The history of Dalits in India is commonly presented as one of discrimination. Dalit understandings of the past, however, go beyond this and are intricately connected to the emotional space of the ‘under-privileged’. They resist attempts to homogenise the community and its experiences, assert that the term ‘Dalit’ houses not one but many identities shaped by complex social processes, and call for the study of new sources and the adoption of new methodologies in constructing the histories of the marginalised.
Exploring the diverse facets of the history and cultural experiences of Dalits, Identity, Conflict, and Counter-Narratives studies how this multiplicity aids our understanding of what it means to be Dalit. The ten essays in this volume engage with a wide spectrum of Dalit realities, from the community histories of theyyam artistes in Kerala and the soldiers-turned-acrobats and leather-workers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, to the politics of lower-caste social mobility in West Bengal, of identity formation in Tamil Nadu, and of reservations in north and south India. They chart narratives of suppression, assertion, negotiation, and adaptation against the backdrop of larger historical developments in the subcontinent.
Foregrounded in this attempt is the image of the Dalit as warrior, entertainer, craftsperson, cultural custodian, priest, leader, thinker, visionary, self-interested political agent—in sum, a kaleidoscope of incisive, rigorous regional histories that have been overlooked or oversimplified in the national imagination.
Written by leading scholars from all over India, this volume is a pioneering contribution to the growing field of caste studies that will prove invaluable to students of history, sociology, and political science, as well as to interested readers.
THE VOLUME EDITORS
Raj Sekhar Basu is Professor of History at the University of Calcutta.
Yagati Chinna Rao is Professor at the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy (CSSEIP), Jawaharlal Nehru University.
List of Tables ix List of Abbreviations ix Introduction 1 Yagati Chinna Rao and Raj Sekhar Basu 1. Dalits and Martial Traditions: Historical Antecedents from Andhra B. Rama Chandra Reddy 40 2. Problematising Dalit History: Slavery in South India P. Sanal Mohan 81 3. On the Nature of Caste Violence: Pollution, Territoriality, and Madness Priyadarshini Vijaisri 97 4. The Political Economy of Theyyam: A History of Use and Appropriation Rajesh Komath 131 5. Education and Exclusion: Historically Situating the Marginalised in Kerala Roshni Padmanabhan 151 6. From Derogation to Dignity: The Construction of Dalit Identity by Mala Mahanadu and Madiga Dandora in Andhra Pradesh S. Victor Babu 180 7. Popular Culture and Social Mobility among the Lower Orders of Colonial Bengal Sudarshana Bhaumik 192 8. Leather-working Communities and their Dependent Castes: Patron–Client Relations in Telugu-Speaking Regions of South India Thallapally Manohar 210 9. Non-Brahmin and Adi Dravida Politics: An Uneasy Story of Collaboration and Conflict in Early-Twentieth-Century Tamil Nadu Raj Sekhar Basu 238 10. The History and Politics of Dalit Sub-Classification in India Yagati Chinna Rao 284 Note on the Contributors 333 Index 336