CHAPTER-1

SOCIO-HISTORICAL & POLITICAL PROFILE OF

DALITS IN INDIA

For a start, let us have a cursory look at Dalit Literature under

consideration to understand the kind of literary aspects it consist~ of. After having

gone through a comprehensive study of Dalit literature, one finals that Dalit

literature is, no doubt, marked by revolt and negativism because it is closely

associated with the hopes for freedom of a group of people who as

untouchables, are victims of social, economic and cultural inequality. So far as

the origin of the Dalit literature is concerned, there have been a number of

theories which are variously held to be its originators such as Budha (6th century

BC), Chokhamela (14th century A.D), Mahatma Phule (1828-90) and Prof. S.M.

Mate (1886-1957)1. Much as it is true that these great men were deeply

concerned about the plight of the untouchables, history shows that it was Dr.

Ambedkar who was the pioneer of Dalit literature.

There is no denying of the fact that the Dalitliterary movement began in

Maharashtra, the birthplace of Dr. Ambedkar's movement, whose revolutionary

ideas stirred into action all the Dalits of Maharashtra and gave them a new self-

respect. So, Dalit literature is nothing but the literary expression of this

awareness. The term 'Dalit Literature' can be traced to the first Dalit literary

conference in 19582, which passed a resolution defining the term. However, this

conference went almost unnoticed thus proving beyond doubt that the Dalit class

was indeed neglected. The sixties witnessed may new things happening in

Marathi literature, Narayan Surve, for the first time a poet, wrote about the

problems of workers. In Dalit literature, Anna Bhau Sathe and Shankarrao Kharat

were already established but the movement gained great momentum from the

short stories of Baburao Bagul. His collection of stories, Jevha Mee Jaat Chorli

Arjun Dangle, The Poisoned Bread, Orient Language Ltd., 1992, Bombay. Ibid, pg. vii.

22

Hot; (when I had concealed my caste) made such waves in the Marathi 'literacy

world that some critics hailed it as the epic of the Dalits while others compared it

to the jazz music of the Blacks. Bagul's sotires taught Dalit writers to give

creative shape to their experiences and feelings.

In the seventies, Dalit critics began to theorize on Dalit literature and its

role. A number of young writers, full of new awareness, had started writing for

periodicals like Asmitadarsha. The poets Daya Pawar, Waman Nimbalkar,

Tryambak Sapkale, A~un Dangle, Namdev Dhasal, Umakant Randhir and JV.

Pawar and short story writers Tarachandra Khandekar, Yogiraj Waghmare,

Avinash Dolas, Yogendra Meshram and Bhimrao Shirvale are a few who

developed during this period.3

Dalit writers, however, began to realize more and more that there was no

point in merely writing provocative poetry against injustice. The Dalit writers had

also become familiar with the Black movement and literature in the USA. The .-

result was that the youths Namdeo Dhasal, Arjun Dangle and JV. Pawar .. took

the initiative and established the political movement called tile Dalit Panthers in

Bombay in 1972.4 The leaders of the Dalit Panthers were all writers, Thus a wave

of writing describing experience in provocative language swept Marathi literature.

This was probably the first time in India that creative writers became politically

active, and formed an organization. Dalit literature is not simply literature,

although today, most Dalit writers have forgotten its origins, Dalit literature is

associated with a movement to bring about changes.

The Dalit autobiography is a literary form marked by a great quantity of

writing: however, its quality is equal to its quantity. The journey from Shankarras

Kharat's Tarallntaral to the young writer Sharan Kumar limb ale's The Bastard' is

the whole saga of Dalit social history. Taral Antaral is a narration dating from the

fiist generation of the Ambedkarite movement. In an auto-biography like

Alhvaninche Pakshi by P.E. Sonkamble, we can see the wounded psyche of a

Ibid. pg. viii. ,\rjull Dangle. A Corpse ill/hI! Well, Orient Longman Ltd .. Bombay. 1992.

young body from a backward area such as Marathwada; and in Balutha written

by Daya Pawar, the life-story of a young man from the village who has been

brought to an urban slum in the quest for employment. In Gabal written by

Dadasaheb More we get a comprehensive idea of a traditional occupation that

has to be resorted to in the absence of any means of making an honest 'living,

and the treadmill of Dalit existence in the present cultural, economic and social

system is vividly conveyed.

Dalit women have participated actively in the Dalit movement. Many

autobiographies by Dalit women have been published. Shantabai Kamble's

Majya Jalmachi Chittarkatha and Kumud Pawde's Antasphot are representative

of these. Shantabai Kamble's is a struggle for identity and growth against a rural

background while that of Prof. Pawde is set in an urban, educated ethos. In

Sharankumar Limbale's The Bastard, a severe jolt is given to values concerning

relations between men and women, and the family structure.

in these autobiographies, relating to different periods of time and set in

different levels of society, we see varying facets of the Dalit movement: the

struggle for survival; the emotional universe of a Dalit's life; the man-women

relationship; an existence crushed under the wheels of village: the experiencing

of humiliation and atrocities; at times, object submission, at other times,

rebellion.s

Modern Dalit Literature:

So it is quite apparent that DaHt literature - literature produced by dalits in

a conscious, defined, modern sense with an awareness of what it is to be dalit ~

emerged in Maharashtra in the 1970s. In the post-Ambedkar centenary period,

that is, after 1990, politicai awareness of the specificity of dalit experiences came

to be articulated across the country after the writings and speeches of Dr. B.H.

Ambedkar were made available in various Indian languages. Even those not

ArjUIl Dangle. The Poisoned Bread. Orient Langman Ltd .. Bombay, 1992.

