independent non-sectarian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, USA. The college enrolls 1,958 undergraduate students, and employs 198 full-time faculty members. In 2012 U.S...
, and at UC Berkeley where she earned her PhD in sociology in 1973. She has been an Indian citizen since 1983.
In recent years she has been working as a consulting sociologist on gender, environment and rural development, for the United Nations Development Programme
United Nations Development Programme
The United Nations Development Programme is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP operates in 177 countries, working with nations on their own solutions to...
(UNDP), Oxfam Novib
Oxfam Novib
Oxfam Novib is the Dutch affiliate of the international Oxfam organization. It is an association dedicated to establishing a fair world with no poverty in it. The organization is based in The Hague.Oxfam Novib was founded under the name Novib in 1956...
(NOVIB) and other institutions.
Works
Omvedt's dissertation was on Cultural Revolt in a Colonial Society: The NonBrahman Movement in Western India, 1873-1930.Omvedt's academic writing includes numerous books and articles on class, caste and gender issues, most notably:
- We Shall Smash This Prison: Indian Women in Struggle (1979),
- Reinventing Revolution: New Social Movements in India (1993),
- Gender and Technology: Emerging Asian Visions (1994),
- Dalits and the Democratic Revolution (1994),
- Dalit Visions: the Anticaste movement and Indian Cultural Identity (1994)
Her more recent works are:
- Buddhism in India : Challenging Brahmanism and Caste,
- Growing Up Untouchable: A Dalit Autobiography Among Others,
- Seeking Begumpura: The Social Vision of Anticaste Intellectuals (2008).
She is currently a Fellow-In-Residence at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Rashtrapati Nivas, Shimla (INDIA).
Positions
Omvedt posits that HindutvaHindutva
Hindutva is the term used to describe movements advocating Hindu nationalism. Members of the movement are called Hindutvavādis.In India, an umbrella organization called the Sangh Parivar champions the concept of Hindutva...
groups foster an ethnic definition of Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
based on geography, ancestry and heritage in order to create a solidarity amongst various castes, despite the prevalence of caste-based discrimination.
Omvedt endorsed the stand taken by Dalit activists at the 2001 World Conference Against Racism
World Conference against Racism
The World Conference against Racism are international events organised by the UNESCO to struggle against racism ideologies and behaviours. Four conferences have been held so far, in 1978, 1983, 2001 and 2009...
that caste discrimination is similar to racism in regarding discriminated groups as "biologically inferior and socially dangerous".
She has called the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
a "racist country" and has advocated for affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
She has on occasion supported big-dam projects and GMO crops.
Critcism
Her stand on racism was opposed by the Indian government and sociologists including Andre BéteilleAndre Béteille
Andre Béteille is one of India's leading sociologists and writers. He is particularly well known for his studies of the caste system in South India...
, who acknowledges that discrimination exists but opposes treating caste as a form of racism simply to protect against prejudice and discrimination, calling such an attempt "politically mischievous and "worse, scientifically nonsense".
External links
- Profile of Gail Omvedt, UC Berkeley sociology website
- Profile of Gail Omvedt, University of Michigan website
- Profile of Gail Omvedt, Center for the Advanced Study of India, University of Pennsylvania.
- Gail Omvedt, An Open Letter To Arundhati Roy
- Gail Omvedt, The Hindutva bomb, published in The Hindu, June 20, 1998
- Gail Omvedt, Caste System and Hinduism, Economic and Political Weekly, March 13, 2004
- Gail Omvedt, Bhakti versus Hindutva, lecture at the Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard Divinity School, April 30, 2007 (requires RealPlayerRealPlayerRealPlayer is a cross-platform media player by RealNetworks that plays a number of multimedia formats including MP3, MPEG-4, QuickTime, Windows Media, and multiple versions of proprietary RealAudio and RealVideo formats.-History:...
) - Hindutva and ethnicity - Gail Omvedt.
- Why Dalits dislike environmentalists - Gail Omvedt