Knowra Dalit Dalit Dalit is a name used by communities historically subjected to caste-based exclusion and oppression in South Asia, especially those once labeled “untouchable.” Its meaning and use vary across communities, regions, and political movements.
Untouchability : A practice of caste-based exclusion that treats some people as polluting and restricts social contact, access, and rights. Dalit communities were historically subjected to this form of exclusion.
Caste system in India : A system of social stratification in South Asia organized through inherited status, endogamy, and historically assigned occupations. It provides the hierarchy within which Dalit exclusion developed.
Savitribai Phule : A nineteenth-century Indian educator and social reformer who worked to expand education for girls and oppressed communities. Her educational activism addressed barriers faced by caste-oppressed people.
Dalit literature : Writing that gives voice to caste oppression, resistance, and Dalit life, often grounded in lived experience. It records experiences excluded from dominant literary traditions.
Self-identification : The process by which individuals or communities choose the terms used to describe their identities. Dalit is a self-chosen identity for many, but not all, caste-oppressed communities.
B. R. Ambedkar : An Indian jurist, social reformer, and political leader who campaigned against caste oppression and chaired the Constitution’s Drafting Committee. His anti-caste movement helped make Dalit a political identity.
Varna : A traditional fourfold classification of social roles in Hindu texts: Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra. Dalit communities have often been positioned outside this textual scheme.
Periyar E. V. Ramasamy : A Tamil social reformer who led the Self-Respect Movement and opposed caste hierarchy and Brahminical dominance. His anti-caste politics became influential in South India.
Reservation in India : India’s system of reserved places in education, public employment, and elected bodies for designated groups. Reservations are a major policy response to historical caste exclusion.
Caste in the South Asian diaspora : The persistence and transformation of caste relations among South Asian communities living outside South Asia. Dalit identity and anti-caste organizing also take shape across diasporic communities.
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