Dalit Journeys for Dignity
Religion, Freedom, and Caste
K Satyanarayana editor Ramnarayan S Rawat editor P Sanal Mohan editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:State University of New York Press
Publishing:1st Apr '25
£87.50
This title is due to be published on 1st April, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
Examines the challenges and opportunities faced by Dalits in modern India.
The past decade has seen a surge in Dalit studies, offering key theoretical insights into the study of marginalized groups. This collection of essays focuses on Dalit struggles for dignity in India, highlighting the search for religious alternatives and the rejection of caste-Hinduism as the first step towards self-respect. These explorations for self-worth covered everyday secular life as well. The introduction argues that these struggles played a seminal role in informing B. R. Ambedkar's ideas, including his insistence on the inclusion of "dignity" in the Indian Constitution. It looks at his concept of "moral stamina," emphasizing ethical commitment to democratic practices, and of the "social," offering innovative approaches to studying the connected histories of caste and the making of modern India.
The essays that follow examine the challenges and opportunities faced by Dalits in modern India. Several explore the distinct trajectories of Dalit groups in their search for religious dignity. They reveal that conversion to Christianity, as well as reinterpretations of indigenous religious traditions—such as Buddhism and the Sant-mat religion associated with Raidas and Kabir—have helped to reconstitute untouchable selfhood. Other essays probe the struggle against caste by analyzing changes in sartorial choices, secular work, historical interpretation, and views of domestic space. Drawing from literary and archival sources as well as ethnographical fieldwork, this collection illustrates the connected histories of religion, politics, literature, and history.
"This book shows us certain vital contours of a new dimension—the Dalit Social. It argues successfully for the Dalit Social as both the defining condition for candid public discussions of caste, as well as the necessary normative condition for the sustenance of a democratic India." — Gopal Guru, coauthor of Experience, Caste, and the Everyday
"The Dalit Studies project addresses two subtle but crucial distinctions: between research on Dalits and research from a Dalit standpoint; and between the social-economic and the political-cultural dimensions of material history. Sharpening and straddling these, the project makes a unique contribution to the study of contemporary Indian society through its focus on dignity, recognition, faith, and belonging within a larger horizon of contests for equal citizenship." — Satish Deshpande, editor of The Problem of Caste
"This book expands the remit of Dalit Studies in significant and exciting ways by its focus on the relationship between caste, space, embodiment, and religious belonging. It also reconfigures older knowledge about caste, land, and labour through a feminist lens, enabling a productive critique of caste conjugality, family, and kin." — V. Geetha, author of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar and the Question of Socialism in India
"In this richly textured volume, each essay focuses on different aspects of the striving for dignity and ethical life among Dalit communities. This is a decisive and timely contribution to the flourishing body of scholarship on Dalit life, aspiration, and horizons that have emerged in the past decades." — Thomas Blom Hansen, author of Wages of Violence: Naming and Identity in Postcolonial Bombay
ISBN: 9798855802627
Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 28mm
Weight: 590g
332 pages