Dalit History Month

Dalit History Month is a participatory radical history project. Our goal is to share the contributions to history from Dalits around the world. We are a parallel model of scholarship to academic institutions that study Dalits without Dalits in collaborative or lead roles of research. We believe in the power of our stories to change the savarna narrative of our experience as one solely of atrocity into one that is of our own making. Our story may have begun in violence but we continue forward by emphasizing our assertion and resistance. Join the conversation at #Dalithistorymonth on facebook, twitter, and your communities.

December 31st, 1501 BC

WHAT IS CASTE ?

The word “Caste” itself stems from the Spanish and Portuguese “casta”, which means “race, lineage, or breed”. It was applied by white colonials during the 17th century C.E. to refer to the system of social codification they witnessed existing in South Asia. The native terms for Caste are often “varna (Caste group)” and “jati (Caste)”. Each Caste group encompasses within it several individual Castes varying in cultural and social practices, and who are limited from structural power by their placement within the pyramid. Caste apartheid is the system of religiously codified exclusion that was established in Hindu scripture. Hindu origin myths state that different people were created from different parts of God Brahma’s body and were to be ranked hierarchically according to ritual status, purity, and occupation. By this system, everyone at birth, is ranked with a Caste. Crucially, Caste is inherited from the family one is born into and is unalterable throughout that person’s life. There are four main Caste groups. Those at the very top are Brahmins, who have traditionally been priests, scriptural knowledge-keepers and legislators. Below them in status are the Kshatriyas, who were kings and warriors. They are followed by Vaishyas, or the merchant classes. People in these three Caste groups are often referred to as the “upper” Castes. Those at the bottom of the Caste hierarchy are Shudras or traditional peasants. Many Shudras are also termed “Oppressed Castes”. Outside the 4-Caste group structure are people considered lower than the lowest of Castes. They go by the term Dalit (meaning “broken” but “resilient”), formerly known as “untouchables” and the Adivasis, or the indigenous peoples of South Asia. Together these Caste-oppressed groups continue to experience profound injustices including socioeconomic inequalities, usurpation of their land, rights, and brutal violence. The Caste one belongs to can determine your perceived level of ritual purity or pollution and goes on to determine the outcomes of your whole life - from where one can live and die, to what one can eat, what one’s occupation can be, and even who one can marry. The “Untouchables” in particular, are embroiled in a system of Caste apartheid even today. Their experience is made up of segregated ghettos, banned from places of worship, and denied access to schools and other public amenities including water and roads. This entire system is enforced by violence and maintained by one of the oldest, most persistent cultures of impunity throughout South Asia, most notably in India, where despite the contemporary illegality of the system, it has persisted and thrived for 2,500 years.

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January 1st, 1500 BC

RIGVEDA: Religiously Sanctioning CASTE

1500 – 1100 BCE. Rigveda, 19th hymn of 10th mandala - the Purusha Suktha. The theory of the origin of the universe. " When (the gods) divided Purusha, into how many parts did they cut him up? What was his mouth? What arms (had he)? What (two objects) are said (to have been) his thighs and feet. The Brahmana was his mouth, the Rajanya was made his arms; the being called the Vaishya, he was his thighs; the Shudra sprang from his feet.". This is held to be the sanctioning of Chaturvarnya (The Four Caste System) and a strengthening by declaration of religious divinity, the existing social order. This writing begins the millennia long history of Brahminical oppression and establishes the claim that caste originated with the origin of mankind and was attributable by birth. Source and Translation: Who were the Shudras, Dr. B.R.Ambedkar

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January 1st, 1200 BC

Saint Nandanar

The Tamil Periya Puranam, the great epic is a Tamil poetic account depicting the legendary lives of the sixty-three Nayanars, the canonical Tamil poets compiled during the 12th century. One poem refers to the story of Nandanar, a Pulaiyar, an untouchable. It is said that he used to supply leather for drum and straps, strings for lutes, and various instruments for the worship of God. He was known for his deep devotion to Siva and was longing to visit the Nataraja temple of Chidambaram but feared that his low birth would serve a hindrance to his temple entry . He post-poned his visit daily and for this reason he is also known as Tirrunalaipovvar (“He who will go tomorrow”). One day he gathered enough courage and started out for Chidambaram, and on reaching was overwhelmed by both happiness and despair outside the high wall of the temple. He wasn’t allowed in because of his Caste. On hearing his wails it is written that God himself appeared before the priests and commanded them to light a fire and lead Nandanar into the inner sanctum of the temple. Many Dalits have criticized Nandanar because spiritually he never dared to go beyond the worship of stone idols and for his what is seen as meek begging before Brahmins. However, some see this as an act of courage, since for most Dalits of that time, entering a temple could mean instant murder by the upper castes. He also won for his people – the freedom to sing. Even if he only sang of his pain as a Dalit and his longing for God, still for the first time a Dalit voice was heard of popularly. Nandanar, by the sublime sweetness of his Tamil, compelled Indian society and Indian literature to accept the entrance of a great singer.

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Jan 1st, 0400 BC

Ekalavya

400BCE-4CE: Eklavaya. The story of Ekalavaya is known to most Dalits. This is the story of an Adivasi warrior-archer whose aim is so sure that the famous Savarna hero of the epic Mahabharata, Arjuna feels that he is unable to duplicate such a feat. Arjuna is so threatened by Ekalavaya that he involves his archery teacher Drona into a treacherous plot.This is the story of Ekalavaya detailed below exactly as it appears in Wendy Doniger's book: The Hindus : "Drona was the Pandava’s archery tutor, and Arjuna was his star pupil. One day a boy named Eklavaya, the son of a tribal Nishada chieftain, came to them. When Drona who knew dharma, refused to accept the son of a Nishada as a pupil, Ekalavaya touched his head to Drona’s feet, went out into the jungle and made a clay image of Drona, to which he paid the respect due to a teacher. He practiced intensely and became a great archer. One day the Pandavas went out hunting with their dog. The dog wandered off, came upon Ekalavaya, and stood their barking at him until the Nishada shot seven arrows almost simultaneously into the dog’s mouth. The dog went whimpering back to the Pandavas, who were amazed and went to find the man who had accomplished this feat. They found him and asked him who he was, and he told them that he was Nishada Ekalavaya, a pupil of Drona’s.They went home, but Arjuna kept thinking about Ekalavaya, and one day he asked Drona why he had a pupil, the son of a Nishada, who was even better archer than he, Arjuna. Drona then resolved to do something about this. He took Arjuna with him to see Ekalavaya, and when he found him, he said to Ekalavaya, “If you are my pupil, pay me my fee right now”. Ekalavaya, delighted said, “Command me, my Guru. There is nothing I will not give my Guru”. Drona replied “Give me your right thumb”. When Ekalavaya heard this terrible speech from Drona he kept his promise. He cut off his thumb and gave it to Drona and after that when the Nishada shot an arrow his fingers were not as quick as before. Arjuna was greatly relieved." Dalit literature however, frequently uses the motif of Ekalavaya as someone who betrayed himself and others. Shashikant Hingonekar has written: " If you had kept your thumb History would have happened somewhat differently But you gave your thumb and history also became theirs. Ekalavaya, since that day they have not even given you a glance. Forgive me, Ekalavaya, I won't be fooled now by their sweet words. My thumb will never be broken"

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January 1st, 0005

FaXian's Writings Provide Evidence of Widespread Untouchability

Beginning of 5th century CE : FaXian, was a Chinese Buddhist monk who travelled by foot all the way from China to India, visiting many sacred Buddhist sites in what are now Xinjiang, China, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and between 399 and 412 to acquire Buddhist scriptures. His journey is described in his important travelogue, A Record of Buddhist Kingdoms, Being an Account by the Chinese Monk Fa-Xian of his Travels in India and Ceylon in Search of the Buddhist Books of Discipline. In his travelogues writes: "The candalas are called sinners. They live isolated from the rest of society, and when the enter a city, they must sound an alarm by striking a piece of wood to warn everyone of their presence and enable the citizens to avoid running into them. The candalas, fishermen, and hunters are the only sellers of animal flesh." These writings confirm that between the origin of the Chaturvarnya (The Four Caste System ) and the time of Fa Hsien's travels and Buddhism, Untouchability had originated and established itself within the subcontinental religion and culture as the fifth group that lay deeply repressed and firmly outside the system. ( Japanese Studies on South Asia, Caste System, Untouchability and the depressed, 1997)

