Epistle

Half a Measure of Rice: The Keezhvenmani Massacre and the Legal Shield of Feudal Class

In 1968, forty-four Dalit agricultural labourers were locked in a hut and burned alive in Kizhavenmani for demanding a wage increase. The subsequent High Court acquittal of the landlords established a pattern of institutional impunity.

By Jay S December 25, 2025

Chronicles

The Price of Three Rupees: State Violence, Impunity, and the Manjolai Labourers Massacre

Jul 22

Chronicles

The Fire at Kadavendi: Doddi Komarayya and the Spark of Telangana

Jul 4

Chronicles

Vachathi: State Violence, Collective Guilt, and the Thirty-Year Road to Conviction

Jun 20

Chronicles

The Battle for the Grasslands: How the Warlis Broke the Feudal Hold

May 23

Earlier

Chronicles

The Areca Spears of Vayalar: How Travancore's Underclass Faced the Diwan's Bren Guns

In October 1946, the coir workers and landless peasants of coastal Travancore rose against the autocratic Diwan's plan for an independent monarchy, facing a military blockade with staves carved from areca palms.

Oct 27

Chronicles

The Shares of the Harvest: How Bengal's Sharecroppers Reclaimed Their Grain

In the winter of 1946, millions of Bengal’s sharecroppers refused to deliver half their crops to landlords, launching an agrarian uprising that crossed communal divides on the eve of Partition.

Sep 15