24

directly exposed to the political philosophy of Ambedkar, those who had not read

his works, became alive to a certain dalit consciousness. 6 In 1992, Malk Raj

Anand and Eleanor Zelliot produced An Anthology of Dalit Literature (Gyan

Publishing) featuring Marathi dalit poetry. Arjun Dangle, one of the founders of

the Dalit Panthers in Maharashtra edited Poisoned Bread: Translations from

Modern Marathi Dalit Literature (Orient Longman), featuring excerpts of prose,

poetry, fiction anrl autobiography, in the same year. Bama's authobiogrpahical

'Nork, Karukku, originally published in Tamil in 1992, was translated in English by

Macmillan in 1999 and it has got mainstream recognition in the form of the

crossword award the foilowrng year. The Sahitya Akademi issued the Marathi

autobiographies of Laxman Mane (Upara: The Outsider, 1997), and Laxman

Gaikwad (Uchalya: The Branded, 1998) around the same time. In the year2003,

Dalit literature witnessed the release of Narendra Jadhav's memoir Outcaste: A

Memoir (Aamcha Baap Aan Mahi by Penguin), Sharankumar Umbale's

Autobiography Akkarmashi (OUP), both from Marathi, and Joseph Macw~n's.

Gujrati novel Anga/iyat (OUP), all in a span of a few months. In 1995, Une Vice

Paria. the auto-ethnogrpahic condition of tile life of Virarnma, a Tamildalit

woman of the parayar caste, was qullislled in French bl Pion, and later in

English as Viramma: Life of a Dalit by Verso. Jadhav's Intouchable (Aamcha

Baap Aan Mahi), published by Fayard who control its non-Indian language rights,

sold 20,000 copies in French in less than a year. The success of Bama's

Karukku in France ensured that her second work Sangati was immediately

translated into French even before it was rendered into English. Consequently,

Bama, Jadhav and Kishore Shantabai Kale (author of Against All Odds, an

autobiography) were invited to Les Belles Entrangeres in 2002, a literary festival

in France. Thus, today we suddenly find a supurt in mainstream publishers'

interest in dalit literature. Not just in the English language, dalit literature is being

sought out in other European languages as well. 7 In 2001, Vastithe

autobiography of Vas ant Moon, who edited the writings and speeches of Dr. B.R.

--------------------s. }\n~!1d, To!~chab!c Tales: Publishing and Reading f)a!ii Literature, Navu~yni1a~ Pondicherry~ 2003. Ibid. pg. 2.

25

Ambedkar was issued in English by the American publisher Rowman and

Littlefied and in India by sage. Translated into English by the scholar of the dalit

movement. Gail Omvedt, it was called Growing up untouchable in india: A Dalit

Autobiography. Omprakash Valmiki's Hindi autobiography Joothan: A Da/it's Life

was published by Saniya. Now this is an estabiished fact that Daiii literature is

gradually emerging a discipline of academic study as well. The department of

English at the University of Pune includes dalit literature and the literature of

African Americans in a course titled 'Literature of Protest'; there's an effort to

push Oalit Studies at the Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages,

Hyderabad; committed individuals in North American universities are taking up

the cause of dalit literature; Jamia Millia Islamia has received support for an

endowed chair in Oatit studies from the Ford Foundation. In May 2003, NRI dalits

organised an internationa1 conference at Vancouver, inaugurated by former

president K.K. Narayanan. One of the resolutions adopted was that "Oalit Studies

must be included in Indian and international educational and research

institutions, especially in North America and Europe"s. Vivek Kumar (2004)9

advocates, with the Indian diaspora spreading worldwide, today Oalit assertion

has transeeuded the national boundary and has reached international leveL.As

Indian communities some abroad and settle in different parts ofthe world thereby

forming Indian diaspora, it is natural that all those who migrate from India do not

necessarily belong to the upper castes; some of them also hail from the category

of Oalit. The point we are trying to assert is that a section of Indian Oiaspora also

belongs to the Oalit affiliation. He calls for a sociological imperative to understand

the phenomenology of Oalit diaspora within the broader framework of Indian

diaspora.

Socio-Economic Conditions of Dalits

<)

Ibid. pg. 3. Kumar, Vivek (2004). "Understanding Dalit Diaspora" in Economic alld Political Week(r. January 3.

'pp. I H-116.

26

Caste system in India is not only the age-old and depth oriented socio-

ecultural phenomenon but it has also been working, since the remote period, as

the symbol of Indian social system specifically characterized by hierarchical

categories. In fact, one of the Indian sub-continental tragedies is the acceptance

of the hierarchy of groups. This hierarchy is based on the principle of purity and

pollution determined by birth. Much as we have entered into 21 st century marked

by growing rationalization, bureaucratization, democratization, secularization and

disenchantment of the world, the values that would predominate the social order

are affective neutrality, universalities orientation, achievement, collectivism,

equality, freedom and the like, yet the stigma of caste-system in India still exists

and is still practiced in everyday life. And all the modernists principles witness it.

India manifests the existence of opposites; that is, that caste continues to

impinge upon Indian social order.

T he point I am trying to make here is that so long as caste system exists

in society, it is very difficult to escape from its effects. Even in 21 st century,our

newspaper is not free from a headline relating to some sort of violence against

Dalits cr a crime committed on Oalits. The very recurrence of lJalit assertion and

Oalit l1lovement stand testimony to their ongoing discrimination and victimization.

In fact, the very identity of 'Oalit' is nothing but a reaction against a hegemonic

order, a challenge against perpetual oppression and a counter-identity against an

irrational Brahmanic order that seeks to dehumanize and enslave a section of

Hindu fuld on ascriptive ground. It represents a voice that has perpetually

remained unheard; an identity that has long been derecognized/suppressed; a

category that has hitherto been deprived of its dignified existence. It is not

enough to revile Brahmanism and upper caste hegemony and declare them the

rest of all evils. What is important for Oalits is the question of empowerment.

Facing each other, the untouchable (Oalits) and the caste Hindu exemplify

the characteristic relationships of the dominated and the dominant. As the

dominant impose their ideas and will on the dominated, they offer a scheme of

justification to maintain their position. The dominated, on the other hand, either

accept such scheme or repute them in a way suitable to social circumstances.