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January 1st, 1100

Anti-caste struggle by Basaveshwara

One of the first historical anti-caste movements in Karnataka was initiated by Basaveshwara in 12th century A.D. It is also popularly known as the Veerasaiva movement. According to Kancha Illaih the movement led by Basaveshwara entirely changed the philosophical discourse. Caste system and untouchability were the two institutions that the Veerashaiva movement tried to dismantle. Patriarchy, caste and the brahmanic religion as an intertwined system of domination and subjugation was examined closely, and methodically dismissed and replaced with a just system. Led by Basavanna, a new social order based on equality between genders and castes, in both words and deeds was being established. Anubhava Manatapa at Kalyan, played host to the intellectual, spiritual and metaphysical dialectics between diverse people drawn to this radical movement. For a period like that wherein caste system and untouchability were intrinsic Basaveshwara’s movement can be viewed as one of the radical anti-caste movements in the history of Karnataka. The movement not only focussed on caste but also on gender. Basavanna strongly criticised caste system and untouchability. In order to disassociate from his caste he refrained from wearing the sacred thread which is a symbol of caste superiority. The egalitarian principles propagated by him primarily attracted untouchable communities. Many of them belonged to the backward communities like barbers, Sudras who were particularly kept out from the ritualistic discourse by the Brahmins. Like Buddhism the movement was against Brahminism. The philosophy of Basavanna questioned the authority of the priestly castes. The Vachanas (poems) composed during this period raised many questions regarding caste, untouchability, Brahminism etc. Unlike Sanskrit that was unfamiliar to large number of people, Vachanas were composed in comprehensible Kannada. The composition of Vachanas is an epoch in Kannada literature. The Vachanas composed incorporated various aspects of society. Many of the Vachanas strongly condemned caste and untouchability. Through Vacahanas he emphasised the significance the equality and human dignity particularly for those from the downtrodden sections. The Vachanas disapproved the insincerity and hypocrisy of the Brahmins. For instance in one of his Vachanas he says that “if I say I am a Brahmin, Lord Kudala Sangamadeva laughs aloud” Though the movement is mentioned has Veerashaiva movement, it is important to note that Basavanna did not attempt to create a separate caste, instead it was the ‘linga deeksha’ (offering Linga) that was provided to untouchables as a way to include them in the ‘Anubhava Mantapa’ (The hall of spiritual experience.)’ Anubhava Mantapa was a democratic platform created for social discussions and progressive activities. Basavanna recognised the fundamental problem behind the existence of caste and untouchability. The Anubhava Mantapa was a collective attempt that included notable individuals like Akkamahadevi, Allama Prabhu and saints like Channiah and Kakkaih from the untouchable caste. One of the radical steps taken by Basavanna was that he organised an inter-caste marriage between an untouchable groom and a Brahmin bride. In the history of social reform movement the inter-caste marriage organised by Basavanna remains as a remarkable achievement. The adversity against the movement was too hostile that it resulted in political chaos in the Kingdom of Kalayan. The movement led by Basavanna remains subsided in the mainstream social reform movement. However, it is one the commendable movement that revolutionized the twelfth century social order. One can equate the Vachana movement to the Bhakti movement in fact consider it as the very first Bhakti movement of Karnataka, due to its association with the spiritual sphere and it contribution to the literature. However, this particular movement stands different in comparison to the other Bhakti movements. The time period of the movement was such that the very attempt to initiate such a moment was remarkable. The impact of the movement on the society was not alone social but also political. He advocated a political philosophy of representation of the voiceless. At present the followers of Basavanna claim themselves to be Lingayats and form one of the dominant castes in Karnataka. With time, the movement initiated by Basavanna has diverted from its original purpose, the main idea of anti-caste and anti-Brahminism has vanished. Nevertheless it continues to be the foundation of the social reform movements in South India. Basavannas teachings remain as one of the progressive thoughts in the history of reform movements.

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February 14th, 1377

Birthdate of Guru Ravidass

Ravidass (also Ravidas, Raidas, Rohidas and Ruhidas in eastern India) was a North Indian Guru mystic of the bhakti movement from Ramanandi Sampradaya and one of the direct disciples of Ramananda. He was active in the 15th century CE. Venerated in the region of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh as well as Maharashtra, his devotional songs and verses made a lasting impact upon the bhakti movement. He is often given the honorific Bhagat or Sant. He was a socio-religious reformer, a thinker, a theosophist, a humanist, a poet, a traveller, a pacifist and a spiritual figure.

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January 1st, 1400

Vithoba Sant Chokhamela - Bhakthi Movements

Vithoba Sant Chokhamela was a Marathi poet and a leading figure of the Bhatki Movement. He lived in Mangalvedha near Pandharpur in Maharashtra with his wife Soyara and son Karmamela sometime in the 14th century.

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February 1st, 1400

Sant Soyarabai

Sant Soyarabai was woman saint of the Bhakti tradition. She belonged to Mahar caste in 14th century Maharashtra, India. She followed her husband Chokhamela who was also a popular saint. She has written vast literature but now only about 62 are known. In her Abhang she mentions herself as Chokha’s Mahari and accuses god for forgetting Untouchables and making life bad. Her most simple lines concern the simple food she gives the god. Her poems describe her devotion towards god and voice against untouchability. As an Untouchable saint she says “The body only can be impure or polluted, but the soul is ever clean, pure knowledge. The body is born unclean and so how can anybody claim to be pure in body? The body is full of pollution. But the pollution of the body remains in the body. The soul is untouched by it.” Annually she travelled at Pandharpur for pilgrimage with her husband. They were harassed by orthodox Brahmins but they never lost faith and peace of mind.

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March 1st, 1400

Sant Karamamela

Sant Karamamela was a fourteenth-century poet saint from Maharashtra. He was a son of Chokhamela and Soyarabai who belonged Mahar caste. In his Abhangs he accused God for forgetting and how his life was made miserable as a low caste.He rebelled against varna system.There is at least one Buddhist tradition interested in Karamamela, who was a strong and bitter voice, not suffering his social status with content. Kramamela and his family followed the Bhakti movement. Their Abhangs comments on that time, on the way to meditate and God's loves for his devotee. These poems resonate with current Dalit poetry, describing criticism of society and beliefs of religion, disbelief in pure doctrine and pollution, and protest for survival. The abhangs of Karmamela show more bitterness than those of his father Chokamela. You made us low caste. Why don’t you face that fact, Great Lord? Our whole life, leftover food to eat. you should be ashamed of this. You have eaten in our home. How can you deny it? Cokha’s Kamamela asks: Why did you give me life? Are we happy when we’re with you? O Cloud-Dark One, you don't’ know! The low place is our lot, King of Gods! We never get the good sweet food. Its a shameful life here for us, Its a festival bliss for you and misery written on you. Cokha’s Karmamela asks, O God, why is this our fate? (#3-4) ( Maharashtra Government Publication of Tukaram, 1973)

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January 1st, 1440

Sant Kabir Das

Saint Kabir Das is widely acknowledged as one of the great personality of the Bhakti movement in North India. He is one of the medieval Indian saints of Bhakti and Sufi movement. Saint Kabir’s life was centered around Kashi, also called Banaras (Varanasi). His caste was that of Julaha and from his sayings his caste’s heriditary occupation of weaving. "Pothi Padh Padh Kar Jag Mua, Pandit Bhayo Na Koye Dhai Aakhar Prem Ke, Jo Padhe so Pandit Hoye [By Reading Holy books , none became anymore wise. One who reads the word of Love, only becomes wise]" In fifteenth century, Benaras was the seat of Brahmin orthodoxy andtheir learning center. Brahmins had strong hold on all the spheres of life in this city. Thus Kabir belonging to a low caste of Julaha had to go through immense tough time of preaching his idealogy. Kabir and his followers would gather at one place in the city and meditate. Brahmins ridiculed him for preaching to prostitutes and other low castes. Kabirsatirically denounced Brahmins and thus won hearts of people around him. Kabir through his couplets not only reformed the mindset of common villagers and low caste people but give them self confidence to question Brahmins. Pandit, look in your hear for knowledgeTell me where untouchabilitycame from, since you believe in it.Mix red juice, white juice and air-a body bakes in a bodyAs soon as the eight lotuses are ready, it comes into the world, Then what is untouchable?Eighty -four hundred thousand vesselsdecay into dust, while the potter keeps slapping clay on the wheel, and with a touch cuts each one of.We eat by touching, we wash by touching, from touch the world was borm.So who’s untouched. Asks Kabir.Only he who has no taint of Maya (#41 Sabda of Bijak; translations by Linda Hess and Shukdev Singh) (Buddhism in India, Challenging Brahmanism and Caste, Gail Omvedt, 2003)

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January 1st, 1608

Sant Tukaram

Sant Tukaram was born Tukaram Bolhoba Ambile was born in the years around 1608 and lived most of his life in Dehu, a town close to Pune in Mahārāshtra, India. Kumar, Munshi, Kincaid and Parasanisa, consider him to be of the Kunbi Maratha or agricultural tillage caste or vaani. He wrote poems of fierce social criticism. One of his Abhangs has the beginning: "Good you made me a Kunbi, Otherwise I might have died an arrogant hypocrite", and is an attack on Brahmin hypocrisy. An emerging Dalit critique argues that Vithoba was seen as a Bodhisattva and Sant Tukaram saw him as one. Sant Tukaram has explored the traditions of meditation although this is not a Varkari (Vithoba-worshipping) tradition. His life and writings are intensely debated. (Buddhism in India, Challenging Brahmanism and Caste, Gail Omvedt, 2003)

