Untouchable Citizens: Ch. 5: Identity, Space and Power

Space and Culture

Dalits (ex-untouchables) in Tamil Nadu, as in many other places of India, have historically resided in cheris or settlements set apart from the village or oor. Cheris often lack amenities like schools, ration shops, health centers or panchayat buildings and are set off the main road down poorly lit and surfaced roads, revealing the significance of space and the spatiality of social relations to the caste system. As Dalits in Tamil Nadu have mobilized politically, they have challenged the hierarchical nature of social space in the face of much backlash, seeking to create meaningful public spaces that are open to, and representative of, all castes. This article concerns the Dalit contestations over space and the wider ramifications of such struggles in the sociopolitical sphere, and argues that the process of democratization requires alterations to social and well as political spaces and institutions.

Dalits (ex-untouchables) in Tamil Nadu, as in many other places of India, have historically resided in cheris or settlements set apart from the village or oor. Cheris often lack amenities like schools, ration shops, health centers or panchayat buildings and are set off the main road down poorly lit and surfaced roads, revealing the significance of space and the spatiality of social relations to the caste system. As Dalits in Tamil Nadu have mobilized politically, they have challenged the hierarchical nature of social space in the face of much backlash, seeking to create meaningful public spaces that are open to, and representative of, all castes. This article concerns the Dalit contestations over space and the wider ramifications of such struggles in the sociopolitical sphere, and argues that the process of democratization requires alterations to social and well as political spaces and institutions. The Tamil blockbuster Madras (Pa Ranjith, 2014) has all the ingredients of a popular Tamil film: fight sequences, song and dance routines, and a troubled romance. What sets it apart, is its foregrounding of an emergent Dalit political culture in the state. The hero, stereotypically, is bold and fearless. Unusually, however, the protagonist is a Dalit (formerly untouchable) youth with links to politics and a desire to empower others through education. The film revolves around disputes over a stretch of wall that political parties use to advertise candidates and events. The upshot is an intense power struggle which takes both spatial and political forms. At the heart of the film are two social processes that form the focus of this article: first, a resurgent politics of caste in which Dalits are key players; and second, the central and continuing significance of social space to caste. The notion that everyone knew and accepted their place in caste society (cf. Moffatt 1979) has never mapped onto reality. Protests against caste have taken multiple forms, including migration or flight (Adas, 1991). These strategies foreground the importance of space, but " the constitutive role of space in the institution of untouchability and in Dalit political mobilization " (Rawat 2013, p. 1060) has been understudied. This omission is surprising given that the regulated nature of caste-based habitation and interaction has helped naturalize caste

The paper deals with the form of untouchability and caste discrimination in India. Caste is the backbone of Hindu society and it cannot be annihilated from India.. Constitution of India had prohibited practice of untouchability by enacting law but still there are various incident of practicing of untouchability in India. It is predominant in rural India. Some higher caste of Hindu society are practicing untouchability in rural as well as in urban areas. Practicing of untouchability had some geographical base. An attempt has been made to analysis the geographies of untouchability and caste discrimination. Introduction:

2014

The paper deals with the form of untouchability and caste discrimination in India. Caste is the backbone of Hindu society and it cannot be annihilated from India.. Constitution of India had prohibited practice of untouchability by enacting law but still there are various incident of practicing of untouchability in India. It is predominant in rural India. Some higher caste of Hindu society are practicing untouchability in rural as well as in urban areas. Practicing of untouchability had some geographical base. An attempt has been made to analysis the geographies of untouchability and caste discrimination.

Palgrave Macmillan, 2023

2021

B. R. Ambedkar, the scholar, activist, and chief architect of the Indian constitution, in his early twentieth century works, referred to the untouchable quarters in India as ghettos. He recognized that untouchability was manifested through combining social separation with spatial segregation. Ambedkar’s theorization of untouchability can be applied along with feminist and Dalit scholars’ theories of the relationship between dynamic spatial experiences and the reworking of caste hierarchies to understand how securing control over productive assets, such as land, has altered social and spatial segregation in rural Bihar. Combined with narratives of the past and present, maps drawn by Bhuiyan Dalit women depicting the physical spaces they occupy in their village (i.e. housing, community center), the locations of sources of water and electricity, and the quality of the resources to which they have access demonstrate that gaining control over land following the Bodhgaya Land Movement (BG...

