Why do schedule caste prefer to be called Dalits and how did it become accepted term
Answers
Answer:
Dalit (from Sanskrit: दलित, romanized: dalita meaning "broken/scattered", Hindi: दलित, romanized: dalit, same meaning) is a name for people belonging to the lowest caste in India, previously characterised as "untouchable".[1] Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming a fifth varna, also known by the name of Panchama. Dalits now profess various religious beliefs, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Christianity, Islam and various other belief system
Answer:
This word was repurposed in 19th-century Sanskrit to mean "(a person) not belonging to one of the four Brahminic castes". It was perhaps first used in this sense by Pune-based social reformer Jyotirao Phule, in the context of the oppression faced by the erstwhile "untouchable" castes from other Hindus.