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December 18th, 1756

Birth of Guru Ghasidas

Guru Ghasidas was born on 18 December 1756 and died at the age of eighty in 1836. He was born in village Girodhpuri 130 kms from Raipur of Chhattisgarh in an untouchable family. Ghasidas was born in a socio-political milieu of misrule, loot and plunder. The Marath the local had started behaving as Kings. Ghasidas underwent the exploitative bitter experiences specific to untouchable communities in the hindu caste-ridden society. From an early age, he started rejecting social inequity and to understand the problems faced by his community and to find solutions, he traveled extensively in that part of India which presently Chhattisgarh state of India. He advocated equal rights for all the untouchable communities. Ghasidas was unlettered like his fellow untouchables. He deeply resented the harsh treatment to his brotherhood, and continued searching for solutions but was unable to find the right answer. In search of the right path he decided to go to Jaganath Puri and on his way at Sarangarh (presently in Chhattisgarh) he attained true knowledge. It is said that he announced Satnam and returned to Giordh.On his return, he stopped working as a farm worker and became engrossed in meditation. After spending six months in Sonakhan forests doing meditation, Ghasidas returned and formulated path-breading principles of a new egalitarian social order. The Satnam Panth (sect) is said to be based on these principles formulated by Ghasidas. They were honest, industrious and have formed a brotherhood calling themselves Satnamis. Satnam means good name by good work Guru Ghasidas through Satnamin principles initiated a socio-religious order, which rejected the premier position of Brahmins and completely demolished the exploitative and hierarchical caste system. This new order was a challenge to the brahminical social order and it treated all human beings as socially equal. According to Satnam Panth, truth is God and there is only one God, which is Nirgun (formless) and Anant (infinite). Ghasidas realised the link between dominance of Brahmins and idol worship and therefore Satnam rejects any form of idol worship. Interestingly, Ghasidas had a holistic vision and felt that systemic reforms to remove social injustice and inequality would remain inadequate and incomplete without reforming the individuals. This underlying principle led to prohibition of liquor for the followers of Satnam Panth. Guru Ghasidas also formulated some principles, which clearly reflect his love for animals and his desire to put an end to cruelty towards animals. It is against the principles of Satnam to use cows for agriculture, to plough the fields after midday and consume non-vegetarian food. Several myths have been built around the legend of Guru Ghasidas in Chhattisgarh. These myths and beliefs attribute supernatural powers to him and stories like his ability to revive the dead, as he did with his wife and son after their death, are widely heard. However the key point is that Guru Ghasidas has been accepted as a visionary social reformer and the high number of Satnam followers is a testimony to this fact. According to the 1901 census there were around 4,00,000 people adhering to the principles of Satnam Panth. The first martyr from Chhattisgarh in the Indian war of Independence of 1857. Veer Narayan Singh, was also deeply influenced by the teachings of Guru Ghasidas. The satnami tradition also lives on in the form of a vast collection of panthi songs, commonly sung by groups during street procession. Many panthi songs vividly described Guru Ghasidas' life. Guru Ghasidas University is a Central University in Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh that was inaugurated on 16 June 1983. A reserve forest named as ‘Sanjay Reserve’ was in undivided Madhya Pradesh. After Madhya Pradesh was divided in 2000, a large part of the then Sanjay National Park went to Chhattisgarh. Chhattisgarh government renamed this forest area, with an area of 1440 km2 falling under its jurisdiction, as Guru Ghasidas National Park in Koirya and Surguja districts.

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January 1st, 1784

Baba Tilka Manjhi

Baba Tilka Manjhi (or Jabra paharia was the first Adivasi (SANTHAL) leader who took up arms against the British in the 1784, around 100 years before Mangal Pandey. He organized the Adivasis to form the liberation group to fight against the resource grabbing and exploitation.

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January 1st, 1807

Early Report on the Art of Leather-Making

Leather work is often deemed a Dalit profession because it requires intimate contact with cows, cow flesh and cow hide. It is often seen as a job that is"dirty" or full of pollution by Brahminical points of view. Much like the other aspects of Dalit life, the art of leather work often goes uncelebrated. A 19th century colonial report on the intricacy and skill required in the art of the leather work of Madigas is presented here as follows: "Leather is tanned here by a class of people esteemed of very low caste and called Madigaru. To dress the rawhides of sheep or goats, the Madigaru in the first place wash them clean, and then rub each with a fourth part of a kind of soft paste, made of 6 Dudas weight of milky juice of the Yecuda (Asclepias gigantean), and about 6 Dudus weight (2 456/1000 ounces) of salt (muriate of soda), and twelve Dudus weight of Ragy Sanguty, or pudding of the Cynosurus coracanus (o), with a sufficient quantity of water. The paste is rubbed on the hairy side, and the skins are then exposed for three days to the sun, after which they are washed with water, beating them well on a stone, as is usual in this country. This takes off the hair. Then powder 2 Seers (1 213/1000 lb.) Arulay Myrobalens, and put them and one skin into a pot with 3 or 4 Seers measure of hot water, where it is to remain for three days. The skin is then to be washed and dried. This tanned skin is dyed black as follows: take of old iron, and of the dross of iron forges, each a handful; of plantain and lime skins, each five or six; put them into a pot with some Ragy kanji, or decoction of Ragy, and let them stand for eight days. Then rub the liquor on the skins, which immediately become black. These skins may be dyed red by the following process: Take of ungarbled Lac 2 Dudus weight (about 13 drams), of Suja cara, or fine soda, 1 Dudu weight, and of Lodu bark 2 Dudus weight. Having taken the sticks from the Lac, and powdered the soda and bark boil them all together in a Seer of water (68 5/8 cubical inches) for 1½ hour. Rub the skin, after it has been freed from the hair as before mentioned, with this decoction; and then put it into the pot with the Myrobalens and water for three days. This is a good colour, and for many purposes the skins are well dressed." (Francis Buchanan 1807. A journey from Madras through the countries of Mysore, Canara, and Malabar)

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March 11th, 1811

Shri Hari Chand Thakur

Shri Hari Chand Thakur was a great social reformer born in NamaSudra Community in Bengal. Harichand received little formal education. After completing his initial schooling in a pathshala, he attended school for only a few months. He then started spending his time with shepherds and cowboys and roamed with them from one place to another. He started changing from this time. He was loved by all of his friends for his physical beauty, naivete, love for music and philanthropic attitude. He could also sing bhajan (devotional songs). He cultivated the Matua Sect (The Matua community primarily consists of Dalits (mainly Namasudra). The Matua believe that male and female are equal. They discourage early marriage. Widow remarriage is allowed. They refer to their religious teachers as ‘gonsai;’ both men and women can be gonsai.They follow the teachings of Shri Hari chand and Gurchand Thakur) whose principles were: (1) No necessity of entering the temples of higher castes for the purpose of worship, (2) Discarding Brahmin priest for any ceremony, (3) Worship on Shri Hari, (4) Not to worship idols and not to visit pilgrimage centres of Hindus and (5) Maintain good moral conduct and lead an ideal family life. The sect became popular in East Bengal (now a part of Bangladesh) and he led the untouchability movement called the Chandal movement in India.

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January 1st, 1818

The Battle of Bhima Koregaon

The Battle of Koregaon took place on January 1, 1818, at the banks of the river Bhima in Koregaon, northwest of Pune, India. There a small force of 500 Mahar soldiers of the 2nd Battalion 1st Regiment of the Bombay Native Light Infantry in the British Army fought valiantly against the most brutal Indian state of that times – The Brahmin Peshwa rulers of Pune, Maharashtra. For Mahar soldiers, this was a battle for their self-respect, dignity, and against the supremacy of Manusmriti as the Peshwa rulers oppressed the Mahars, making them hang a pot around their neck to spit and tie a broom around their waist to sweep away their 'impure' footsteps. These 500 Mahar soldiers defeated the Peshwa army of more than 30,000 in just one day. Their victory against such a mighty force is unparallelled in all of Indian history.

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April 11th, 1827

Jyotirao Phule

Jyotirao Govindrao Phule was born in Satara district of Maharastra state in India in a family belonging to Mali caste [shudra varna of Hindu religion] perceived to be inferior. His father, Govindrao, was a vegetable vendor. His mother died when he was nine months old. He was married at the age of 12 to Savirti Bai. His intelligence was recognised by a Muslim and a Christian neighbor, who persuaded his father to allow Jyotirao to attend the local Scottish Mission’s High School, which he completed in 1847. In 1848, he along with his wife started a school for girls in Pune– the first ever formal school for girls in India. In 1873, Jyotiba Phule formed the Satya Shodhak Samaj (Society of Seekers of Truth). The purpose of the organization was to liberate the people of lower-strata from the suppression of the ortodox. Mahatma Phule was publicly conferred the title of Mahatma on 11 May 1888. He was termed as “Martin Luther King of India” by his biographer Dhananjay Keer. Phule was one of the three spiritual mentors of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Father of Indian Constitution.

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November 22nd, 1830

Jhalkaribai

Jhalkaribai (November 22, 1830 – 1858) was the legendary Dalit woman warrior who played an important role in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 during the battle of Jhansi. She was a soldier in the women's army of Queen Laxmibai of Jhansi. Born into a poor Dalit family, she started her career as an ordinary soldier in Laxmibai's army, but rose to a position of advising the queen in vital decisions. During the rebellion, at the height of the battle of fort of Jhansi, she disguised herself as the queen and fought on the front to let the queen escape safely out of the fort.

