Dalit Movements in India: A Review

Introduction: Dalit means “oppressed”, “ground down”, or “broken to pieces” in both Marathi
and Hindi. Apparently, it was used in the 1930s as a Hindi and Marathi translation of ‘Depressed
Classes’, the term the British used for what are now called the Scheduled castes. In 1930, there
was a depressed classes newspaper published in Pune called Dalit Bandhu. (Friend of Dalits).
The word was also used by Ambedkar in his Marathi speeches. B.R.Ambedkar first used the
term in 1928 or so, in his newspaper “Bahishkrit Bharat”. In ‘the Untouchables’ published in
1948, Ambedkar chose the term ‘broken men’, an English translation of Dalit, to refer to the
original ancestors of the untouchable castes who were known as depressed classes in public
discourse. Traditionally, according to the Hindu code of conduct, the untouchables were placed
at the bottom of hierarchy and had different names in different parts of the country. They were
called atishudras, chandals, antyajas, pariahas, dheds, panchamas, avarnas, namshudras, etc.
According to Ghanshyam Shah, “Dalit includes all the oppressed and exploited sections of
society. It doesn’t confine itself merely to economic exploitation in terms of appropriation of
surplus. It also relates to the suppression of culture-way of life and value system- and more
importantly the denial of dignity. But now it has essentially emerged as a political category. For
some, it connotes an ideology for fundamental change in the social structure and relationships.”
Actually without having a sound understanding of the caste system, one cannot understand the
misery and sufferings of Dalits. The idea of ritual purity/pollution manifested through
untouchability is the corner stone of the highly discriminating nature of the caste system. An
entire segment of population was assigned ‘unclean occupations’ like scavenging, flaying,
tanning, etc. and converted into untouchables. To be untouchable didn’t mean only that his
physical touch was to be shunned or avoided due to ritual reasons; it was to enter a fatal and
futile universe totally impervious to hope. Among the main socio-economic disabilities the bulk
of Dalits has been suffering from lack of freedom to choose occupation, landlessness, forced
labour, lack of access to education, segregated housing, and lack of freedom to excise political
rights may be enumerated. For Dalits the stigma of untouchability and its accompanying
disabilities based on caste are an Indian, rather exclusively Hindu phenomenon.

Dalit Movement

Dalit movement may largely be looked as the movement of untouchable castes or, as per the
constitutional arrangement, Scheduled Castes. Tracing the history of the Dalit movement,
Ghanshyam Shah says that the anti-caste movement began in the 19th century under the
inspiration of Jyotiba Phulye and was carried in the 1920s by the non-Brahmin movements in
Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu developed under the leadership of Dr. B.R.Ambedkar. Phulye who
belong to a Mali caste has made the initial ideological advances and formulated a theory of
Brahmanism and “Irani Aryavrat conquest”. He has turned the Aryan theory upside down to
identify with the original “non-Aryan” Shudras and ati-Shudra inhabitants of the country, for the
unity of Maharashtrian masses. Through his Satyashodhak teaching, he wants to justify the idea
of equality and the assertion that no middlemen or priest is necessary between man and god. But
Dalit movements have a particular character. They cannot be explained satisfactorily by
reference to economic exploitation or political oppression. As Martin Fuchs and Antje
Linkenbach points out “class analytic approaches have been tried on Dalit movements, but have
not been successful in accounting for the extra economic oppressive factors…….What
furthermore distinguishes the case of Dalits or untouchables, is the fact that they are always a
minority. While adivasis are a minority in the relation to the total Indian population, but
traditionally not in the regions they inhabit; Dalits are dispersed across the country.” Dalit
movements have set themselves wider and fundamental aims. The inner motive can be conceived
best as a ‘struggle for recognition’ as fellow human beings. On the one hand, it is a struggle for
self-confidence and space for self-determination; on the other hand, it is a struggle for an
overhaul of the social system. Its large target has been the “abolition of stigmatization
(inadequately condensed in the notion of untouchability) and of all discriminations derived
therefrom or connected with it (atrocities and physical violence, sexual harassment, forced
labour, landlessness, public disabilities and exclusion from certain occupations and certain
spaces or from religious congregations)”.

