Dalit movement Background: The Scheduled Castes are known as harijans/ Dalits/

untouchables, the term Harijan was coined by Mahatma Gandhi in 1993. The harijans prefer to be
called Dalit, the opposed. The belong to the lowest rank in the Hindu caste system, they are called
avarna, those whose place is outside the chaturvarna system. Their touch, their shadows and even
their voices are believed to pollute caste- Hindus. The Dalits constitute 16% of India’s population.
36% of them are workers. Among the workers, 48% are agricultural labourers. Many of them are
engaged in traditional occupations such as flaying, scavenging. The Dalits are scattered all over the
country, though their numbers are insignificant in the predominantly tribal states of the northeast
frontier as well as in Bihar and UP. Dalits are known by different names in different states like Mahars
in Maharashtra, Jatavs or Chamars in UP, Vankars in Gujrat and Malas in Andhra Pradesh.
Typology of Dalit Movements in India/ Typologies and issues:
The main issues around which most of the Dalit movements have been centred in the
colonial and post-colonial periods are confined to the problem of untouchability. They
launched movements for maintaining or increasing reservations in political offices,
government jobs and welfare programmes.
Ghanshyam Shah (1980) classified movements into reformative movements and alternative
movements. The reformative 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 background. Both types of movements are use political means
to attain their objectives. The reformative movements are further
divided into Bhakti movements, neo-Vedantik movements and Sanskritisation movements.
The alternative movements are divided into the conversion movement and the religious or
secular movement. The latter includes the movement related to economic issues. In the
context of dalit identity and ideology Shah has classified dalit movements into movements
within cultural consensus, competing ideology and non-Hindu identity, Buddhist dalits and
counter ideology and dalit identity. The first three are based around religious ideologies
whereas the last is based on class. Bhakti movement in 15th century
developed two traditions of saguna and nirguna. The former believes in the form of God
mostly Vishnu or Shiv relating to the Vaishnavite or Shaivaite traditions. It preaches equality
among all the castes though it subscribes to the varnashram dharma and the caste social
order. The devotees of Nirguna believe in formless universal God. Ravidas and Kabir are the
major figures of this tradition. It became more popular among the dalits in urban areas in
the early 20th century as it provided the possibility of salvation for all. It promised social
equality. Through these movements Fuller argues devotionalist ethic come to be widely
reinterpreted as a charter of egalitarianism. Neo- Vedantic movement was
initiated by Hindu religious and social reformers. These movements attempted to remove
untouchability by taking them into the fold of the caste system. Dayanand Saraswati the
founder of Arya Samaj believed that the caste system was a political institution created by
the rulers for the common good of society and not a natural or religious distinction. Satish
Kumar Sharma's book Social Movements and Social Change is the only full-fledged study
which examines the relationship between the Arya Samaj and the untouchables. The study
is confined to Punjab only but some of the observations are relevant for other part of the
country as well. Arya Samaj was against the political movements of the untouchables. It
went against any move initiated by the untouchables for their solidarity and integration.
The neo-Vedantic movements and non-Brahmin movements played an important
catalytic role in developing anti-caste or anti Hinduism dalit movements in some parts of
the country. The Satyashodhak Samaj and the self-respect movements in Maharashtra and
the Tamil Nadu, the Adhi Dharma and Adi Andhra movement in Bengal and Adi-Hindu
movement in Uttar Pradesh are important anti-untouchability movements which were
launched in the last quarter of the 19th and the early part of 20th century.
