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| Three Generations of Dalit Movement in India — A representative image. |
File Information
| Document Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | THREE GENERATIONS OF DALIT MOVEMENT IN INDIA |
| Article Credit | International Journal of Research in Economics & Social Sciences, ISSN: 2249-7382, Vol.: Vol. 7, Issue: Issue 7, Year: 2017, (Pubd in: researchgate.net) |
| Author | Ravinder Kumar (Assistant Professor of Political Science, Rajiv Gandhi Government College Saha, Ambala, Haryana) |
| Subject | A historical survey of Dalit movement phases in India, from ancient anti-untouchability resistance to medieval devotional protest and modern political mobilization. |
| Category | Journal article |
| Institution | International Journal of Research in Economics & Social Sciences |
| Main Topics | Dalit movement in ancient India, Untouchability and varna hierarchy, Upanishadic and Buddhist challenges to Brahmanical orthodoxy, Bhakti movement and Guru Ravidass, Colonial-era Dalit political demands, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and political rights, Kanshi Ram and Bahujan Samaj Party, Ravidassia Dharam and Dalit identity |
| Number of Pages | 14 |
| Language | English |
| File Type | |
| File Size | 709.3 KB |
Summary Note of this Document
THREE GENERATIONS OF DALIT MOVEMENT IN INDIA
This document examines three generations of the Dalit movement in India across ancient, medieval, and modern periods. It argues that Dalit struggle changed form over time: first as resistance to untouchability and Brahmanical hierarchy, then as a religious and cultural protest through the Bhakti tradition, and finally as a political movement for representation, rights, and dignity. The article places early anti-caste currents in the context of Upanishadic thought and Buddhism, presenting them as challenges to ritual supremacy and varna-based exclusion. In the medieval section, it focuses especially on Guru Ravidass, whose vernacular poetry and devotional stance are read as a critique of caste oppression and priestly authority. The modern section turns to colonial and postcolonial politics, discussing petitions for separate representation, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s emphasis on political action, and the later mobilization of Kanshi Ram and the Bahujan Samaj Party. The essay also notes the cultural and religious consolidation associated with Ravidassia institutions, including Dera Sach Khand Ballan, and treats these as part of a broader Dalit renaissance involving social, religious, and political self-assertion.
Core Themes
- Resistance to untouchability
- Caste hierarchy and social exclusion
- Religious protest through Bhakti poetry
- Political representation for depressed classes
- Dalit identity and self-respect
Keywords
About Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was born in 1891 as the fourteenth and youngest child of an army Subedar in Mhow. Born into the Mahar caste, which was considered untouchable, Bhimrao faced many hardships at school. He had to sit on a gunny sack that he brought from home. He was not allowed to touch the water vessel or cup, so he could drink water only when the school peon was present to pour it for him. He later described this experience with the words, “No peon, no water.” His mother died when he was very young, and he had a difficult childhood. However, he was the only one of his siblings to pass his examinations and continue to high school, becoming the first person from his community to attend Elphinstone College. With a scholarship from the Maharaja of Baroda, he went on to study at Columbia University and the London School of Economics. He earned doctorates in economics and trained as a barrister at Gray’s Inn. According to the account supplied for this biography, his books were lost when his ship was torpedoed during the First World War.
Despite his education, Ambedkar continued to face prejudice. When he returned to India, he was required to work in Baroda but had to leave the position because of discrimination. His business providing investment consultancy failed when clients learned that he belonged to a community considered untouchable. While working as a professor in Mumbai, his colleagues objected to the idea of him sharing a water jug with his students. These experiences helped spur his activism. He established newspapers to give a voice to marginalized people. He led the Mahad Satyagraha, asserting Dalits’ right to collect water from a public tank, and publicly burned the Manusmriti in 1927. In 1932, he negotiated the Poona Pact with Mahatma Gandhi. Although it involved a difficult compromise, the pact provided reserved seats in legislatures for the Depressed Classes. Ambedkar was outspoken in public life but private by nature. His wife Ramabai died in 1935, and he filled his home in Bombay with a large personal library reported to contain more than 50,000 books. He declared, “I am born a Hindu, but I will not die as one.”
During the period of Indian independence, Jawaharlal Nehru invited Ambedkar to become India’s first Law Minister. Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee that prepared the Constitution of India, which abolished the practice of untouchability and established civil liberties and constitutional safeguards, including reservations for historically oppressed communities. He acknowledged the contribution of other constitutional experts, including B. N. Rau, who had prepared an earlier draft. Because of his poor health, including diabetes, Ambedkar married Savita, a doctor who cared for him. In October 1956, he converted to Buddhism in Nagpur along with a vast gathering of followers, commonly estimated at around half a million. He died in his sleep just weeks later, shortly after completing his final major work, The Buddha and His Dhamma. He was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1990. His message, “Educate, agitate, organise,” continues to inspire people seeking equality and social justice.
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