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Every Wednesday at 7:00 pmAbout the Show
Alternative Radio
A weekly one-hour public affairs radio program that provides analyses and views that are ignored or distorted in most media. Guests have included Dar Jamail, Michael Pollan, Noam Chomsky, Antonia Jusef, Naomi Klein, Vandana Shiva, Jeff Cohen, David Zirin, Bill Moyers and Howard Zinn.
States have their iconic heroes. Founding Fathers. Jinnah in Pakistan, Ataturk in Turkey, George Washington in the U.S., Gandhi in India. To criticize them is risky business as they have been elevated to god-like status. Gandhi is no exception. He is revered and honored. His portrait hangs in many buildings and homes. His statue graces many public squares. And he is on the rupee note. The adulation extends outside of India. The British government recently announced that his statue would be placed in Parliament Square. But all people have cracks in their armor. Gandhi supported the highly elaborate Hindu caste system of social segmentation and stratification, and hereditary class division. While deploring discrimination and oppression of Dalits, formerly known as untouchables, Gandhi did not see the hierarchical caste system as morally wrong and undemocratic.
Speaker(s):
Arundhati Roy (click to view archive)
Arundhati Roy is a world-renowned writer and global justice activist. The New York Times calls her, “India’s most impassioned critic of globalization and American influence.” Among her many honors are the Lannan Foundation’s Cultural Freedom Award and the Sydney Peace Prize. She is the author of many books includingThe God of Small Things, The Checkbook & the Cruise Missile, Field Notes on Democracy, Walking with the Comradesand Capitalism A Ghost Story. Her introductory essay to B.R. Ambedkar’s Annihilation of Caste is “The Doctor and the Saint.”
