DALIT MOVEMENT

  DALIT MOVEMENT 

  ‘Nothing can emancipate the outcaste except the destruction of the caste system’. B.R. Ambedkar .

Above lines implies how annihilation of caste system was and is important for robust and sound society . Caste system ( so called varna ) was brought by arayans , who came from central system . according this system , people were classified on the basis of their birth and duties were given on its basis . in simple words if an infant takes birth in bramhan family then , he would be considered as brahamn whereas if s/he takes birth in vaishaya then , s/he would be considered vaishaya and so on . by doing so , brahamins , Kshatriyas , vaishyas and sudras were categorized. Their works and professions were also varied  for instance , brahamns were supposed to do worship , read vadas and preaching , Kshatriya had to protect realm , study vedas and donate while vaishayas acted as trading entity and their way of life demanded study , sacrifice and giving of alms . Among them , most deplorable and worst condition had for sudras , who were not allowed to any profession or occupation except to serving to all above mentioned section of caste. These three upper class people used to live in core village and in towns but sudras were compelled to live outside of village and were supposed to make noise before entering in village . They were compelled to do some polluting occupations which were considered as impure in the society, for example, disposing dead bodies, leather work, cleaning toilets and sewage etc. they ( sudras) had to depend on these upper classes for their livelihood and they were also subjected of subordination , oppression , discrimination and exploitation. 

However , in modern time , whether it was before independence of India or after it , sudras had been facing various type of discrimination and exploitation , denial of fundamental rights and these things could not allow to upper class people to inculcate sense of brotherhood for these oppressed people and its presence restricted social progress and created hindrance . but these situation began to change when some of Indians came india with new ideas and things that they had learned in western education system , some of ideas or concepts were justice , freedom and dignity , which encouraged them to take steps against these social evils and eradicate them. Some of famous leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi , jyotirao phule and B.R ambedkar .  each of them had played important role at their level for eradication of caste system .

j yotirao phule

Jyotirao phule  is known as anti-caste social reformer , whose social activism included many fields including eradication of caste system and untouchability , eduction of women and dalits and welfare of downtrodden women . through his writing such as gulamgiri and many , he criticized these evil practices and spread his thought across india . in addition to this , when mahatma gandhi came in india with degree of law , he also rose against practice of untouchability and spoke for these downtrodden people. But  most important role was played B.R. ambedkar , who faced these these discrimination in his childhood and had thought to change it . he had a view that for eradication of untouchability and other discriminatory practices it is imperative to annihilate caste system from hindu society which is considered as religious notion in society . apart from it he had also a view that there should be single community where sense of deep cultural unity of all community should prevail . He asserted that SCs should get organised, educate and struggle for self-respect rather than depend on sympathy. Along with ‘annihilation of caste’, he also raised the demand for separate electorate for the dalits.  .however , he had great inclination towards Buddhism and later on , he converted to buddhist .

Some of steps taken by him for the same are follows ; 

• Equal citizenship and fundamental rights declaring the practice of untouchability as illegal.

• Free enjoyment of equal rights protected by adequate constitutional remedies .

• Protection against discrimination .

• Adequate representation to depressed classes in the legislature , they must have the right to elect their representatives by universal adult suffrage .

• Adequate representation in services .

• Redress against pre-judicial action or neglect of interest and obligation should be imposed on the legislation and the executive to make adequate provision for the education , sanitation , recruitment and other matters of social and political advancement of the depressed classes.

Dalit movement 

Though this ( varna system ) traditional system has undergone many changes over a period of time, caste continues to be a powerful institution in our socio-economic, religious and political life. Dalits were considered as impure and this resulted in untouchability towards them.

Dalits are oppressed throughout the recorded history of India.

The term ‘Dalit’ is a Marathi word literary meaning ‘ground’ or ‘broken to pieces’. The Dalits, who have been exploited by the upper castes, were referred to as outcasts in pre-independent India. Even after independence the condition of Dalits did not improve much and they were not allowed to live a life with dignity and equality. It is this idea of equality, which sparked the beginning of the Dalit Movement in India, as a protest to the age-old atrocities committed against them. Dalit movement is a struggle that tries to counter attack the socio – cultural hegemony of the upper castes and to provide a dignity to this oppressed section of the society. The main objective of the Dalit Movement was to establish a society in India based on social equality . These movements tried to put an end to atrocities committed against the Dalits and mitigate their issues . 

In oder to amplify their movement  , they used various means to spread their resentment and thought against untouchability and varna system . one of them was literature .

Literature :  One of the forms is literature through which they have expressed their century long

agony and degradation which they have been tolerating. They adapted various forms of literary

wrings such as poems, short stories, novels, paintings, memoirs, and most importantly, the

autobiographies .

jyotirao phule , had written gulamgiri  which showed the agony of dalits and their suffering . 

abedkar had played major role in this movement and written some most influential books including “who are sudras” and  “ annihilation of caste system” . The subjugated condition of Dalits drew the attention of non-Dalit leaders including Swamy Vivekananda, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Dayanand Saraswati and Mahatma Gandhi who were some non-Dalit leaders who tried to uplift the Dalits in society by their efforts to mitigate untouchability and social restrictions which were imposed on them.

though during the presence of ambedkar dalit movement had left great imprint on indian society and every sphere of life but its development also took place after him , In the later years when a strong group of Dalit youths came forward to unite the diverse Dalit groups across the country under a single platform and mobilize them to struggle for their civil rights and justice, the Dalit Panther Movement was born in 1972. It demonstrated that the lower castes were not willing to accept subjugation. This movement encompassed in itself not only Dalits but also, tribes, neo-Buddhists, working class, landless, poor, farmers, women and all others who were being exploited politically, economically, socially and in the name of religion. There are many factors that are responsible for the rise of Dalit movements in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The major factors include entry of Dalits into military services, Dalit reform movements, Dalit education, conversions, missionary activities, Islamic revivalism and Hindu reforms. On the other hand, there are some minor factors like land settlement, industry, communication facilities, education, press and books, legal system etc. which have contributed in the rise and development of Dalit movements in India .