27

And this has been the standard social script for the Dalits. The clear traditional

notions of dominance and privilege are becoming blurred as democratic law,

polities and economies release new forces. in India. Urban centers' usually show

this effect more, where the weakness of the strong and the strength of the weak

are constantly uncovered in new ways. In this circumstance the dominant feel

threatened and the weak emboldened for new reasons. This is evident from the

fact that Gradual awakening of the Dalits under the leadership of the towering

personalities, no doubt, has exerted a strong protest against the unjust thinking

patterns nurtured by the advantageous cate groups. The' emergence of a newly

disclosed perception of identity among the Dalits has brought forward a

challenging force against the age-old system of exploitations at cultural,

economical and political levels. Now new phase has emerged, which raises the

expectations of the lowest and the fears of the highest. In this ethos, Dalits

especially in the cities have begun to argue that they are much more than their

abjectly low status in relation to the caste Hindu reflects. They dare to question

the schemes of the Hindu social precedence. Dalits insite that they are not

merely "the signified", they signify as well. Despite their long-standing

dependence on the dominant Hindu social system, they offer evidence that they

are alert and sensible about themselves and the larger society in which they live.

If they must face numerous concrete problems in everyday life, they seek

survival with social dignity. They are ready to challenge the tradition as they test

the promises of Indian democracy. Thus, compared to the last decades of .last

century, much has, in this 21 st century, changed for them - more than ever

before perhaps; but compared to what they should have in a democratic society,

these changes are hardly enough.

The issues of positive seif-image, sociai fairness, and practical

effectiveness engage the contemporary Dalits in India. To survive in today's

political culture, therefore, the Dalits must have not only a positive cultural

28

ideology but also an ideological vpice; they must have an effective cultural

reasoning. 1o

A fundamentally positive ideology and assertive identity are therefore

indispensable to the contemporary Dalits. As Darrida has said. "To deconstruct

the opposition is first. ... TO.overthrow the,.hierar.chy" (quoted by Spivak in Derrida

1976: 1 xxvii). 11 The construction and deconstruction of differences actually go

hand in hand in indigerous thought and experience; each must not only

culminate in the other but also transcend itself and the other. A Dalit genuinely

experiences a "double bind", perhaps a sociologically expected condition among

the deprived. Hence, whatever he thinks, constructs, and does, a

"deconstruction" immediately tal<es over. As the assembles his new identity, he

also feels that a dispersal and blurring take place. As he decides on a new plan,

a dissipation begins to occur. The recalls Derrida's subtler conjugations of

"structure" and "deconstruction" (e.g. see Derrida 197612; Culler 1979; 154-8013).

We can employ two Derridian concepts to interpret the overall condition of

a dalit. These concepts prove to be congenial vehicles for reflecting on a deep

civilizational paradox and ambiguity that neither the caste order not a dalit can

get away from. Generally, as we have seen. when a Dalit comments on his

civilizational condition, he forces the observer to ttlink about the caste order as a

paradoxical segment of the much larger India cultural system. I will bring in

Derrida here essentially for a "rectified" structuralism that I think refines certain

concepts and procedures in exactly those ways that would render them more

sensitive to a Dalit's condition as well as Indian circumstances. Let us remember

that Derrida "argues within a particular philosophical system but at the same time

attempts through the productivity of language to breach or exeed that system,,14.

I" Khare. R.S., The' Ul110llchable as himself: C.U>I' .. Ne" YI1:k. 1 QX4. pp. IX-.'\. I I Spivak, Gayatri Chakravol1y. Translator'S Preface. in ()i (;rWlll!ll1/U/og" b~ .i<:cques Derrida, Johns " Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1976.

Derrida. Jacques. q(Crllllll/l(/{()ioKY, joht1~ H()p"iil~ Ulii\l'hii~ I'rt',,:;. l3aliinwrc. 1976. I· Culkr. .hmathan. Jacques Darrida, in .<.,'tmc/llralisnt (Inri .<";.1;,',: f. """1 1.t'l'is/J'lJl/ss /0 Den'ida, etc. John

Slrrock. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 1979. 14 Al11hedkar, Dr. Babasaheb, Writings and Speeches, V,,1. I. I'Ju("lti(11l DepaI1l11ent, Govellllllent of

Mc,I'"ii"dsllha, i'UIIIUdY, 19/9, p. 50.

29

(Culler 1979: 178-9). He tests the limits of logocentrism, engaging in

"deconstructive reversals". If "deconstruction" means that "we must do a thing

and its opposite, and indeed we desire to do both, and so on indefinitely", the

Derridan "double bind" helps us characterize the civilization bind in which a Dalit

in fact exists. He continuously constructs and deconstructs hirnselfin relation to

the caste Hindu (and vice versa), without knowing whether this "perpetuaiiy self

deconstructing movement" could ever be total and compiete.

In India, untouchability is the by-product of the caste system. Caste

oppression is a glaring feature of the Hindu society. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar made the

most comprehensive and scientific analysis of the caste system and put forward

a positive action plan to annihilate the caste. According to him caste has ruined

the Hindus to the extent that the whole of the society has fallen apart and "caste

has completely disorganized and demoralized the Hindus". In ancient India, the

Aryan and Anaryan (Dravidian) races created a sense of the high and the low.

These races contributed to the formation of the Chaturvarna (four-fold division of I'J3C'"fo\ "i.,.· Or""h..-v";-S l/_t..._.&._:y_ ...... \ '-:-'-. --- __ ..J SL.. . . ...J_........... D ... _h~; __ ... __ 1/"",... hl·,.,h ..... <.A..,'~I V'L.. . ...... U, 11.11.' , ";:'llalll a;:" val;:'llya;:, allu IIUUla;:,. u,a, 11'"";:' 'O,II'';:;u "l:1"

while shudras ranked low in the social hierarchy. V.T. Rajshekhar says, "this

hierarchical caste system - a primitive but ingenious Aryan invention-is a

fantastic institution if taken seriously as anything other than a techniq.ue of

oppression,,15. He further says, "The original inhabitants whc fought and were

enslaved were kept outside village limits. They became untouchabies (scheduled

castes). Those who fled to the forests and hills became tribals (scheduled

tribes)"16. The Ariyans established supremacy over the Blacks. Their white skin

played a role in the subjugation of the Blacks. In the distinction of. the skin colour,

Kancha Ilaiah in his article "African Mother and Aryan Race" says "the race-

centrred colour formation of human beings eQuid have taken place based on the

environment in which a particular group of human beings were born and brought

up ... race and gender inequalities are psyche-centred and not body-centred. The

structures of human beings - male, female, black, white, etc. did not emanate

1:< V.T. Rajshekhar. "The Hindu Caste System", in Dali!: The Bfad U!I!ollch:hfes of India (Atlama: Clarity Press, 1932), p. 56.

