Untouchable: Dalits in Modern India

by Michael, S. M.

• ISBN13: 9781555876975
• ISBN10: 1555876978
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-10-31
• Publisher: Lynne Rienner

Summary

Exploring the enduring legacy of untouchability in India, this book challenges the ways in which the Indian experience has been represented in Western scholarship.
The authors introduce the long tradition of Dalit emancipatory struggle and present a sustained critique of academic discourse on the dynamics of caste in Indian society. Case studies complement these arguments, underscoring the perils and problems that Dalits face in a contemporary context of communalized politics and market reforms.

Author Biography

Timothy Fitzgerald he teaches at Aichi Gakuin University near Nagoya, Japan Mahesh Gavaskar is an assistant editor at Economic and Political Weekly (Mumbai). Gopal Guru is professor of politics and public administration at the University of Pune S. M. Michael is a lecturer in sociology at the University of Mumbai B. L. Mungekar is professor of industrial economics at the University of Mumbai Gail Omvedt is professor of sociology at the University of Pune Arjun Patel is a scholar-activist working with the exploited masses of Gujarat. He is a fellow at the Centre for Social Studies at Surat, Gujarat S. P. Punalekar is a senior fellow at the Centre for Social Studies at Surat, Gujarat S. Selvam is a reader at the Department of Social Work, University of Delhi John C. B. Webster taught history at Baring Union Christian College in Batala, Punjab (1963-1976) and served as director of the Christian Institute of Sikh Studies there (1971-1976). He is at present editor of the Dalit International Newsletter

Table of Contents

List of Tables	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Who Is a Dalit?	p. 11
Dalit Visions
Dalit Visions of a Just Society	p. 25
Phule's Critique of Brahmin Power	p. 43
Ambedkar, Buddhism, and the Concept of Religion	p. 57
Positioning Dalits
Representing Hindusim	p. 75
Misrepresenting the Dalit Movement	p. 93
Becoming Hindu: Adivasis in South Gujarat	p. 103
Dalits and Development
State, Market, and the Dalits	p. 131
Dalits and Economic Policy: The Contributions of B. R. Ambedkar	p. 145
Dalits and Rural Development	p. 155
The Contributors	p. 173
Index	p. 175
About the Book	p. 183
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