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January 3rd, 1831

Savitribai Phule

Savitribai Phule was a great feminist social reformer of her time. She fought against the totalitarianism of caste and other social evils in India. She was born in Naigaon in Sattarra district. She played an equal partner to Mahatma Jyotibai Phule in declaring war against and Brahminism. Though she was formerly uneducated, she was motivated by Jyotibai to study. Later she became the first female teacher of India in the school she started with her husband. She was a poet and wrote a poem in her collection of poems : Kavya Phule in 1854. " Title: Go, Get education. Go, Get Education Be self-reliant, be industrious Work, gather wisdom and riches, All gets lost without knowledge We become animal without wisdom, Sit idle no more, go, get education End misery of the oppressed and forsaken, You’ve got a golden chance to learn So learn and break the chains of caste. Throw away the Brahman’s scriptures fast. – Poem by Savitribai Phule (More poems at Poems by Savitribai Phule). Apart from setting up the first ever school for women in India, Savitribai started a women's association called Mahila Seva Mandal as early as 1852. The association worked for raising women's consciousness about their human rights and other social issues. Being a woman, she easily recognised the double downtroddenness of most women as she saw the gender question in relation to caste and brahmanic patriarchy. She engaged herself at various levels to address women-specific problems. She campaigned against victimisation of widows. She advocated and encouraged widow remarriage. She canvassed against infanticide of'illegitimate' children. She opened a home to rehabilitate such children. Her own home became a sanctuary for deserted women and orphaned children. She went on to organise a successful barbers' strike against the prevailing practice of shaving of widows' heads. She did all this taking grave personal risks. Many of these misogynistic practices have now receded in the background. But in her time, they tormented and destroyed countless women. Maligned, humiliated, and attacked for challenging the anti-women practices, Savitribai's struggle encouraged and inspired a whole generation of outstanding campaigners for gender justice in Maharashtra — Dr Anandi Bai Gopal Joshi, Pandita Ramabai, Tarabai Shinde, Ramabai Ranade, and many others have been inspired by her efforts. A unique spiritual vision sustained and animated Savitribai's life and struggle. A deeply devout and compassionate person, she drew inspiration and strength from the benevolence of a higher power. Her belief in a higher power, however, led her to wage a war against discriminatory brahmanic gods. She despised caste-obsessed brahmanic religion and its rituals, but she was a great admirer of many moral and ennobling tenets of other religions. At the heart of her religiosity were compassion and a sacred morality that bound the individual with society.

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May 20th, 1845

K. Ayothidhasar (editor of Oru Paisa Tamilan) Born in Chennai

Iyothee Thass or Pandit C. Ayodhya Dasa (Tamil: அயோத்தி தாசர்) (May 20, 1845 – 1914) was a practitioner of Siddha medicine who is regarded as a pioneer of the Dravidian Movement. He also founded the Punchmar Mahajana Sabha in 1891 along with Rettaimalai Srinivasan.

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January 1st, 1846

Rev Rathnam John

Adi Dravidar from Madras thousand lights area. Completed School Education. He wanted to belong to a more egalitarian religion like Christianity and get out of Hinduism. Baptized in 1877. Started a Magazine named Dravidar Pandian 1885 to publish cases if atrocities and grievances of the Depressed Classes. Estabished a Model School in 1886 in Thousand Lights area in Madras (https://books.google.com/books?id=Wx218EFVU8MC&pg=PA317&lpg=PA317&dq=Rev+ratnam+john+dalit&source=bl&ots=8x5v7WVl5e&sig=Nfc--r50p9zW4GyZt2jtE4wpnXU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=YVv-VMm9D8mcyASdyoFI&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Rev%20ratnam%20john%20dalit&f=false)

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January 28th, 1853

First Infanticide Prohibition Home Started by Savitribai Phule

There were a large number of widows in the Pune City and the nearby villages, including adolescents and young girls. These widows were boycotted publicly and with meger financial support they were clandestine subjects to sexual exploitation. They happened to be pregnant due to lack of contraceptives or other measures. So they had to be victimized for the reason for which they had not been responsible. Women had to lose their life due to unhealthy ways of abortion. Many newborns were been killed after delivery by widows to avoid social ostracism. Many a times they had to leave their home. On 28 January 1853: Savitribai started a shelter for such women – infanticide prohibition home – the first of its kind in India. In this shelter widows could give birth to their children and leave them there. Sixty six women gave birth to their children in that shelter up to 1873.This was a great historical work that Savitribai did at that time – in the dark ages. Later on this shelter started working as a hospital. Savitribai did not remain as one who served to widows but she went further in this regard. She adopted a child from a Brahmin widow (Kashibai) and thereby gave a message to the progressive people of the society. This adopted child was named Yashwant Rao who later became a doctor.

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January 1st, 1857

UdaDevi- Dalit Virangani

The dalit women heroes of the 1857 Rebellion have become symbols of dalit assertion and pride. Such a legendary character who is claimed to have played a significant role in 1857 Rebellion alongside BegumHazrat Mahal of Lucknow and who has become the icon of the Pasi community, but whose aura encompasses all the Dalit castes, is Udadevi. There British forces met desperate resistance of rebels who fortified the position. In the sanguineous battle that followed, over 2,000 rebels and many soldiers lost their lives in hand-to-hand combat. After the British overran Sikandarbag, an officer noted that many of the British casualties had bullet wounds indicating steep, downward trajectory. Suspecting that a sniper remained hidden in the pipal tree, British officers fired at the tree and dislodged a rebel who fell to the ground with a thud, dead. Further investigation revealed that the rebel was, infact, a low-caste woman named Udadevi Pasi, who had donned men’s clothing to participate in the uprising. Uda Devi is said to have been born in the village Ujriaon of Lucknow, and was married to Makka Pasi. She became an associate of Begum Hazrat Mahal, and formed a women’s army with herself as the commander. Her husband became a martyr in the battle at Chinhat and Uda decided to take revenge. When the British attacked Sikandar Bagh in Lucknow under Campbell, he was faced with an army of Dalit women: At this point Uda Devi is said to have climbed over a pipal tree and shot dead, according to some accounts 32 and some 36, With constant evocation, these names have inscribed in popular Dalit memories. Every year near the statue of Uda Devi at Sikandar Bagh on 16 November, the stated day of her martyrdom.

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September 24th, 1873

Vaikom Satyagraha

Vaikom Satyagraha (1924–25) was a satyagraha (movement) in Travancore, India (now part of Kerala) against untouchability in Hindu society. The movement was centered at the Shiva temple at Vaikom, near Kottayam.The Satyagraha aimed at securing freedom of movement for all sections of society through the public roads leading to the Sri Mahadevar Temple at Vaikom. The 85th anniversary of the Satyagraha was celebrated on the 26th of November 2010. The temple entry movement was started in Travancore by Mr.T.K. Madhavan who pressed the matter before the 15th session of the Sree Moolam Popular Assembly on 1919 and his efforts culminated in the legal success of Vaikom Satyagraha which opened the Vaikom temple roads to untouchables in 1925.' Five years after the Vaikom Satyagraha there was no organised attempt for the removal of temple entry problem. It was in 1931 that the issue of temple entry to unapproachable castes was revived in Kerala by Sri.K. Kelappan under the auspices of Kerala Congress Committee. http://www.modernrationalist.com/2010/december/page08.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaikom_Satyagraha

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September 24th, 1873

Satyashodhak Samaj Established

Satyashodhak Samaj is a religion established by Jyotirao Phule on on this day. This was started as a group whose main aim was to liberate the social shudra and untouchable castes from exploitation and oppression. The tenets of this idealogy were as follows. 1.The Satyashodhak Samaj is founded by some wise Shudra men to the Shudra people from long sustained slavery executed by Brahmans such as Bhats, Joshi priests and others. 2. The Satyashodhak Samaj aimed to spread education among the Shudras to make them aware of their rights and to get them out of influence of the sacred books that were made by the Brahmans for their own survival. 3.The ideology of Satyashodhak Samaj, based on Phule's ideological frame work which urged to unite all Shudra, Ati- Shudra masses, Satyashodhak ideology rejected all kinds of Brahman domination and exploitation on the basis of religion and all religious sources of inequality. This was the most radical content of the Satya Shodhak ideology, which was the heart of non-Brahman movement'. 4. Revolting against Brahmanical culture, Satyashodhak ideology dreamed to establish ideal society based on some principles as follows: 5. Faith on one God (creator) 6. Rejection of any kind of intermediary between God and Man. 7. Rejection of caste system and the basic four folded Varna division of society and believing on that man's supremacy is determined by his qualities and not by his caste or.8. Faith on equality, freedom and brotherhood. (Caste, Conflict, and Ideology: Mahatma Jotirao Phule and Low Caste Protest in Nineteenth-Century Western India By Rosalind O'Hanlon)

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December 25th, 1873

First Priestless Marriage by Savitribai Phule

The first marriage without a priest was arranged by Savitribai Phule under the aegis of Satyshodhak Samaj (The Truth Seekers Society). This was an important event against the Brahmin Social Order. The first report of the Samaj proudly notes that Savitribai was the inspiration behind this revolutionary initiative of a constructive revolt to reject centuries old religious traditions. The marriage of Radha, daughter of Savitribai’s friend Baju Bai Gyanoba Nimbankar and activist Sitram Jabaji Aalhat was the first Satyashodhakí marriage. Savitribai herself bore all the expenses on this historic occasion. The Satyashodhak marriage required the bridegroom to take an oath of giving education and equal rights to women. Savitribai had made Radha stay in the Phule household even before the marriage took place – which was another revolutionary step during those times.(Source: Book Savitri bai Phule First Memorial Lecture 2008 – Dr. T Sundaraman, National Council of Education Research and Training)

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June 26th, 1874

Birthdate of Chatrapati Shahu Maharaj

Chatrapati Shahu Maharaj implemented one of the most early affirmative action policies (Provided 50% Reservation in his state, on 26 July 1902) Revolutionary Legal Reforms.On July 26, 1902,Shahu Maharaj declared reservations in the Kolhapur state for all the people who were for generations banned from education, that is, all people who are not brahmans, Parsis, Shenvis and Prabhus, the advanced castes who were already in education and other fields. He appealed for caste-free India and abolition of untouchability. Pioneer of Student Hostel Movement for Bahujan Samaj. De-recognized Brahmanical supremacy and Religious bureaucracy of Brahmins. Greatest supporter and sympathizer of Dr. Ambedkar movement. The Pillar of Social Democracy.