1(, Ibid.

30

from genome variations,,17. Untouchables are Avarnas (casteless people) as they

are thrown out of the four varnas. They are pushed to the fifth rung of the social

ladder. It is no wonder that even shudras refuse to render thientouchables in their

daily life because of the stigma of pollution by touch. Untouchables are called by

different names such as 'Asprishyas~; 'Antyajas~, 'Shwapakhas', 'chandala',

'mathangas', "anchamas' etc. They are also known as outcastes and 'underdogs'

apart from 'untouchables' in the English language. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar called

them the 'Broken Men' and the Depressed classes, while Gandhi termed them

riarijan (children of God). But Ambedkar opposed the term Harijan. The term

'scheduled caste' was recommended by the 'Simon Commission' and-'it was

8d0pted by the Government of India. Dr. 8.R. Ambedkar gradually shifted to

using Dalit, a concept that is rooted in Marathi to refer to the scheduled castes.

Dalits Assertion and DaJit Identity

Dalits have been placed at the lowest rung in the caste hierarchy based

on the twin concepts of purity and pollution. This societal position has in the past

limited them in terms of choice of occupation ad it has forced them to stick.to the

traditional occupation thought the present situation has been changing

consistently. Dalits have been oppressed througllout the recorded history of

India, relegated to toiling and engaging with 'polluting' tasks like agricultural

labour, disposing dead bodies, working with leather, cleaning toilets and sewage

etc. Many Indians continue to believe, especially in rural Clreas, that others would

be polluted by their touch, or even by their shadow. To avoid such "pollution"

Dalits were segregated and denied access to many community facilities like

schools, temples, wells, water tanks, etc. To this day thousands of villages have

a separate area for Dalit houses, separate wells for Dalits. class rooms where

Dalit children sit separately. Theya re also not allowed to enter many temples all

,:)vGr India. These acts of discrimination occur despite lows against such

practices.

Kancha Ilaiah, '"African Mother and Aryan Race", Deccal/ Chrol/icle, March 3, 2001, p. 10.

31

The term "Oalit" is of recent coinage though the identity has a checkered

history. The great leader Dr. B.R Ambedkar made the word 'dalit' well known. He

adopted that term after rejecting the term 'Harijan' meaning the "people of God"

introduced by Mahatma Gandhi. Elevating the so-called untouchables

intellectually by associating them with the term "God" perhaps hid their problems

from the genera! public more than it helped them. So Ambedkar chose a term

that seeks to confront all other communities of India. This lent a political voice to

the issue of caste discrimination.18 Prior to adoption of Dalit as an identity by

some 160 million people, they were addressed by different nomenclatures such

as Chanda/as, Himajatians, Avarnas, Antyajas, Achhuts, Pariahs, Namsudras,

untouchables, unapproachables, outcastes, Panchamas (the fifth class or

category of the Varna order). Etc. These identities had stigmCl, segregation and

contempt writ large.

During the colonial period, new appellations of exterior castes, depressed

class etc., were officially adopted though the term untouchable continued to

remain in general usage. Besides, in the local regions, these castes were known

by their traditional nomenclatures. The gradual awakening for slef-resepct among

these castes intensified their hatred against these names and consequently they

protested for a change in their caste names. They regarded themselves as the

aborigines of the land. And to assert their aboriginal lineage they adopted the

appellations of Adi-Hindu, Adi-Dravida, Adi-Aridhra etc. So far as the term

'depressed classes' is concerned, it was used for these castes eit-herbythe

missionaries or the social reformers. In the words of Gupta, "most probably, it

originated in Madras and began to be commonly used in the \,wirings of the social

reformers in the first decade of the twentieth century. The term found its way in

the Government officialise sometime in the nineteenth century but it gained

currency in officiai usage only tovv'ards the beginning of ttl8 second decade of the

twentieth century,,19. Most apparently the term was highly used in the

Government discourses. even Dr. B.R Ambedkar frequently used this term

IS Sarkar. R.M., Dalil in India: Past and Present. Serials Publications. Delhi. 2006. I" Gupta. S.K. 1985, The Scheduled Castes in Modern Indian Politics: T/;eir Emergence as a Politicol

Power. New Delhi.

32

besides ihe unioucha-ble, in. his writings and public discourses. other terms that

gained some currency along with the Merase 'depressed classes' were

'suppressed classes' and 'oppressed Hindu'.

Another term that gained currency for the identity of the Dalits in the

beginning of the 1930s and is still commonly used to identify the untouchable

casts was Harijan. It is a general misconception that the term 'Harijan' was

coined by Mahatm~ Gandhi. In fact, it was originally used by Narsinha Mehta, a

Gujarati poet-saint of the Bhakti tradition in the medieval period. He was a Nagar

Brahman by caste but hated and defined his community for the treatment meted

out to the untouchables. 2o Gandhi himself accepted that the word Harijan is not of hie: rnin=an/:l1 in nna "f +h" if'''' , ''"' ",f LJ",rii,...., +h" "'cel,I\/ ho IIC'od tl"'l r'\ •• hli<:h 1-1/:11 ........ -_I. '-.::J- til _, ,_ "". \,11\..0 1~~U\...t Vi I IOIIJc.AII, ll,,,,, YV ", 11\..0 ..... ""'-' V ,.... __ .. _.14 .........

