Social and Political History of Dalit Emancipation

The emergence of dalit political voice in the Tamil region in the 19th century predates the political expression of non-brahminism and was influenced by the transformations inaugurated by colonialism. This article examines the works of some of the more prominent dalit intellectuals who lived and worked in the closing decades of the 19th century.

As per the 15th Indian Census conducted in 2011, 201 million people belonging to various Dalit communities were recorded, forming 16.6% of the total Indian population of approximately 1.2 billion. Dalits are officially known as Scheduled Castes and popularly known as 'former untouchables'. Caste is birth-based, 'constructed by religion and divided by occupation'. Even though independent India in 1949, gave full citizenship to Dalits and abolished the practice of untouchability, Dalits still face exclusion, widespread discrimination, and extreme poverty in modern India. Rising atrocities against Dalits incited Dalit activism. In Bombay 1972, the Dalit Panther movement was founded by Namdeo Dhasal. The Dalit Panthers were inspired by the Black Panther movement that rose in America in 1960s and 1970s against the exploitation of the Black community. Even though the Dalit Panther Manifesto was published in 1973, it is the most popular document by the Panthers that lay out their mission and demands for the entire Dalit community. The demands stated in the Manifesto correspond to the immediate needs of Dalits, even today. So, this essay includes a textual analysis of the Dalit Panther Manifesto within a historical, religious and political framework. This essay addresses the following two questions: How was the political atmosphere in the post-Independence period unsuccessful in delivering the promise of democracy, socialism and secularism, to the Dalits? To what extent is the current political scenario favourable or unfavourable for Dalits' liberation?

Abstract - The human rights violation in India country is one of the major problems since centuries. The socio- economic milieu of Indian society is inherently hostile towards protection of human rights of Dalits. It is the caste and Varna system of social stratification which promotes the societal violation of Dalit human rights. The rule laid down by the Hindu law giver, Manu, is that there are only four Varna’s of Hindus and there is not to be fifth Varna. The four Varna’s are Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Sudras. Gandhiji and others in their campaign against un- touchability contended that untouchables and scheduled Tribes fall under the fourth Varna namely Sudras on the basis of Manu’s law of stratification. Dr.Ambedkar has pointed out that this theory is not acceptable because Manu speakers of untouchables as varn-baya which means those outside the Varna system. The four clsses of Hindus are called Savarnas while those outside the four classes like the untouchables are called Avarnas. Manu has stated in his smiriti that the develling’s of the Chandals shall be outside the village, that they must be made ‘apapatras’ and their wealth shall be dogs and donkeys, their dress shall be the garments of the dead, they shall eat their food in broken dishes and black iron shall be their ornaments, they must wander from place to place and they shall not sleep in villages and towns at nights. It is well known that in villages the untouchables live in separate localities, while other castes live in the main village. It cannot, thus be denied that untouchables are not part of Hindu society and they must remain separate and segregated.

Comprehensive history presents that saga of Dalit people has been suffering from social, economic, religious, political, and various forms of discrimination and atrocities from times immemorial. Such socially implanted caste-based discrimination resulted in number of Dalit movements in India. The paper examines the various forms of the Dalit movement, traces Dalit problems, and their mobilization for the Dalit movement. The paper also brings forth the studies made on such movements. Thus, the paper examines the importance of the Dalit movement in India.

Journal of South Asian Development, 2007

This article examines contemporary Dalit assertion in India through an ethno-graphic case study of a legal tool being mobilized by Tamil Nadu's lowest-ranking Arunthathiyars in their struggle against caste-based offences. The Arunthathiyars of western Tamil Nadu are increasingly taking recourse to the 1989 Prevention of Atrocities Act (PoA Act) in an attempt to bring members of higher castes to justice. The article explores how Arunthathiyars are employing the law and how their litigation is reshaping the politics of caste in this region. The authors document how a process of litigation by Arunthathiyars is countered by a politicization of caste by the dominant Gounders of the region, who recently entered electoral politics with a new caste-based party. Even though the litigation route further antagonizes caste relations, it is argued that the PoA Act has provided Dalits with an invaluable tool to seek justice, democratize public space, and challenge the power of the dominant caste in the region. Dalit social movements, it is concluded, are more likely to be successful if they are backed by a legal weapon and accompanied by Dalits' growing economic independence.

This article examines the development and early politics of the Dalit Panther Iyakkam (DPI), or Dalit Panther Movement, of Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1982, the DPI advanced a political program that petitioned state authorities qua democratic citizens. By submitting formal appeals through official institutional channels, DPI organisers lobbied government bureaucrats to fulfil their professional obligations and advocated an impartial administration of law, delivery of rights, and equitable access to social and economic development. This article examines the earliest phase of Dalit Panther politics in Tamil Nadu through its own documentary evidence, drawing upon DPI Chairman A. Malaichamy's personal letters, written appeals, received correspondence, political pamphlets, and rally handbills. Countering interpretations of subaltern assertion that accentuate 'illiberal' techniques as its primary form and state welfare its principal target, I demonstrate that legal advocacy served as a core feature of early DPI politics. When state institutions proved unresponsive, movement organisers began to consider alternative forms of political practice and came to regard the public sphere as a more conducive arena for making claims on state authority and demanding recognition as democratic citizens.

Bihar Dalit Vikas Samiti, 2024