V. T. Rajshekar, in full Vontibettu Thimmappa Rajshekar Shetty, (born 1932) is an Indian

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

who is the founder and editor of the '' Dalit Voice'', which has been described by

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

as "India’s most widely circulated

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...

journal".Human Rights Watch Article
Hrw.org. Retrieved on 2011-07-07. He was formerly a journalist on the

Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...

, where he worked for 25 years. He is the founder of the 'Dalit Voice' organisation a radical wing of the broader movement for Dalit interests.

Positions and ''Dalit Voice''

Started in 1981, ''Dalit Voice'' is a periodical launched by Rajshekhar. Under Rajshekhar's the Dalit Voice organisation formulated an Indian variant of

afrocentrism Afrocentrism is an approach to the study of world history that focuses on the history of people of recent African descent. It is in some respects a response to Eurocentric attitudes about African people and their historical contributions. It ...

similar to that of the Nation of Islam in the USA but it is different from other magazines in many aspects. It is notable for promoting radical

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

borrowed from Western sources and also its link to Afrocentrist ideologies. The book declares the Indian

castes Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

as nations within the nation of India. It argues for the strengthening of each caste.

Controversy and criticism

''Dalit Voice'' harshly criticizes Israel and

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

, which at times crosses the line into antisemitism. It has published articles about 'Zionist conspiracies' regarding

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

and the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. They have also supported the

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian government and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's

denial Denial, in ordinary English usage, has at least three meanings: asserting that any particular statement or allegation is not true (which might be accurate or inaccurate); the refusal of a request; and asserting that a true statement is not true. ...

of the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

Passport confiscation

In 1986 Rajshekar’s passport was confiscated because of "

anti-Hindu Anti-Hindu sentiment, also known as Hinduphobia, is a negative perception, sentiment or actions against the practitioners of Hinduism. Examples of anti-Hindu sentiments According to the religious dialogue activist P. N. Benjamin, som ...

ism writings outside of India". The same year, he was arrested in

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

under India’s Terrorism and Anti-Disruptive Activities Act. Rajshekar told

that this arrest was for an editorial he had written in ''Dalit Voice'', that another writer who republished the editorial was also arrested, and that he was eventually released with an apology. Rajshekar has also been arrested under the Sedition Act and under the Indian Penal Code for creating disaffection between communities.

Books and pamphlets

* '' Dalit Movement in Karnataka'' * ''How Marx Died In Hindu India'' * ''Why Godse Killed Gandhi'' * ''Hindu Serpent And Muslim Mongoose'' * ''Dialogue Of The Bhoodevatas'' * ''Bhoodevtavon Ki Batchit'' in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

Arthashastra ( Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion)'' * ''Brahminism In India And Zionism In West'' * ''India's Muslim Problem'' * ''India On The Path To Islamisation'' * ''Dalit Voice – A New Experiment in Journalism'' * ''Brahminism'' * ''Weopons To Fight Counter Revolution'' * '' Riddles in Hinduism'' by

Babasaheb Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served a ...

* ''Know The Hindu Mind''

Awards

* In 2005 Rajshekar received the London Institute of South Asia (LISA) Book of the Year Award. *In 2018 Rajshekar received the Mukundan C Menon Award instituted by the National Confederation of Human Rights Organization’s ( NCHRO).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajshekar, V T 1932 births Ethnocentrism Indian newspaper journalists Living people Pseudohistorians Dalit writers People from Dakshina Kannada district Journalists from Karnataka Indian political journalists 20th-century Indian journalists