This paper aims to discuss the organised efforts for social, economic and political emancipation ofDalits in Tamil Nadu during the pre and post independence years. It also deals with the social" status of Dalits in Tamil Nadu in the context of the implementation of the constitutional provisions. Section 1 attempts to provide an overview of Dalit settlements in India. Section 2 gives a profile ofDalit settlements in Tamil Nadu. Section 3 presents the methodology of the micro study while Section 4 presents the findings of the micro study. 1. Dalit Settlements in India The term village is generally used for rural habitations. But it has different connotations depending upon the nature of habitation, and the nature of classification. The decennial census of India has one type of classification. According to the Census 2001, out of India's population of 1027 million about 742 million or 72.2 percent live in rural areas, in 5, 87,226 villages. The boundary of a census village is not always coterminous with a revenue village. One census village may comprise more than one revenue village, or vice-versa. The census and revenue classifications and the related nomenclatures of villages are administrative. So, from an administrative point of view there is nothing as a Dalit village. However, often Dalit settlements are referred to as Dalit villages. The underlying reason for this is that, based on the nature of caste composition usually Indian villages are divided into two geographical areas, namely Dalit and caste-Hindu. Often Dalit settlements are studied from caste-Hindu areas, and the construction of the sociology of Dalits is more from upper-caste perspectives. Villages, whether of census or revenue classification, are generally inhabited by people of different social groups-castes and other religious communities. Each village may be known by a distinct name for census and revenue purposes. But that name subsumes

J-CASTE, 2023

Over the last three decades, India has experienced rapid economic development and social and cultural transformation. Questions arise as to how minorities secure their livelihood and what strategies are being devised for the same. And, what vision of the future do they have in mind? In this article, I will focus on the Dalit community in North India. Fieldwork conducted on one such disadvantaged group, the urban Balmikis (known as the sweeper caste) 1 in Delhi, is drawn upon to examine as a case study. Balmikis have a high rate of migration to urban areas, which is due to their historical background of being employed in the sanitation sector of municipalities and the Ministry of Railways since the colonial times. The name of the community, Balmiki, is derived from worshipping "Bhagwan Valmik," a legendary saint and composer of Ramayana. It began to take root as a name with positive connotations among the sweeper caste in North India around the 1920s and 1930s. Because of this historical development, it is often accused of discrediting Dalits who dissent from Hindu values and for hindering Dalit solidarity. However, if one listens to the claims of the Balmikis, they do not necessarily consider themselves "Hindus". For example, during my research, a frequent response to questions about religion was the statement, "We are forced to be Hindus". In contrast, the words that immediately follow, "We are Balmikis," are restated. By focusing on the beliefs and ambiguity of self-identity of the Balmikis, this article attempts to examine their anti-caste imagination. It then poses the question as to how that imagination is intertwined with everyday experiences and collective grassroots movements.

Senri Ethnological Studies, 2017

Ethnography, 13(1) : 102–116., 2012

This article highlights the contribution of political competition and people's movements to the dynamics of symbolization of space. In India, the symbolic appropriation of space represents an important yet under-explored local repertoire of collective action that impacts the contemporary reproduction of local subjectivities. This case study narrates the political conflict that occurred in a Dalit (Untouchable) basti of the North Indian city of Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh). One political faction of the youth sought to overpower the Hindu Nationalist faction and turn the neighbourhood from an armed bastion of the Hindu nationalist politics and Hindu-Muslim violence into a stronghold of Dalit emancipation. Interrogating the notion of political stronghold, the study documents the techniques and stakes involved as well as the power networks that were mobilized in this localized political battle, which contributed to the defeat of a local riot system.