The studies on Dalit movements are very few but important enough to highlight the Dalit issues.
Ghanshyam Shah (1980) classifies Dalit movements as under: reformative movements and
alternative movements. The reformative movements are further divided into Bhakti
movements, neo-Vedantik movement and Sanskritization movements. The reform
movements try to reform the caste system to solve the problem of untouchability. The alternative
movement attempts to create an alternative socio-cultural structure by conversion to some other
religion or by acquiring education, economic status and political power. Before independence,
the Dalits have been embracing Islam or Christianity or Hinduism, but after the promulgation of
the Constitution, conversion to Buddhism has been the main channel so that they continue to
enjoy the Schedule Castes status and the consequent advantages. Both these types of movements,
say reformative and alternative, use political means to attain their objectives. The Bhakti and
neo-Vedantic movements were not confined to the SCs. They were initiated by the Hindu
religious and social reformers. According to the pioneers of these movements, untouchability
was not an essential part of Hinduism and for that matter, of caste system. Dayanand Saraswati,
founder of the Arya Samaj, believed that caste system was a political institution created by the
rulers for the common good of society, and not a natural or religious distinction. The Satya
Shodhak Samaj in Maharashtra, Self-Respect Movement in Tamil Nadu, the Namshudra
movement in Bengal, the Ad-dharma movements in Punjab against the Arya Samaj are important
anti-untouchability movements launched in the last quarter of 19th and early 20th century. The
most important of the early movement was by Pandit Iyothee Thassar, a Tamil pariah, who led a
Buddhist revival movement and fought for social and political rights of what he called the “non-
caste Indians”. He formulated the “Navyana” drawn from Buddhism. (Engaged Buddhism)
Modern Dalit social movements reached their peak in the first half of the 20th century. They used
the space provided by an emerging, restructured public sphere for regional-self organization and
trans-regional networking. Dr. Ambedkar’s movement occupies the most important place in the
modern Dalit movements. Tracing its history, Shah says that Ambedkar made his entry into
political and social life of India in the period immediately after the First World War and the
Russian Revolution. It was an era marked by social and political upheaval, and the increasing
hegemony of Marxist socialism in movements of social liberation. Though Ambedkar organized
and led one of these movements, popularly known as Mahar movement because it was largely
confined to a lower untouchable caste Mahar, as an autonomous movement for Dalit liberation,
rejecting the ideological and leadership hegemony of non-Dalit socialists, he was influenced by
Marxian thought. His movement continues to inspire the Dalit leadership even today and the
entire political mobilization of the BSP, which become the ruling party in U.P., was based on it.
Ambedkar wanted to liberate the Dalits by building an egalitarian social order and which he
believed was not possible within the fold of Hinduism whose very structures were hierarchical
which relegated Dalits to the bottom. He gave them a mantra, “educate, organize and agitate” by
self-awakening. He also formulated an alternative to Hindu nationalism known as “Dalit-
Bahujan Samaj” which incorporated the philosophy of Phulye and Periyar. It aimed at
establishing a casteless and classless society where no one would be discriminated on basis of
birth and occupation. He aimed at renouncing the Hindu religion and himself became a Buddhist
later with his followers in Nagpur in 1945.

Ideologically all these movements share some common themes despite being diverse in scope.
Central to their thinking was the Adi-theme, a definition of themselves as the original inhabitants
of the country, a claim that their own inherent traditions were those of equality and unity, and a
total rejection of caste as imposition of conquering Aryans who used this to subjugate and divide
the natives. Building on Ambedkar’s policies and the new identity provided by “Ambedkarite
Buddhism”, the Dalit Panther movement and the Dalit Sahitya movement gave expression to
Dalit experiences of oppression. As Robert Deliege rightly suggests the very name of Dalit
Panthers movement is typical of increased aggressiveness of untouchables who are proud to be
called Dalit while the term ‘Panthers’ is an echo of the American Black Panthers, with whom
young Dalits identify sometimes. This organization was born in 1972 in Bombay by J.V.Pawar
and Dhasal. While the Dalit Sahitya movement is guided by some neo-Buddhist Mahars whose
ideology is openly militant and often aggressive. Their weapon is the pen and many of their
poems express these sentiments.

Different phases of Dalit Movement in India:

 Reformative phase- Sanskritization, removal of social evils like child marriage,

alcoholism, etc., Bhakti movement, Arya Samaj movement, neo-vedantic movement
 Radical phase- Kala Ram Temple entry movement, Burning of Manusmriti,
petitions, demonstrations, protests for various issues, Dalit Panthers movement, and
Dalit Sahitya movement.
 Alternative movements phase- Adi-Hindu movement, Ad-Dharma movement,
Namshudra movement, Self-respect movement, conversions to different religions
like Christianity and Buddhism.
 Political formations phase- Republican Party of India by Ambedkar, Backward and
Minority class Employee’s federation (BAMCEF), Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh
Samiti (DS4), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) by Kanshiram.

Conclusion
Dalit movement has always run on the parallel track from the national mainstream revolt
and with their hostility towards class and communism analysis, they developed a separate
tendency. Still the achievements of Dalit movements are impressive. They have given a
birth to tradition of struggle in many areas, not only on cultural and ritual issues but on
breaking feudal bonds. They have created a deep seated conviction of equality and self-
confidence.