argued that, "It is not name of my coinage. Some years ago, several untouchable

correspondents complained that I used the word 'asprishya' in the pages of

Navjivan. 'Asprishya' means literally untouchable. I then invited them to suggest

a better name, and one of the 'untouchable' correspondents suggestedthe-'

adoption of the name 'Harijan', on the strength of its having been used by the first

known poet-saint of Gujrat" (Harijan, Feb. 7. 1933: p.?). However, the term

Harijan' came into usage with much more ultenor political motive rather than with

the objective of real social amelioration of the untouchables. 21 That's why the

meml'ers of the untouchable castes, especially the educated and politically.

conscious ones did not take the given identity of 'Harijan', kindly. They wondered

you this nomenclature could solve their real problems. "Till date the term is hated

and despised by the Dalits as was evident from the utterances of Mayavati, the

Dalit leader of the 8ahujan Samaj Party and the former Chief Minister of Uttar

Pradesh who ridiculed Gandhi by arguing that, "if the untouchables were the

sons of God then are the others the offsprings of Imps,,22. Lynch, in his

anthropological study of the Jatavs of Agra city, has also stated, "Literally the

word means 'child of god' but figura.tively its connotations are quite different. My

:u IbiJ. p. 30 . . ~I KUl11ar. Vivek, 2006. fIJi//(! 's R()oring R<"'"fllliuJ7 /),.:il .. /ssc'rl/(lil ,117'/ \'L'I\· Hori:ol1s, Gagandeep

Puhlications. Delhi. " Ibid. p. 63.

Jatav informants showed dislike - at times an intense dislike - for the word. They

felt, it connoted the idea of being a bastard and also brought to mind patronizing

upper caste benevolence,,23. Thus, it can be said that the 'Harijan' identity has

lost support in the larger sections of Dalits in the recent years.

Dalits in the Constituent Assembly

There were various attempts to define the term scheduled castes,

however, it was possibly the result of the attempts made by Risley in 1901, the

then census commissioner, who classified the Hindu castes into seven

categories and thereafter an attempt was made in 1911 to ascertain which of the

castes and tribes wer:e discriminated against on religious 3!1d social grounds.

The discrimination caste and tribes were named as depressed classes in 1921

and also systematized by Hutton in 1931, the then census commissioner. ?,S

mentioned earlier, these castes were known as untouchables, depressed classes

or exterior castes before the advent of Simon Commission ,which coined the

term, placed it in the Government of India Act - 1935:

The Act defined the term as: The scheduled castes means

such castes, races and tribes corresponding to the classes

of persons formerly known as the depressed classes as

His Majesty in Council may specify 4

As a result of the promulgation of this Act, the British Government issued

The Government of India (scheduled castes) order in P..pril 1, 1936 which

specified certain castes as Scheduled Caste, in different provinces of India.

On the eve of Independence, India was undergoir:g great socia! and'~

structural changes. Not only was the form of Government being changed from '.

foreign administration into self-rule, but also the cultural, regional and linguistic

boundaries within the nation was being redefined. A new experiment in nation

::< Lynch, O.M .. 1974, The Politics of Ul7tol/chabiliZI": S(lc/a/ ;\1obility OJ1d .<;oe/a/ Change /Il a Cit!· c{ India. National Publishing House. New Delhi. p. 128.

:~ Govellll11ctn of India Act.. 1935. p. 24 of the First Schedllk.

34

L.......

budding was being 'undertaken In all spheres of life. The basic indian social

reality, however, remained u,nchanged. It was a the reality of pluralism, a

pluralism of caste-discrimination, religious separation and cultural identities. It

was a pluralism which graded social groups into those with more power and ..

those with less power. Indian society was~relatjvely"dominated by 'upper castes'

who were rich and powerful and therefore played important role at the centre of

the decision-making process and a whole lot of people who were poor and didn't

nave any access to sources of power were apparently Axe/uded from the

decision-making process.

The irony however lies in the fact that in spice of the secular and

at the time of independence was predominantly Hindu in religious sentiment and

in political vision. This "Hinduness" sentiment of the dominant community largely

affected the nation-building process in India. It affected the conditions of the --

scheduled castes. They were removed from their status as a minority and were

declared in integral part of the Hindu society and the concept of justice to weaker

sections come to mean privileges to tl10se who paid allegiance to Hinduism for

,=x8mple in the constitution (Scheduled Castes) order 1950, it was clearly

mentioned that no person who professes 8 religion different {rom Hinduism.shall

be de(~med to be a member of a Scheduled Caste.25

The word 'Scheduled Castes' was used by the Constituent Assembly for

those social, economic and religiously backward castes while drafting the

constitution for independent India. The Government of India, after the adoption of

Constitution, issued the following undermentioned the constitution (Scheduled

Castes) order 1950:

The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) ORDER 1950

25 'rhe (~Ol1stilution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 19:'10.

35

In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of Article 341 .of the

Constitution of India,. the president, after consultation with the Governors and

{:~ajpramukhs of the States concerned, is pleased to make the following order,

namely:

1. This order may be called the constitution (Scheduled Castes) order, 1950.

2. Subject to the provisions of this Order, the castes, racer or tribes, or parts of,

or groups within, castes or tribes, specified in Parts I to XVI of the schedule to

this Order shall, in relation to the states to which those parts respectively

relate, be deemed to be scheduled castes so far as regards members thereof

resident in the localities specified in relation to them ih those parts of that

schedule.

3. Notwithstanding anything contained in paragraph 2, no person who professes

a religion different from Hinduism26 shall be deemed to be a member of a

scheduled caste.

Provided that every member of the Ramdasi, Kabirpanthi, Mazhabi or Sikligar

caste resident in Punjab or the Patiala and East Punjab States Union shall, in

relation to that state, be deemed to be a member of the scheduled,castes

whether he professes the Hindu or the Sikh religion.

4. Any reference in the schedule to this order to a district or other territorial

division of a state shall be construed as a reference to that district or other

territorial division existing on the 26th January, 1950.

Source: Cited from Scheduled Castes in the Constituent Assembly by Jose

Kananaikil, Indian Social Justice, New Delhi, 1982.