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November 15th, 1875

Birsa Munda - Jai Adivasi!

“Our land is blowing away as the dust blows away in the storm”-Dharti Aba Birsa Munda Birsa Munda (1875–1900) was a tribal leader and a folk hero, belonging to the Munda tribe who was behind the Millenarian movement that rose in the tribal belt of modern day Bihar, and Jharkhand during the British Raj, in the late 19th century making him an important figure in the history of the Indian independence movement.Birsa was born at Bamba in a suburb of Ranchi (Bihar) on Thursday 15 November 1875. He was named after the day of his birth according to the Munda custom. Mundas called him Dharati Aba, the father of the earth. He advised people to not to obey the magistrates and the landlords and to boycott the ‘beth begari sytem’. He spoke against unlawful land acquisition and tried to unite his people against the diabolic exploitative triad of zamindars, foreigner and traders.The Mundas were galvanized into martial fury and carried out their revolts with great courage and determination. The results were, however, the same whenever the tribal fought the mighty British: they were crushed. Birsa was captured, released and finally recaptured after his forces suffered a terrible crushing by the British army in 1900. With his death, the Birsa movement slipped into oblivion but he had succeeded in giving them a solidarity which was missing before. Though Birsa was dead but his purpose was not defeated. Just after the movement, the Government passed the Commutation Act of 1897 and then it was decided to start survey and settlement in 1901. The Mundari Khuntkatti right was recognized and finally the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (Act-VI of 1908) came into being. Birsa Munda – the great Dharati Aba shines as the first tribal martyr who fought for the independence of the country.

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March 6th, 1878

Babaji Palwankar Shivram

Babaji Palwankar Shivram was an Indian cricketer who was one of the most successful Dalit players for the Hindus cricket team in the Bombay Quadrangular competition. He was the brother of cricketer and social leader Palwankar Baloo and Palwankar Vithal, who became the first Dalit to captain the Hindus team.

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February 18th, 1879

Birthdate of Kisan Faguji Bansod

Kisan Faguji Bansod was born on 18th Feb 1879 at village Mohapa near Nagpur in Maharashtra. He belonged to Mahar caste. He passed teacher training but turned to social service. In order to organize the dalits, he founded the Sanmarg Bodhak Asprushya Samaj at Nagpur in 1901, which became popular throughout the Vidarbha region. He started the journal NIrashrit Hind Nagarik in 1910; Vital Vidhvansak in 1913; Majur Patrika in 1918; and Chokha Mela during 1931 - 36. He started one press at Pachpawali, Nagpur in 1910. His wife Tulsibai Bansod assisted him in the press work. He wrote a book in marathi named Shri Sant Chokhamela Charitra in the year 1942. He wrote two plays named Chokhamela and Satyashodhak Jalsa. He composed many poems, which aimed to inspire dalits to protest against traditionalism. He died of cancer at the age of 67, on 10 October 1946, in Nagpur.

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June 17th, 1883

Birthdate of M.C. Rajah

Rao Bahadur Mylai Chinna Thambi Pillai Rajah and was a Dalit politician, social and political activist from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.He entered politics after graduation and was the leader of Dalits in the Justice party. However, he quit the party in 1923 over the party's treatment of Dalits and allied with B. R. Ambedkar before separating. Rajah died in 1943. In his heyday, Rajah was considered to be a person equal in stature to Ambedkar. Rajah along with Ambedkar and Rettamalai Srinivasan represented the Dalits at the Second Round Table Conference in London.

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January 14th, 1886

Mangu Ran Muggowal

Born in Punjab in 1886, Muggowal, like other members of the Ghadar Party, immigrated to the U.S. for economic reasons and became involved in the freedom struggle following a realization of racism and discrimination in the foreign land. Members of the Ghadar Party believed their sufferings were the result of slavery back home and resolved to fight against imperialism. A person like Muggowal endured double discrimination for being a person of colour and a Dalit. Being born in a so called low caste “untouchable” family, he began facing caste-based discrimination during childhood. He faced segregation at school and suffered physical abuse for defying caste laws. Thankfully, the Ghadar Party believed in secularism and kept religion and politics apart, yet he faced such prejudice even in the U.S. Muggowal not only worked for the Ghadar newsletter but also went to Java to help in collecting and sending arms to India. He escaped near death sentence at the hands of the British allies. Thinking that he had died, his family remarried his widow to his brother. On coming back to India he was disillusioned by the continued oppression of the Dalits, who were considered untouchables by the orthodox Hindus and Sikhs. He was partly upset with the popular leaders of the freedom struggle who failed to address the issue of casteism. He resigned from the Ghadar Party in order to mobilize Dalits against systemic caste-based discrimination and eventually launched the Ad-Dharmi movement in Punjab. He believed that without bringing social revolution first it was impossible to bring real freedom in India. The Ghadar Party assured him full support in his struggle against caste oppression. But since his movement was in conflict with the interest of the freedom struggle, his cause was not dear to the popular leadership of India. Rather, Muggowal was branded as a tool of the British Empire that was playing a divide and rule game to prolong its rule in India. Whereas the British Empire was happy to give concessions to the Dalits, leaders like Muggowal felt deceived by the mainstream nationalist leaders of India. Despite such differences, it goes to the credit of Muggowal that he did not support a religion-based partition of India in 1947. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muggowal#Story_of_Mangu_Ram_Muggowal_.28Jan_14.2C_1886-April_22.2C_1980.29"

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August 21st, 1889

Birthdate of Sahodaran Ayyappan

Sahodaran Ayyappan (21 August 1889 – 6 March 1968) was a social reformer, thinker, journalist, and politician of Kerala, India. He was one of the outspoken followers of Sree Narayana Guru.

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April 14th, 1891

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

While to the most of the country and the world, Dr. B. R Ambedkar is known as the architect of the Indian constitution, a social reformer, and an eminent jurist; his contribution as an economist, as an advocate of women’s rights; as a writer, an educationist, and a philosopher is also equally important. In this capacity he is not only a Dalit icon but a true revolutionary and is recognized as a founding father of independent India. Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was born at the 14th child of his family on April 14th, 1891 into Mahar family. Discovered by a Maharaja Sayaji Rao he received a full scholarship and went on to study at the Elphinstone College, Mumbai in 1908. From there he was one of the first Indian to study abroad and he went to the United States to pursue economics at the Columbia University. Later, he became a professor of political economy at the Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics. In 1920, he went to London to get his Bar-at-Law at Gray's Inn for Law. On 8 June, 1927, he was awarded a Doctorate by the University of Columbia. From 1920 to 1930, he also published a series of newspapers namely Mook Nayak (The Silent Hero), Bahishkrit Bharat (Exiled India), Samata (equality), and Janata (People) Upon his return to India he faced vicious caste discrimination with top employers refusing to hiring him. Thus began Dr. Ambedkar’s relentless struggle for equality for Dalits. He had a multi-pronged strategy: First eradicate illiteracy, then focus on the economic upliftment while also using non-violent struggle against visible symbols of casteism, like denial of entry into temples and drawing water from public wells and tanks. He later added to this strategy the powerful call for Dalits to leave Hinduism for Buddhism. Leading to one of the largest mass conversion in world in Nagpur where over 600,000 Dalits joined Him in becoming Buddhist. His focus on Dalit Liberation often put him at odds with Gandhi and it was due to Ambedkar that Gandhi eventually shifted his draconian position on caste. Ambedkar’s leadership in the idependence movement ensured Dalits were at the table in the crucial Round Table conferences that led to the formation of the Indian State. While disappoined at the refusal of separate Indian electorates, it was his advocacy that led to the reservation system that helped provide affirmative action to Dalits and Adivasis in government and public institutions. In the wake of his legacy this post is a call to read and learn more from this Dalit Giant. He leaves behind a rich treasury of speeches and almost forty books that are still relevant today. In fact his seminal text Annihilation of Caste is available for free everywhere around the world. In his honor we leave you with his exhortation to educate, agitate, and organize. And of course the Dalit salutation which is a honorary reference back to him

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September 28th, 1895

Gurram Jashuva

Gurram Jashuva (or G Joshua) : Dalit poet and writer from Andhra Pradesh, Jashuva initially worked as primary school teacher. He then worked as Telugu producer in All India Radio, Madras between 1946-1960. His work "Gabbilam" is best known. It is an interpretation of Kalidasa's Megha Sandesam. But it is not a yaksha using the cloud as a messenger to convey his longing to his loved one, instead, it is a hunger and poverty stricken individual requesting a bat visiting him from a nearby Siva temple, to convey his prayers to God. He muses at the irony of his situation, where a bat is allowed inside a temple but not a human being! He cautions the bat to convey his message to Siva as it hangs from the roof close to his ear, at a time when the priest is not around.

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February 24th, 1901

Birthdate of Jagannathan Shivashanmugam Pillai

Jagannathan Shivashanmugam Pillai (February 24, 1901 – February 17, 1975) was an Indian politician of the Indian National Congress. In 1938, he became the first Dalit mayor of Madras. He also served as the first speaker of the Madras Legislative Assembly since India's independence. Shivashanmugam died on February 17, 1975 at the age of 73.

