Significance of dalits movement in political science
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Do the recent events at Bhima Koregaon presage a new trajectory in the struggle of Dalits to secure their place as equals in the Indian polity, a resurgent phase of Ambedkarite politics?
Two recent books – one on the short-lived but influential Dalit Panther movement of the 1970s, and the other on Mayawati, the most significant Dalit politician since Babasaheb Ambedkar – provide useful insights into the evolution of Dalit politics.
Until the 1970s, Dalit political aspirations were sought to be met through the Republican Party of India (RPI), which was derived from Ambedkar’s Scheduled Caste Federation, and through scheduled caste leaders co-opted in the political mainstream – principally, the Congress party. While the RPI was rendered largely ineffective by internal strife, mainstream political parties did little more for Dalits than exalt them as vote banks.
Wishing to move beyond the complacent and self-seeking politics of the RPI and Congress, idealistic young Dalits saw a model in the militant Black Panther movement in the US; while more sober elements, exemplified by Kanshi Ram, chose a path between radicalism and tame collaboration.
J.V. Pawar justifiably claims that Dalit Panthers: An Authoritative History, is an ‘autobiography’ of the movement. “I have actively participated in the movement,” he says, “not just as a spectator or writer, but as one of the people who initiated it”. As co-founder, organiser and general secretary of the Dalit Panthers, he had personal custody of the organisation’s documentation and correspondence, enabling him to compile a meticulous account of the movement’s eventful life.

J. V. Pawar. Credit: YouTube
Opting out of college during his post-graduation, Pawar claims that he and poet Namdeo Dhasal founded the Dalit Panthers – other accounts list more names – in June 1972 in (then) Bombay. Comprising mainly educated Mahar youth from families that had converted to Buddhism with Babasaheb Ambedkar, one of the Panthers’ first actions was to observe India’s 25th Independence Day as ‘black independence day’ and to conduct a mock parliament session outside the legislature drawing attention to crimes against Dalits and calling for the annihilation of caste.
Resorting to protest marches and demonstrations, pamphleteering and inventive sloganeering, the youthful Panthers fearlessly confronted the entrenched might of the Congress and muscle-power of the Shiv Sena. The first mass arrests took place when the Panthers staged a protest during the visit of the central minister Jagjivan Ram, who they regarded as a Dalit ‘turncoat’. Gestures like the symbolic burning of the Manusmriti and Gita, commemoration of Dalit valour at Bhima Koregaon and a large rally on Ambedkar’s death anniversary at Chaitya Bhoomi (where he was laid to rest) enthused Dalit youth across Maharashtra and brought a large number of new entrants.
The reluctance of non-Buddhist youth to shed their Hindu identity was an impediment to bringing them into the fold but, according to Pawar, the Panthers were able to effect a transformation of mindsets to overturn traditional notions of caste and sub-caste.
As the Panthers extended their agitationist activities, taking up cases of Dalit exploitation and confronting the perpetrators as well as government authorities, “merely a warning from the Dalit Panther (sic) was enough to set things right”, and “even established goons would tremble” before them, asserts Pawar. By 1974, “the Dalit Panther (sic) had spread to all levels of society and was considered a force to reckon with”.
But cracks soon appeared in the Panther leadership. The main bone of contention was whether to take the communist path or to stay focused on caste (varna) struggle. Pawar recounts with some bitterness Dhasal’s flirtation with the leftists before opportunistically joining the Congress bandwagon, the jostling of Panther leaders for prominence and publicity and the petty jealousies against Pawar’s own stewardship of the group and against his ally Raja Dhale.
Two recent books – one on the short-lived but influential Dalit Panther movement of the 1970s, and the other on Mayawati, the most significant Dalit politician since Babasaheb Ambedkar – provide useful insights into the evolution of Dalit politics.
Until the 1970s, Dalit political aspirations were sought to be met through the Republican Party of India (RPI), which was derived from Ambedkar’s Scheduled Caste Federation, and through scheduled caste leaders co-opted in the political mainstream – principally, the Congress party. While the RPI was rendered largely ineffective by internal strife, mainstream political parties did little more for Dalits than exalt them as vote banks.
Wishing to move beyond the complacent and self-seeking politics of the RPI and Congress, idealistic young Dalits saw a model in the militant Black Panther movement in the US; while more sober elements, exemplified by Kanshi Ram, chose a path between radicalism and tame collaboration.
J.V. Pawar justifiably claims that Dalit Panthers: An Authoritative History, is an ‘autobiography’ of the movement. “I have actively participated in the movement,” he says, “not just as a spectator or writer, but as one of the people who initiated it”. As co-founder, organiser and general secretary of the Dalit Panthers, he had personal custody of the organisation’s documentation and correspondence, enabling him to compile a meticulous account of the movement’s eventful life.

J. V. Pawar. Credit: YouTube
Opting out of college during his post-graduation, Pawar claims that he and poet Namdeo Dhasal founded the Dalit Panthers – other accounts list more names – in June 1972 in (then) Bombay. Comprising mainly educated Mahar youth from families that had converted to Buddhism with Babasaheb Ambedkar, one of the Panthers’ first actions was to observe India’s 25th Independence Day as ‘black independence day’ and to conduct a mock parliament session outside the legislature drawing attention to crimes against Dalits and calling for the annihilation of caste.
Resorting to protest marches and demonstrations, pamphleteering and inventive sloganeering, the youthful Panthers fearlessly confronted the entrenched might of the Congress and muscle-power of the Shiv Sena. The first mass arrests took place when the Panthers staged a protest during the visit of the central minister Jagjivan Ram, who they regarded as a Dalit ‘turncoat’. Gestures like the symbolic burning of the Manusmriti and Gita, commemoration of Dalit valour at Bhima Koregaon and a large rally on Ambedkar’s death anniversary at Chaitya Bhoomi (where he was laid to rest) enthused Dalit youth across Maharashtra and brought a large number of new entrants.
The reluctance of non-Buddhist youth to shed their Hindu identity was an impediment to bringing them into the fold but, according to Pawar, the Panthers were able to effect a transformation of mindsets to overturn traditional notions of caste and sub-caste.
As the Panthers extended their agitationist activities, taking up cases of Dalit exploitation and confronting the perpetrators as well as government authorities, “merely a warning from the Dalit Panther (sic) was enough to set things right”, and “even established goons would tremble” before them, asserts Pawar. By 1974, “the Dalit Panther (sic) had spread to all levels of society and was considered a force to reckon with”.
But cracks soon appeared in the Panther leadership. The main bone of contention was whether to take the communist path or to stay focused on caste (varna) struggle. Pawar recounts with some bitterness Dhasal’s flirtation with the leftists before opportunistically joining the Congress bandwagon, the jostling of Panther leaders for prominence and publicity and the petty jealousies against Pawar’s own stewardship of the group and against his ally Raja Dhale.
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