AMBEDKAR AND DALIT MOVEMENT: A major anti-untouchability movement was
launched by Dr Ambedkar in the 1920s in Maharashtra. This movement spread to different
parts of the country and acquired all-India character. Dr. Ambedkar emerged as the leader
of the untouchables of the country. During the 1920s, the Mahars launched unsuccessful
satyagrahas against untouchability in Mahrashtra. Ambedkar was a Mahar himself. He saw
the opportunity and possibility of an advancement for the untouchables through the use of
political means to achieve social and economic equality with the highest classes in modern
society. He organized the independent labour party (ILP) on secular lines for
protecting the interests of the labouring classes. It was dominated by Mahars. It did not
make much of an impact. Later, Ambedkar formed the Scheduled Castes Federation (SCF) in
1954, to fight elections and look after the interests of the SCs. The SCF was later converted
into the Republican Party in 1956. The Dalits demanded a separate
electorate in the 1930s which led to a conflict between Ambedkar and Gandhi. Gandhi did
not think that the problem of untouchability was a political issue. In the early 1930s
Ambedkar concluded that the only way of improving the status of the untouchables was to
renounce the Hindu religion. He argued that the Brahminic counter-culture
destroyed the great Buddhist civilisation, which resulted in the enslavement of Buddhist
population as “untouchables”. Within Hinduism any kind of radical social transformation is
almost impossible. He argued against the “reformists” and the “bhakti cult” for their lack of
social protest and content of social reform. Recovery of dalit agency through conversion to
Buddhism was suggested as an alternative conception of nation and community
He found that Buddhism was appropriate as an alternative religion for the
untouchables. He preferred Buddhism because it was an indigenous Indian religion of
equality; a religion which was anti-caste and Anti Brahmin. Buddhism for Ambedkar was not
just a tool for identity formation among dalits but he wanted to establish concrete moral
norms in the society Ambedkar and his followers were converted to Buddhism in 1956.The
movement for conversion to Buddhism has spread dalit consciousness irrespective of
whether dalits became Buddhist or not. Republic Party of India was established
with great moral commitment and ideology to work for the socially and economically
disadvantaged sections, including the Buddhists. RPI in a very short period of time was
grasped by the self-interested mahar leadership. They failed to capitalise on the cultural
capital created by the vibrant dalit movement and mostly worked against its ethos.
Ambedkar argued that in Maharashtra the conversion movement precipitates a silent social
and cultural revolution among the dalits.
The Dalit Panther Movement: In 1972 the Dalit Panthers emerged with a radical socio-
political programme and spiritedly occupied the imaginations and hopes of young, newly
educated dalits. This was an intellectual movement, which succeeded in establishing new
cultural and religious values among the urban dalits. Initially it was confined to the urban
areas of Maharashtra not it spread to Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh
and other states. The panthers condemn and discard the dominant culture and attempt to
build an alternative socio-cultural identity for the oppressed classes. The dalit panthers
organise demonstrations against injustices to the SCs. At the peak of its popularity a
confrontation broke between the two most dynamic leaders of Dalit Panthers, Namdeo
Dhasal and Raja Dhale, over the primacy of Buddhism in the movement of social
transformation. The movement split into two distinct camps with one group (Dhasal)
adopting the Marxist class perspective and the other (Dhale) adopting the Ambedkarite
Buddhist model for bringing change. The movement faced the problems of unavailability of
infrastructural assets, sound political vision and a direct onslaught of militant Hindutva
forces, and eventually died down. The movement eft behind a legacy of vast revolutionary
literature and culture.
Other movements: In 1960s, Harijan Agricultural Labourer’s participated in the land grab
movement in Andhra, TN, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Bihar and UP.
The efforts of various voluntary organisations such as Rural Community Development
Association, Harijan Labourers’ Association, the Agricultural Workers’ Movement in TN, the
Rural Harijan Agricultural Developmental Association in Andhra and the Association of Rural
Poor in West Bengal, to organise and mobilise agricultural labourers during the 1970s and
early 1980s, invite special attention. Leaders of these organizations developed
consciousness among the oppressed sections regarding the socio-economic structures and
cultural realities which keep them subjugated. These organizations launched several
struggles related to economic issues as well as social issues.
Why did the Post-Ambedkarati Buddhist Movements fail in Maharashtra?
the post-Ambedkar Buddhist movement has had a limited appeal among the dalits and has
become a non-issue in the public discourse. It has constructed a small elite coterie of dalit
intellectuals, bureaucrats and some political leaders who monopolise the symbols of
Buddhist movements for their personal interest or to criticise the other political elites for
their compromising attitude to Ambedkar’s legacy.