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January 6th, 1904

Birthdate of Babu L.N. Hardas

Hardas Laxmanrao Nagrale, (1904–1939), popularly known as Babu L.N. Hardas was a Dalit leader and social reformer in India. He was an ardent follower of Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar and was pioneer of the practice of exchanging the greeting Jai Bhim amongst the Dalits. He was also a prominent labour leader in the Central Province and was the general secretary of the Independent Labour Party in the province. Babu Hardas born in a Mahar family at Kamthi on January 6, 1904. His father , Laxmanrao Nagrale, was a clerk in the Railway Department. Babu Hardas passed his matriculation from Patwardhan High School, Nagpur. He also studied Sanskrit from Swami Brahmanand of Arya Samaj at Nagpur. Consistent with the social customs of that time, he married at a very early age of 16 with Sahubai in 1920. His life was full of events as he worked to create social awareness in his brethren for all of his life. Babu Hardas started his social activities pretty early in his life. At the age of 17, he started a weekly Maharatha from Nagpur with a view of spreading social awareness in the Dalits. He tried to organize the Mahar community by founding the Mahar Samaj organization in 1922. He also formed one Mahar Samaj Pathak, a voluntary corps group, to organize the disorganized Mahar youth to protect the Dalits against the atrocities. He opened a Mahila Ashram in order to imparting training to Dalit women in daily activities. Also, in order to avoid exploitation of beedi workers, he started the beedi work on cooperative basis, which became very successful in the area.Babu Hardas as a strong opponent of irrational and superstitious customs of the society. He strongly opposed to the sub-caste barriers amongst the depressed classes. He arranged community dinners and invited to all people of depressed classes divided in various sub-castes. Such community dinners were arranged each year on the death anniversary of Sant Chokhamela, a great 14th-century saint from Mahar community. He was against idol worship. He organized a meeting of his brethren in 1927 at Ramtek under the presidency of Kisan Faguji Bansod. At this meeting, Babu Hardas exhorted his people to start idol worship at the temple of Ramtek and stop bathing in the dirty Ambada tank there. However, he sent a group of his followers under the leadership of Shankar Mukunda Bele to participate in the Kalaram Temple Entry Satyagraha led by Dr. Ambedkar on March 2, 1930. He argued that this was against inequality and not to worship idols. Babu Hardas was also a strong advocate of education to Dalits. He himself had completed matriculation, which was a rare thing for the Dalits in those days. He started night schools at Kamthi in 1927 at the behest of the Mahar community. There were 86 boys and 22 girls learning in his school at a time. He also started one Sant Chokhamela Library at Kamthi around the same time. At a very early age of 35, he fell sick with tuberculosis and died of tuberculosis on January 12, 1939.

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January 29th, 1904

Birthdate of Mahapran Jogendernath Mandal

Mahapran Jogendernath Mandal was the leader of Scheduled Caste communities in Bengal, born in an untouchable Namasudra family. He was the son of Ramdayal Mandal and Sandhyadebi. He passed his B.A examination in 1932 from B.M College located in Barisal then he joined Calcutta Law College and passed the Law examination in 1934. He was the member of Bengal Legislative Assembly 1937 from the Bakarganj North-East General Rural Constituency. Subsequently, he developed political connections with Dr Ambedkar and also entered into a political alliance with the Muslim League. Jogendranath was appointed as the Minister for Co-operative Credit and Rural Indebtedness. In the meantime, he founded the Bengal branch of the All India Scheduled Castes Federation (AISCF). He joined Suhrawardy Ministry as the Law, Pull Worker and Construction of House Minister in 1946. Towards the end of 1946, Jogendranath almost single-handed ensured the election of Dr Ambedkar from Bengal to the Constituent Assembly. On the eve of the partition of India Jogendranath Mandal supported Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Sarat Chandra Bose and others for a United Bengal. With Mountbatten’s announcement of the partition plan on 3 June 1947, however, he lent support for Pakistan. He was one of the central and leading Founding Fathers of modern state of Pakistan.

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December 26th, 1904

ANNAI MEENAMBAL SIVARAJ

Annai Meenambal Sivaraj as born to Mr. V.G. Vasudevapillai and Meenakshi. Annai's father was famous among the Adi-Dravida Leaders, who became the first elected person to the corporation of Madras from the aboriginal community. For a long time he was a member to the assembly of Tamilnadu. Annai is known to be India's first Dalit woman leader. She was the first woman president of South India Scheduled Class Federation. She gave the title “PERIYAR” to E.V.RAMASWAMY at the Schedule Caste Federation Women’s Conference held at Madras, in 1944. She also presided over the All India Schedule Castes Federation Women’s conference held at Bombay, on May 6th, 1945 where she gave a powerful speech advocating for the role of education. She exhorted the women audience to actively take part in the social upliftment of the community, educate their children, and struggle to liberate themselves from untouchability, casteism and oppression.

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April 5th, 1908

Jagjivan Ram (Babuji)

Jagjivan Ram (5 April 1908 – 6 July 1986), known popularly as Babuji, was an Indian independence activist and politician from Bihar. He belonged to the Chamar caste and was a leader of the Dalit (Untouchable) community. He was instrumental in foundation of the All-India Depressed Classes League, an organisation dedicated to attaining equality for untouchables, in 1935 and was elected to Bihar Legislative Assembly in 1937, when he also organised a rural labour movement. In 1946, he became the youngest minister in Jawaharlal Nehru's interim government, the first cabinet of India as a Labour Minister and also a member of Constituent Assembly of India, where he ensured that social justice was enshrined in the Constitution. He went on serve as a minister for more than forty years as a member of Indian National Congress (INC). Most importantly, he was the Defence Minister of India during the Indo-Pak war of 1971, which resulted in the formation of Bangladesh. He also made great contributions to the Green Revolution in India and modernising Indian agriculture during his two tenures as Union Agriculture Minister, especially during the 1974 drought when he was asked to hold the additional portfolio to tide over the food crisis. Though he supported Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during the Emergency (1975–77), he left Congress in 1977 and joined the Janata Party alliance, along with his Congress for Democracy. He later served as the Deputy Prime Minister of India (1977–79), then in 1980, he formed Congress.

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April 7th, 1912

DAKSHAYANI VELAYUDHAN.

Dakshayani Velayudhan was an Indian parliamentarian and leader of the Depressed Classes. Belonging to the Pulaya community, she was among the first generation of people to be educated from the community. She holds several distinctions including becoming the first woman from her community to wear an upper cloth, the first Dalit woman graduate in India, a science graduate, a member of the Cochin Legislative Council and of being the only Dalit woman member of the Constituent Assembly of India. Dakshayani was born in the Mulavukad village of the Kanayannur taluka of Ernakulam district in 1912. She completed her B.A. in 1935 and went on to complete her teachers' training course from the Madras University three years later. Her studies were supported by scholarships from the government of the Cochin State. From 1935 to 1945 she worked as a teacher at the Government High Schools in Trichur and Tripunithura. Dakshayani belonged to the Pulaya community and was the younger sister of the social reformer and legislator K. P. Vallon. She was also related to K R Narayanan who later became the President of India. In 1945 Dakshayani was nominated to the Cochin Legislative Council by the government of the State. She was elected to the Constituent Assembly of India by the Council in 1946. From 1946-1952 she served as a member of the Constituent Assembly and the Provisional Parliament of India. In Parliament she took special interest in the matters of education especially that of the Scheduled Castes. Although a Gandhian, Dakshayani sided with B R Ambedkar on many issues relating to the Scheduled Castes during the Constituent Assembly debates. She agreed with Ambedkar giving up the demand for separate electorates arguing instead for 'moral safeguards' and the immediate removal of their social disabilities.

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February 2nd, 1915

Death of Subedar Major Ramji Maloji Sakpal

Death of Subedar Major Ramji Maloji Sakpal, father of Dr. Ambedkar

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January 1st, 1917

First Adi-Andhra Mahajana Sabha

In the 1920s and 1930s, militant Dalits were thoroughly rejecting both the “Panchama”(The Fifth, referring to their position outside the caste system) and the “Harijan” (Children of God) identities and organizing themselves all over the south by the non-Aryan themes of the Dravidian movement. They began to identify themselves as the “original sons of the soil” as Adi-Dravidians, Adi-Andhras and Adi-Karnatakas. The swell of these movements led to the pivotal First Adi-Andhra Mahajana Sabha launching Dravidian and Anti-caste movements that continued on until the 1930’s.

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Jan 1st, 1920 - Dec 31st, 1931

The Adi Movements

1920's-1930's: Many Dalit, Bahujan, and Adivasi activists of the 1920s, organizing as non-Brahmans and Dalits, were drawn to an anti-caste, anti-Brahman, even anti-Hindu ideology akin to the philosophy that Phule had formulated. Few outside of Maharashtra had heard of Phule, yet these movements were so pervasive that it is clear these themes struck a deep mass resonance everywhere. During this time, the Non-Brahman movements in Maharastra and Tamil Nadu, as well as the Dalit movements arising in places as distant as Punjab and Karnataka, all began to argue in terms of the Aryan conquest and Brahman exploitation through religion. Even the names of most of the Dalit movements - Adi-Dharm in Punjab, Adi-Hindu in U.P. and Hyderabad, Adi-Dravida, Adi-Andhra and Adi-Karnataka in South India - indicated a common claim to being original inhabitants.