,6 This was later (1956) Changed by the Parliament to "Hinduism or Sikhism",

36

by different leaders, which created a whole lot of controversies in the past. The

Government of India, however, carved a new identity - the 'Scheduled Castes'

for the purpose of providing the constitutional safeguards to them. Much as the

term 'scheduled castes' has been used in the constitutional order 1950 and

others, it doesn't contain any proper definition except tile procedure. Article

341 (1) of the constitution empowered the president procedures to notify the list of

schedules castes. The article 341 reads:

(1) The President may with respect to any state or Union Territory, and where

it is state, after consultation with the Governor. Thereof, by public

notification, speci(v the castes, races or tribes or parts of a groups within

castes, races or tribes which shall for the purposes of this constitution be

deemed to be scheduled castes in relation to that state or union territory,

as the case may be27.

(2) Parliament may by law inclllde in or exclude from the list of scheduled

castes specified in a notification isslIec1lJnder clause (1) any caste, race or

tribe or part of or group within allY caste, race Of tribe, but save as

aforesaid a notification issued uncier the said clause sl1all not be varied by

allY subsequent notification28.

In this way we can see that the Article 341 of tile constitution only states

how the r.8stes, rrl~I?'3 or tribes a parts thereof are to be sc!'1l?du!ed ;::\s sr.heduled

castes. It was 1950 when the first list of castes was notified as per the provisions

of the constitution and thereafter in 1951, 1956,1962,1964,1968 and 18978.29

Thus, the term 'scheduled caste' has become the constitutional identity for Dalits

today. The scheduled castes face many problems which are social, economic,

political and educational in nature. They have been suffering from these

problems since time immemorial for no fault of theirs. The suffering of Scheduled

!lakshi. P.M. 1991. 711t' COIISlillllioll iij Illdiu. l'l!i\t:rsa! !.aw Publishing Cn !'\ t. Ltd .. Delhi. ·s Ihid.

~iilgh. Iloshiar. and I\laiik. :\.S .. ~O() I . . \'()C/IJ-L·clI/lJillic nel'''/Ii/'IJI''!!I 01 .){·/I".II1II'£1 ("(/s/('.I ill Illdi(/. 1\1,\(; p\,\. Ltd .. jaipuL

37

Castes varies from region to region and caste to caste as also in the time frame.

The people belonging to Scheduled Castes have been considered as disabled

masses. Their disabilities could be in the nature of economic, educational, social,

political, psychoiogical or a combination of several of these factors. The

untouchables are still suffering from the most disgusting and disturbing problem

of untouchability. No doubt, Article 17 of the constitution has abolished

untouchability but the notion of untouchability still persists in the mind of an

average. Hindu Consequently in 1970 new identity was propagated with the term

;)alit. However, in the Molesworth's Marathi-English Dictionary, 1831, the word

Oalit is defined as 'ground' or 'broken' or 'reduced to prices generally'. It was

samingly first used in the context of caste oppression by the great nineteenth

century reformer. Jyotiba Phule.3o It is also said that the term 'Dalit' was first

coined by Dr. Ambedkar to describe the Scheduled Caste community in an

explicitly caste context. Then, this term became applicable orliy to members of . . the Mahar community in Maharashtra but later it was used to refer to the

scheduled castes as a whole. 31

Some Daiit ieaders iook at the term 'Oaiit' as providing a sense of pride

and self-assertion. It is essentially a lable to help the Dalits to achieve a sel'1se'of

cultural identity. Now it has become a nation-wide and even inter-national level

phenomenon and even inter-national level phenomenon and is largely used by

untouchables or scheduled castes irrespective of their traditional and parochial

caste distrinctions. Dalit has become a symbol of their social identity.

~o Kumar. \livek. 2006, India's Roaring Revolution. Dolil Assertion and 'vel. Hori:zon5, Gangadeep Publications. Delhi . .Iog.dand. P.G .. 1999. Dali, M()1'elllcllt ill Muharashlra. Kanak Publications. 0i. Delhi.

38

Educational Empowerment of Dalit~

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe constitute 16.48 percent and 8.08

percent in the total population and accounted for about 25 crores in 2001. It is

estimated that these groups will account for 36.81 crores and constitute for 21.34

percent and 12.12 percent respectively in '2020.

Education is considered as one of the most important instruments of socialization and a powerful catalytic agent for social change. This is the most effective changing agent for the improvement of the socia-economic conditions of

·.he SCs removal of their disabilities. Realizing the importance of education, the

'I'ramers of the constitution included in tile Directive Principles of state policy

provisions for free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of 14 \IP~r~ ~nrl fl"'lr nrl"'lrnnti"n "n~ ,,,it'" ... ",,,,,i .... 1 " ...... '" • .1"" the edu,-.",ti"na' ~nrl p'-'l"'Inl"'lmir J -_ •• - _ ••• - '-' ..... _ ••• _~I_" '-""I~ "W, I. ~tJ"""""""'1 """"',"'" !L.A'''''''' "'''-"''''', ....... 1_11_ --_ .. _ .... -

interests of the weaker sections of the people and particularly SCs and STs and

protecting from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.

Article 15(4) enables the state to make special provisions for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward claSS of citizens or for the SCs and STs. In pursuance of these constitutional provisions a series of measures have been taken both by the Central Goverll, ,18nt and the State Gavel nrnents to spread education and literacy among the Sci.cduled Castes and

Scheduled Tribes.

An elaborate programme of pre~ll1atric and post I natric scholarships,

reservation of seats in schools and colleges including technical and professional

institutions, establishment of hostels for girls and boys and ashram schools for

the children of SCs and STs and other incentives like free mid-day meals, text

books, uniforms etc. are in operation for the last five decades. The National

Policy on Education has arranged for special provisions for SCs and STs. Most of the states have abolished tuition fee for SC students ~p to the senior secondary level and provided incentives like free text books, uniforms, stationary,

school bags etc. to those students; the major programmes of the Department of ::icfllentary Education and Literacy viz., District PrimalY EdUcation Programme

(DPEP), Lok Jumbish, Shiksha Karmi, non-formal education and National

Programme for nutritional support to primary education accc,;'d: priority to area of

3Y

concentration of SCs reservation of seats for SGsin Central Government institutions of higher education including liT's, 11M's Regional Engineering

Colleges, Central Universities, Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas etc.

