The Book
The essays in this volume provide an incisive analysis of the identity of the Dalits in history , literature and society. They focus on Dalit assertion and agency in postcolonial India, their quest to break free from poverty and social exclusion after centuries of oppression, and also the dynamics of a pervasive caste system which is inimical to the growth of a collective consciousness among the backward classes.
The Author(s)
Imtiaz Ahmad was a Professor of Political Sociology at JNU. His Caste and Social Stratification among Muslims in India is a pioneering work. He has written research articles for national and international magazines on the politics of communalism, and electoral democracy.
Shashi Bhushan Upadhyay is an Associate Professor at IGNOU. His areas of interest include Labour History, Dalit Studies and Literary Studies. He authored Existence, Identity and Mobilization: The Cotton Millworkers of Bombay, 1890-1919, besides articles on historiography and Premchand.
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
Section A: Dalits and Society
1. Resolving Dalit Identity: Vankars, Chamars, Valmikis
Jyotsna Macwan and Suguna Ramanathan
2. At the Intersection of Caste, Class and Patriarchy: Exploring Dalit Women’s Oppression
Padma Velaskar
3. Social Democracy in Indian Villages: The Experience of Dalits in Southern Tamil Nadu
A. Ramaiah
4. The Category ‘Rural’ Revisited: A Dalit Perspective from a Village in Maharashtra
Ritambhara Hebbar
5. The Story of a Dalit Family from a Sleepy North Bihar Village
Ashok Singh
6. Caste System in India: Dr Ambedkar’s Perspective
P. G. Jogdand
7. Laws and Homestead Land for Rural Landless Labourers and Marginalised Communities in Bihar:A Micro-perspective
Sanjay Kumar
Section B: Dalits and Literature
8. Dalit Literature: A Perspective from Below
Raj Kumar
9. Transcending Orbits of Dalit Women’s Minor Literature
Smita Patil
10. Premchand and Dalit Literature: Representation of Dalits in the Literature of Premchand
Shashi Bhushan Upadhyay
Section C: Dalits in History
11. Rajwars in Revolt, 1857–58: Saga of Heroism and Sacrifices of Little-known People
A. K. Biswas
12. Caste and the Writing of History
Prathama Banerjee
Section D: Castes among Indian Minorities
13. Can there be a Category called Dalit Muslims?
Imtiaz Ahmad
14. Islam and Caste Inequalities among Indian Muslims
Yoginder Sikand
15. Social Exclusion, Resistance and Deras: Exploring the Myth of Casteless Sikh Society in Punjab
Ronki Ram
Glossary
Notes on Contributors
Index