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January 31st, 1920

Ambedkar Started the Mooknayak Newspaper

Chatrapati Shahuji Maharaj had donated Rs 2500 as seed money to start Mooknayak (Leader of the Dumb). This Marathi weekly paper championed the causes of the depressed classes. Shri Nandra Bhatkar was the editor, later Shri Dyander Gholap was the editor. Dr. Ambedkar wrote in the first issue of this paper dated 31 January 1920 the following: “The hindu society is like a tower of many stories. It has neither a ladder nor a door to go out. And therefore there is no way to interchange stories. Those who are born on a particular storey die in that storey. Even if the lowest storey person is worthy deserving to be promoted to upper storey he cannot move to that level. And if the person in the upper storey is most unworthy and undeserving still he cannot be pushed down…. A Society which believes that God exists even in inanimate things, also says that people who are a part of that very society should not be touched! http://drambedkarbooks.com/category/today-in-dalit-history/

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February 10th, 1920

Rajamani Devi

Rajamani Devi was an early Dalit woman leader who emerged from the Mala community during the Adi movements in Andhra. She became the Joint Secretary of the Schedule Caste Federation, Hyderabad on 16th July 1944. She was latered named the President of the Women Section of SCF. She won a seat to the Hyderabad Legislative Asembly on the SCF ticket at the first general elections held in 1952.

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May 30th, 1920

First All India Conference of the Depressed Classes

The First All India Conference of the Depressed Classes was held at Nagpur on 30-31 May and 1 June 1920. It was Presided over by Chatrapati Shahuji Maharaj, and Dr. Ambedkar was among the main speaker in the conference. The conference was attended by delegates from all over India.

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August 1st, 1920

Annabhau Sathe

Annabhau Sathe was born on 1 August 1920 in the village of Wategaon near Sangli in a family belonging to the a Dalit Mang community. Annabhau Sathe was denied education due to his caste. His brother Shankarbhau recounts in his biography of Sathe, titled "Majhe Bhau Annabhau", that the family members worked as laborers at the site of Kalyan tunnel when it was being constructed. Despite lack of formal education, Sathe wrote in Marathi 35 novels, one among which was Fakira (1959). Fakira, which is currently in its 19th edition, received a state government award in 1961. There are 15 collections of Sathe's short stories. A large number of his short stories have been translated into many Indian and as many as 27 non-Indian languages. Besides novels and short stories, Sathe wrote a play - a travelogue on Russia, 12 screenplays, and 10 ballads --Marathi. To generate social awareness, he organized stage performances of powade and tamasha, ethnic dances chiefly performed by women, which are popular in rural Maharashtra. He produced 14 tamasha shows. In the late 1940s, the then Home Minister of the Bombay state government Morarji Desai had banned tamasha shows, but Sathe courageously defied the ban by renaming them as lokanatya. People in Maharashtra conferred the epithet lok shahir on Sathe.On the issue of a postage stamp of Anna Bhau Sathe at Chembur, Mumbai minister Pramod Mahajan called Anna as a saint of Maharashtra.

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January 14th, 1921

Cheramar Maha JanSabha Founded

The Cheramar Maha JanSabha was founded in Kerala by Pampady John Joseph. He was of the view that the caste name ‘Pulaya’ was disgraceful as it denoted pollution, therefore, he named it Cheramar which means ‘son of the soil’ of Kerala. The Cheramar Maha JanSabha attracted the converts and non-converts towards it. The Jansabha was founded to protest against the traditional attitude and customs of the caste Hindus and caste Hindu converts. In Cheramar Mahajan Sabha, caste Christians as well as untouchable Hindus were allowed to be the members. It gave a new awakening to the untouchables in Kerala.

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Dalit History Month

December 31st, 1501 BC
January 1st, 1500 BC
January 1st, 1200 BC
January 1st, 0400 BC
January 1st, 0005
January 1st, 1100
February 14th, 1377
January 1st, 1400
February 1st, 1400
March 1st, 1400
January 1st, 1440
January 1st, 1608
December 18th, 1756
January 1st, 1784
January 1st, 1807
March 11th, 1811
January 1st, 1818
April 11th, 1827
November 22nd, 1830
January 3rd, 1831
May 20th, 1845
January 1st, 1846
January 28th, 1853
January 1st, 1857
September 24th, 1873
September 24th, 1873
December 25th, 1873
June 26th, 1874
November 15th, 1875
March 6th, 1878
February 18th, 1879
June 17th, 1883
January 14th, 1886
August 21st, 1889
April 14th, 1891
September 28th, 1895
February 24th, 1901
January 6th, 1904
January 29th, 1904
December 26th, 1904
April 5th, 1908
April 7th, 1912
February 2nd, 1915
January 1st, 1917
January 1st, 1920
January 31st, 1920
February 10th, 1920
May 30th, 1920
August 1st, 1920
January 14th, 1921
February 15th, 1923
March 1st, 1923
July 20th, 1924
March 1st 1925
January 15th, 1926
March 13th, 1927
March 20th, 1927
June 27th, 1927
December 25th, 1927
December 26th, 1927
December 27th, 1927
January 1st, 1928
September 20th, 1928
December 23rd, 1929
January 9th, 1930
March 2nd, 1930
July 17th, 1930
November 30th, 1930
January 1st, 1931
February 4th, 1933
January 1st, 1934
March 15th, 1934
March 15th, 1934
August 1st, 1935
October 13th, 1935
January 1st, 1936
May 15th, 1936
January 5th, 1942
July 17th, 1942
July 20th, 1942
January 18th, 1943
January 23rd, 1945
January 16th, 1946
July 31st, 1946
January 22nd, 1947
January 1st, 1948
January 1st, 1948
January 14th, 1948
February 15th, 1949
January 11th, 1950
January 22nd, 1950
January 26th, 1950
June 30th, 1950
September 9th, 1951
October 1st, 1951
October 5th, 1952
July 27th, 1953
January 1st, 1954
May 10th, 1954
December 5th, 1954
July 4th, 1955
December 1st, 1955
January 15th, 1956
September 1st, 1956
October 14th, 1956
October 14th, 1956
January 1st, 1957
January 1st, 1957
January 1st, 1958
January 1st, 1958
January 23rd, 1961
March 19th, 1963
August 10th, 1963
October 25th, 1964
July 7th, 1965
July 3rd, 1966
January 1st, 1969
April 25th, 1969
July 19th, 1969
October 2nd, 1969
January 1st, 1971
April 1st, 1972
January 28th, 1976
June 1st, 1977
January 1st, 1978
January 26th, 1978
April 14th, 1978
June 1st, 1978
August 1st, 1978
November 7th, 1978
December 6th, 1978
January 1st, 1979
April 1st, 1981
January 1st, 1982
April 16th, 1982
August 31st, 1982
April 14th, 1984
December 1st, 1985
February 5th, 1988
January 30th, 1989
September 11th, 1989
November 29th, 1989
January 1st, 1990
May 21st, 1990
August 7th, 1990
August 6th, 1991
April 1st, 1992
January 1st, 1994
January 14th, 1994
June 7th, 1994
August 25th, 1994
September 16th, 1994
January 1st, 1995
May 31st, 1995
September 28th, 1995
January 6th, 1996
July 11th, 1996
January 1st, 1997
June 6th, 1997
July 11th, 1997
July 25th, 1997
February 2nd, 1998
October 1st, 1998
March 1st, 2000
March 1st, 2000
April 14th, 2000
November 4th, 2001
December 10th, 2001
December 18th, 2001
January 12th, 2002
June 1st, 2002
June 1st, 2003
December 5th, 2003
January 1st, 2004
February 19th, 2004
July 1st, 2004
December 1st, 2004
December 5th, 2004
December 5th, 2004
December 6th, 2004
December 6th, 2004
January 12th, 2006
January 16th, 2006
October 1st, 2006
October 14th, 2006
November 1st, 2006
November 20th, 2006
November 20th, 2006
December 18th, 2006
May 5th, 2007
May 24th, 2007
May 28th, 2007
February 17th, 2008
February 27th, 2009
April 6th, 2009
July 1st, 2009
January 6th, 2010
September 29th, 2010
January 1st, 2011
January 22nd, 2011
April 23rd, 2011
July 18th, 2011
December 16th, 2011
August 8th, 2012
September 18th, 2012
October 2nd, 2012
October 5th, 2012
November 7th, 2012
January 1st, 2013
June 26th, 2013
September 7th, 2013
October 10th, 2013
October 19th, 2013
January 27th, 2014
April 9th, 2014
May 2nd, 2014
May 25th, 2014
November 22nd, 2014
January 5th, 2015
January 25th, 2015
February 13th, 2015
February 15th, 2015
February 23rd, 2015
March 15th, 2015
March 19th, 2015
November 29th, 2015
January 17th, 2016
March 29th, 2016
June 14th, 2016
July 18th, 2016
August 1st, 2016
Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Dalit Asmita Yatra

Aug 1st, 2016 - Aug 15th, 2016

On July 11th 2016, 4 young Dalit men were publicly assaulted and humiliated because they were engaged in performing the only means of livelihood...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

"Your mother? You remove it !" - An Unprecedented Protest in Gujarat

July 18th, 2016

On July 11th 2016, 4 young Dalit men were publicly assaulted and humiliated because they were engaged in performing the only means of livelihood...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

The California Textbook Battle-Including Caste in the Curriculum

June 14th, 2016

Every six years the State of California’s Board of Education submits its frameworks for History-Social Science, Mathematics, and Science for review to...