The UGC has established SC/ST cells in, 103 universities, including

central universities to ensure proper implementation of the reservation policy. SC

candidates are provided relaxation up to 10 percent of cut off marks for the junior

research. Research Fellowship test and all the SC candidates qualifying for the

J RF are awarded fellowships; 50 Junior Fellowship are awarded every year in

science and humanities, including social sciences, to SC students who appear in

National Eligibility Test (NET) and qualify the eligibility test for lectureship; UGC

provide a relaxation of 5 percent from 55 percent to 50 percent at the Master's

ievel to SC candidates for appointment as lecturer. The commission has also

reduced minimum percentage of marks required for appearing in the NET

t~xamination to 50 percent of Master's level for SCS.32

- Sarkar, R.M, 2006, Dalil in India: Past and Presel1l, Serials Publications, New Delhi.

40

APPENDIX

Table 1.1 The Socio-Economic and 'Educational Profile of Dalits in India

Names of the State IS. I No.

% %: % of Drop-OLit' Scheduled Scheduled Scheduled- rates of

Caste Caste under scheduled I Population literate Poverty line Caste at I

(1991) Stage II (1991) Population (1993-94) Secondary I'

t- _ 1 _ _ (1991-91 ) ; 1. Andhra Pradesh j _____ ~~3__ 31.59 r 34.92 86.00 I 2. Arunachal Pradesh 0.4 7 57 .27 : - -3. Assam 7.40 =~3.94 29.86 I 62.42 !

:~. Bihar ___ 14.5§., ____ 1~49 ____ 6~~1 89.39 I 5. Goa __ . 2.08 f- ~.73 .1_ - 81.07 ~ Gujrat 7.41 61 07 38.62 71.29 i

7 ~~r\l~n~ 12.75 3Q.22 , 35.07 78.12\ 8: H~a~h~1 prade9h 25.3'4f-- 53.2 I 27.70 67.78 I 9. Jammu & Kashmir .~ -J - 79.09 J

_10. .Karl'1atakCi _ .__. __ 1~6-l8 .. __ ._~8~QG.:. 54.00 75.03 I '11. Kerela '9.92 79.66 34.01 51.05 I f-12. Macihya PradeSl,H j --' 14.54" -0' 61.58 I J.~.~~§l~_a_ - - T -:JLf~-:J~~~ -= -;~i~ 71.96 14~ __ Mani~ ____ ._ ,." _ ~2.02 _. _ ?~~4_ . __ " 81.70! 15. J':1~,ghalay.a. ___ "_ I . _~051 _44 .. 22.__ .. -.1--_ 30.5~i

-i~ ~~~=~~d -= !~j::~ I ::~t -48~ 81Si : 19. FJJiljab 28.31 j 41,09 25.02 I 79.34 i

_20. Rajasthal] ~n; -f7.29 -- --2629 -. --- 43.50 I 82.07 :

_2.1, _S.ikkim _"" .. ,. _ 5.9.3J~--= ~'~'-5·1-.03.=~-= -= -'.. 91.51 i ~ Tamilnadu . __ :_ 19.18 j ___ 46.74', 52.71 77.32 I ~ Trieura __ I 16.36 .. _5§:..66 ~ . 87.29l

._24.~ Uttar Pradesh ._! .... 21.04 __ ~26._85 -i- 58.50 72.20 25. West Bengal 23.62 42.21 41.51 88.81 -,-26. Delhi I 19.05 57.60 I - 65.36 _____ -----1-- . .1. __

Source: Sixth Report of National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, 1999-2000 & 2000·2001. New Delhi. pp. 40. 41.1724-177.

41

Table 1.2 Atrocities Committed on Dalits durmg 1981-1999

I

Murder I Grievous Rape Arson Others I Crime Total I under I

Year I Hurts

--19-8-1--~1----4-9-3~!--~14~9=2~·----6~0-4~----=~--~~~~~~--~~ POA I I

14318 ! 28636 1295 10343 -1982 -- --51~- -1429-- -- 635

1983 525 1351 640 1984 541 1454 692 1985 502 1367 700 1986 564 1408 727

... one I t.:J;;J<tJ

, 1996 , 1997 ; 1999

c-, .. I ..11 I

543 504 506

4544 837 4585 949 3462 1002 3241 1000

1035 993 973 980

1002 500 464 384 337

11441 15054 i' 30108 11440 14949 19898 12327 15987 31974 11824 15373 30746 11715 15416 ' 30832

13925 i -:l""':)-:l vl"'tvv .... ",-,.,. I IUOO

13862 9620 I 30023 12149 7831 25338 11820 7289 25093

Source: Amul Reports of Commission for Sclleduled Castes and Scheduled Tnbes, New Delhi. Let us first analyze the status of Dalits in differe"t Political Parties at the Central and State Level.

42

Table 1.4 Gross Enrolment of SCs

I Levels/Years Gen~ral Popul~tior. . I Scheduled Castes Maie Female Total Male

I I t-emaie

1980-81 I-V (6-11 Years) 95.8 64.41 80.5 1105.1 57.8 VI-VIII (11-14 Years) 54.3 28.6 41.9 41.4 16.2 1990-1991 I-V (6-11 Years) I 114.0 85.5 100.1 122.7 80.6

! ' --':JI-VIII..0J..:.:!4 Years) 76.6 47.0 62.1 61.4 33.3 1995·1996 I I-V (6-11 Years) 1 -

95.1 114.5 93.3 104.3 127.6 VI-VIII {11-14 Years} I 79.5 54.9 67.6 74.9 46.8 Pace of Progress 8-v (Primary Level) 18.7 29.2 23.8 22.2 37.3 VI-VIII (Middle Level) 25.2 26.3 25.7 33.5 30.6 Source: Planning Commission, Govt. of India, August, 2001.

Table 1.5 Educational Status of Scheduled Castes

lass hD - ..

'v1.A. - --.- o·

M .Sc. -- -M B B 3

.Corn --.A ---.Sc

~--~---- . . Corn -

3.E: --BBS -

--~~

...