One faith-based organisation (FBO), Trilokya Bouddha Mahasangh Sahayak Gana (TBMSG) is
effectively functioning among the Buddhists, which proposes a non-political, non-
confrontationist but a “spiritual” model to propagate Buddhism. Some of the new
enthusiasts who have joined the Buddhist movement possess questionable public
credentials because of their non-social outlook.
The dalit-Buddhist movement in Maharashtra has failed in generating a dynamic cultural
assertion, which can encompass the aspirations of all the oppressed sections. These
movements over-estimated the values of ideological commitments and failed drastically in
the arena of politics. The attempt to bring socio-religious change for the dalits in a
constitutionally secular but culturally communal atmosphere through political mobilisation
had a moral imperative but as a political strategy was disastrous. Instead of developing
Buddhism as a political philosophy they instrumentalised it as a political ideology and thus
alienate many dalit castes and their leaders from RPI.
THE BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party):
The BSP under the leadership of Kanshi Ram has brought the most significant change in the
psyche of dalit masses by providing an umbrella identity, futuristic vision, myths, social
ideology and a political strategy to become one of the most significant players in the game
of power politics in contemporary India. The BSP from its very initiation as a political party
symbolised the political aspirations of the downtrodden oppressed masses in India.
In the post-Ambedkar era, Kanshi Ram became the true torchbearer of Ambedkarite
struggle in the political arena of India. He materialised this vision by giving a practical road
map of social revolution based on the idea of social engineering. the BSP argues that an
inclusive and representative social engineering of castes and minorities is the most
appropriate formula for power sharing.
The political “bahujan” was one of the most imaginative political categories, which Kanshi
Ram coined to overturn the dominant generalisation that the deprived classes are always
submissive bearers of political power. The bahujan identity also rejects the mainstream
formulations based on class, religion and secularism because they favour and legitimise the
control of upper castes over the rest. In other words, bahujan identity is a democratic
political alliance between the politically deprived caste groups of contemporary India under
the leadership of the most exploited castes of Indian history, the dalits
TENETS OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS:
The social movements of India’s deprived castes are based on three major tenets: firstly,
the social movement identifies the basis of exploitation by identifying two categories,
namely, the exploiter and the exploited subjects. In India, caste categories based on “pure
and impure” births become the base for such categorisation.
Secondly, in the struggle against oppressive social system, the movement challenges the
domination of the oppressed in all the arenas of civilisation. Periyar challenged the
hegemony of brahmins in the social, political, cultural and religious order and forged a plan
for complete destruction of the Brahmanical system.
Thirdly, the social movement imagines the alternative model for a better society. Ambedkar
prioritised a society, which would be based on the values of liberty, equality and fraternity,
against the cherished varnashrama dharma of Gandhi.
Thus, a self-conscious dignified social identity, a commitment ends the oppressive social
order and a hope for the establishment of an equal and libertarian society, become the
basic tenets of the social movements in India.
FOLIES OF THE DALIT PANTHERS AND THE BSP:
One provides a cultural and psychological platform but fails to provide political alternative.
The other is able to provide political platform but that has little impact on the social,
cultural and economic status of the Dalits
SUMMING UP:
Dalit iconography, Assertion of Dalit identity
The dalit movements are dominated by their middle-class raising issues related to identity
and reservations of government jobs and political positions. There is widespread local-level
assertion against the practice of untouchability and discrimination. Their struggles however
have brought dalits on the agenda of mainstream politics. Nominal
instrumentality can replace the political elites but it does not have the capability to bring
about social and cultural equality in the society. In the post-Ambedkarite period the agenda
of social democracy is side-lined under the larger consensus on political democracy.
Dalit politics has a blurred, narrow and a power-centric perspective having limited
effects on socio, cultural and economic status of the community. Being the representative
of particular caste/castes in politics it operates in the circle of hierarchical relationships
without actually breaking the permanent pure-impure dichotomy. It upholds a strict and
non-compromising attitude over the issues of leadership and over the question of
participation in the broader struggles of social change Thus, failing to articulate another
dimension of Ambedkar’s vision based on the philosophy of Buddhist conversion
movement that could challenge the social control of brahmanical elites