.- ----~

M p ..Q!~te~_hnic TI I

M ---

,- atric

1990 751 .-

32976 --3682 .. --~--~~ -----~~ ~~ - .. 6313

- --- ---159167 44456 52297 - ----~~ .. ~ , .-- --~~.---~--- --- ---13796

~.-- --- --- - -7283

23537 49064

-333808

- - --_. --

lotal

82.2 29.,1 .

102.2 47.7

111.9 61.3

--29.7 , 32.2

199 121

2578 395 647

19408 5833 6087

-1695 714

3404 5612

69827 Source: P.G. Jogdand (ed.) New Economic Policy & Dailts, Rawat Pub. Deihl, 2000, p. 3:

43

Table 1.6 Information Regarding Representation of Scheduled Castes in Different

· Class · Service \ I ;

------_. ;A -i B Ie L __

Source.'

Table De i--I

Type of Service

· Professor '-

: Header i :...ecturer/ I Asst.

S· 'th R 15 t R f' Th ervlces WI espect to ~er cen eserva IOn In em of Central Public Sector Public Sector I Insurance

Services Undertaking Banks and I Sector Financial

Institutions 11.29 10.35 12.51 I 13.67 12.68 11.05 14.88 -~- 12.40 15.72 18.93 24.48 i 17.24

Sixth Report of National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tnbes, 1999-2000 and 2000-20r)1 , Ne\A! De!hi.

Table 1.7 resentation of Dalits in Various Cer.tral Universities

---. I Universities SHU I AMU JNU DU JMI V. Hydera

Bharti C.U. 1/360 I 0/233 2/183 3/332 0/80 1/148 1fi2 1/396 0/385 3/100 2/197 1/128 1/70 2/87

;; ---11/70 91140 I 1/216 I 16/188 13/4

I 1/329~1

I 1 ~t I 4~ '_ =>'c<J.L ______ ____ 1 _____ L I. I ______ -.1 i

Source.- Sixth Report of National Commission for Scheduled Castes 2nd Schedu!edTfibss, 1999-2000 and 2000-2001, New Delhi.

44

Table 1.8 Representation of ScheduJed Castes/Scheduled Tribes in Central Services

________ ~-----~~(-19~8~3~) ___ ~--~----~~--=--. : CI;l~~ ~n nf Mn nf 0/. Nn nf Of,. - - .... -. -- .. _. -- .v ... -. -- . -. Employers Employees Employees I Scheduled Scheduled I Castes Tribes IA 53165 3574 6.72 761 1.43 1 8

i

1.47 62600 6368 . 10.17 922

~::1 21287461 311070 i 14.61 881.49 4.47 -.

5.51 1303005 255053 19.57 71.812 -r ~

, 'excluding scavenges

I 1& ! L3wee~ers) !

-~

: Total 3547516 1 576065 _ 16.24 161644 ·'·4.56 -. - ------------- . ------1 .--

181 4.27 AS 4236

1

404 , 9.54 --_ .. - -- --3.50 liPS 2198 330 : 10.40 77 ---.-

Table 1.9 Percentage of Scheduled Caste in Central Government PSU's and

___ Nationalized Banks (As on Jan. 1, 1987)_--,. __ -:-:-:---.

:@~;scntrar Go~e-,nment _!=-~~31·~~~1·~~5=~~ tPe~~~~~ __ 1~ :-A(i) .- 57654 4746 C.23 .9.7 ,

f:2Wi~j --_. .--: .... 2]~~*!; ~-30~~:;.~~·~~:t :~~ !

, D(lv) 1167759 ?34614 20.09 20.91

!._'~.x~iuding_ SW~~Rer) ---2-117169·-- -;, -9('382- -- .-- ~.T\' .('6 -----.... ~.~. ~,~~: r).~.iU's_(Tota!..2_11) ~., j ~ u _ , A -~---161815- --- -'7862- --- ;1-.36 6 .. 69

rI~·~- .. 3 1~~~~f--2}~~~~ .-. 1~l~ 1~:~~ L-__ -I n 399000 123010 30.02 23.25 I (EX. eluding Swee~.D _____ -t-____ t ______ ---i ______ +-___ --i ~t~t~_C1tional Banks _. _ 832085 114938 13.81 -1 Officers ~215805 15-775 7,29 11.12 ~, ~lleasrks..:c;-IV--- ------ -.~ - 449144 ~61891 -=-~0}7t 14.31 I

'-' 167136 ____ 37272 _ 22.30 21.97_ I Sweepers 17794 8740 1 4:9 _ 11_ .

Source: Govt. of India. 1987-88, Report of Commission for SC/ST,-=,,,·-:-Ie-w-----=O-:el-:--hl,-, ~M:-:-In-:-Is-try--' of Sociai \tVcifare

45

Table 1.10 Percentage of Scheduled Caste in 'Employment in Educationa'i Institutions

(1987) I Class/Category Total SC Per cent I --

~ , Teachers , _.Jrofessors 2133 13 ----- , 34-t • Associate Professors 3261 1.04, ,-

169 i : :...ecturers 5341 3.16 -I Kesearch Assistants 674 71 10.53 -----------I Academic Staff I A Class 3525 118 3.35 I r""'\ ........

4833 22-j 4.57 \ 0 ' __ laSS

i C Class 19811 1686 8.51 ! 0 Class 17607 2628 14_97

Source: Report of SC/ST Commission, Govt. of India, 1987.

Table 1.11

;_Clas~"I""eSentation O~redu,edA~~~~~: in GO-"T!!!~t~m~~Se~t9!l1L, ! A ' 9.09 I 7,64 ] ! 8 ' 11 .82 i----'-- ---'--------,-g-.--7Tl i-r--- -- ,I L------,---- -------:--1

l ~~----------- i 15'~;-11_-_-- ---,--- " ; 5'~~'1 L~_______ 21,,- r '_ ,'" ,,-0_,",,- .J

Source: Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002) Special Component Plan for Scheduled Castes, Uttar Pradesh,

46