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Atrocities

Delta Meghwal

March 29th, 2016

On 29 March 2016, a young Dalit woman, 17 year old Delta Meghwal, was raped and murdered in her college in Nokha, Bikaner in the Western state of...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Rohith Vemula

January 17th, 2016

ROHITH VEMULA was a research scholar at the University of Hyderabad (UoH). In Life he inspired through his activism and in the wake of his...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Dalit, Queer and Proud at Delhi Pride

November 29th, 2015

On 29th November 2015, three young queer Dalits changed the face the Delhi queer pride. Dhrubo Jyoti, a journalist, Akhil Khang, a lawyer and Dhiren...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

First Global Conference on Dalit Rights

Mar 19th, 2015 - Mar 21st, 2015

The International Commission for Dalit Rights (ICDR) and the Global Conference Organizing Committee (GCOC), a host of participating universities,...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Ongoing Struggle to Have a Dalit Chief Minister in Karnataka

March 15th, 2015

Janandolana for Dalit Chief Minister, a conglomeration of 50 groups representing various Dalit communities, demanded the Congress high command to...

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Dalit Women

Chithralekha

February 23rd, 2015

Chithralekha was born into a pulaya family, a Dalit caste in Kerala. Chithralekha’s husband Shreeshkanth is a Thiyya (an OBC caste). Both his family...

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Business

Trade Expo by DICCI

February 15th, 2015

The Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI)'s impressive show on the opening day of its fourth industrial and trade expo being held here...

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Business

Collaboration Between DICCI and Tata Projects

February 13th, 2015

Tata Projects and the industry body Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Dicci), with the support of Telangana government, would set up...

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Dalit Women

Women's Congress at Sulthanbathery, Kerala

January 25th, 2015

State Adivasi, Women’s Congress at Sulthanbathery (Wayanad), Kerala: “Our demands, therefore, should focus on the Right to Planning, Right to...

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Dalit Women

Madhu Bai Kinnar gets elected as Mayor

January 5th, 2015

Madhu Nai Kinnar , a Dalit transwoman independent candidate, defeated her opponent from prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) by...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Launching of Asia Dalit Rights Forum (ADRF) at PSAARC

November 22nd, 2014

The Asia Dalit Rights Forum (ADRF) was launched at the People’s SAARC in Kathmandu in November. The mission of the forum is to eradicate caste-based...

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Sports

Purna Malavath and Anand Kumar scaled Mount Everest

May 25th, 2014

In a historic feat for Indian mountaineering, 13-year-old Malavath Purna today became the youngest female climber to scale the Mount Everest. Purna...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

US Resolution to Condemn Untouchability Introduced to the House of...

May 2nd, 2014

Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) introduced a resolution "Condemning Dalit untouchability" and "the practice of birth-descent discrimination...

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Dalit Women

Women in The World Summit in New York

April 9th, 2014

Dalit women ignite the audience: “Even if no one else recognizes us as human, we will shout it from the rooftops. … The shame is not on the women, the...

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Dalits in the Diaspora

Americans Declare Empathy with Dalits at US Congress Event

January 27th, 2014

Descendants of prominent African American families, who led the civil rights movement, presented a Declaration of Empathy to the US congress. The...

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Dalit Women

A Film in the Works about the Great Nangeli

October 19th, 2013

A FILM IN THE WORKS ABOUT THE GREAT NANGELI OF KERALA. Nangeli was a dalit woman who lived in the early 19th century at Cherthala in the erstwhile...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

European Parliament Resolution of Caste-based Discrimination

October 10th, 2013

The European Parliament debated – and then adopted – a resolution on caste discrimination, calling on the EU to strengthen its policy on the issue....

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Legislation/Politics

Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation...

September 7th, 2013

A Bill seeking to prohibit employment of individuals as manual scavengers by prescribing stringent punishment, including imprisonment up to five...

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Business

VC Fund for Dalit Entrepreneurship

June 26th, 2013

A venture capital fund, registered with the SEBI, has been floated to help promote entrepreneurship among Scheduled Castes and to facilitate...

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Atrocities

Dalit Minor Raped in Chandiigarh

January 1st, 2013

Dalit minor raped, force fed pesticide in Chandiigarh.

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Atrocities

Protest Mob Torches Houses in Natham

November 7th, 2012

On November 7, 2012, over 200 houses were torched in Natham, old and new Kondampatti and Annanagar Dalit colonies in Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu....

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Business

Venture Capitalist Fund to Promote Dalit Business Launched

October 5th, 2012

A venture capital fund, dedicated to promoting Dalit entrepreneurs, has been registered by market regulator Sebi, paving the way for creation of a...

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Leaders

P.Dhanapal Named Assembly Speaker Nominee:

October 2nd, 2012

The ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Tuesday named Deputy Speaker P. Dhanapal (61) as its nominee for the post of Assembly Speaker,...

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Dalit Women

Dalit Woman becomes Sarpanch in Rajasthan

September 18th, 2012

Four kilometers from the famous village of Tilonia is Harmada. A land of freedom fighters, Harmada today has a Dalit woman sarpanch -- Nauroti. This...

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Sports

Mary Kom

August 8th, 2012

On the eve of International Indigenous Peoples Day, Mary Kom from Tribal Manipur became India’ first woman boxer to win a medal at the Olympics....

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Business

First National Dalit Trade Fair

Dec 16th, 2011 - Dec 18th, 2011

DICCI’s India’s first national level DICCI Trade Fair organized at Mumbai’s famous Bandra-Kurla Complex has entered into the consciousness of the...

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Business

Economic Times Article on Bhagwan Gawai

July 18th, 2011

The Economic Times reported the following: Bhagwan Gawai: From slum boy to millionaire, a true global citizen MUMBAI: BNP Paribas in Paris, one of...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

The Death of Merit – Caste Kills Dalit and Adivasi Students in Top Colleges

April 23rd, 2011

This documentary (in three parts) represents a series of efforts to document caste-based discrimination prevalent in Indian higher education system...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Dalit Families Boycotted in Rampar Village

January 22nd, 2011

The dominant castes ordered boycott of 15 dalit families in Rampar village of Surendranagar district of Gujarat. Showing courage and aptitude in the...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Dalit Camera: Through Un-Touchable Eyes

January 1st, 2011

Dalit Camera is an attempt at a historical documentation of the realities of life in India "through the eyes of the untouchable". It was founded by...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Samajik Parivarthan Yatra for Eradication of Manual Scavenging.

September 29th, 2010

Samajik Parivarthan Yatra, a strategic programme of Bus Yatra started from five different corners of India, and traversed through several districts in...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Public Interest Litigation for Dalit Reservations Filed by AICF

January 6th, 2010

Public interest litigation from the All India Christian Federation (AICF) was filed with the Supreme Court of India seeking reservations for all...

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Dalit Women

Dalit Writer Urmila Pawar Published "The Weave of My Life", Her...

July 1st, 2009

Urmila Pawar (b. 1945) received an MA from the University of Bombay ,and for many years worked in the department of labor welfare for the government...

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Dalit Women

MEIRA KUMAR - First Dalit Woman Speaker

April 6th, 2009

Meira Kumar is an Dalit politician and a five time Member of Parliament. She was elected unopposed as the first Dalit woman Speaker of Lok Sabha and...

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Legislation/Politics

Arunthathiyar Internal Reservation Act Passed

February 27th, 2009

The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a bill for reservation of three percent seats to Arunthathiyars in educational institutions,...

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Dalit Women

Ilavazhagi Wins World Carrom Championship

February 17th, 2008

India’s I. Ilavazhagi bagged her maiden women’s title in the fifth World Carrom Championship at Palais Des Festivals, Cannes, France. Ilavazhagi, who...

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Religion

Mass Conversion of Dalits to Buddhism 50 Years Later

May 28th, 2007

Tens of thousands gathered at Mahalaxmi Race Course in Mumbai on Sunday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar's conversion to Buddhism....

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Dalits in Nepal

Caste-based Discrimination and Untouchability Crime Elimination and...

May 24th, 2007

The Caste-based Discrimination and Untouchability Crime Elimination and Punishment Act, which was adopted unanimously by Nepal’s Interim Parliament on...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Thorat Committee Report on Caste Discrimination in AIIMS

May 5th, 2007

In September 2006 the Government of India established a committee to investigate caste-based discrimination and harassment of SC/ST students at the...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

European Parliament Hearing

December 18th, 2006

Hearing on "The Situation of the Dalits in India" at the European Parliament in Brussels.

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Hague International Conference on Dalit Women's Rights

Nov 20th, 2006 - Nov 21st, 2006

International Conference on Dalit Women's Rights, where delibereration attendees adopted a declaration on the Human Rights and Dignity of Dalit Women...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Hague Declaration on the Human Rights and Dignity of Dalit Women

Nov 20th, 2006 - Nov 21st, 2006

"WE, the participants of the Hague Conference on Dalit Women’s Rights, held in The Hague on 20 and 21 November 2006, after deliberating upon the...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Sachar Committee Report

November 1st, 2006

According to the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Act, 1990, Scheduled Castes can only belong to Hindu or Sikh or Buddhist...

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Religion

Mass Conversion in Gulbarga City

October 14th, 2006

Hundreds of people embraced Buddhism at a colourful function in Gulbarga city on Saturday. Bhante Bodhi Dhamma, senior Boudha Bhikshu of Japan,...

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Religion

Dalits Convert to Buddhism

October 1st, 2006

Across India this month, thousands of Hindus from the former Untouchable castes are converting to Buddhism in protest at the continuing discrimination...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Emergence of the Asia Dalit Rights Forum

Jan 16th, 2006 - Jan 21st, 2006

The idea of ADRF as a collective platform of Dalit rights protagonists emerged during the World Social Forum in Mumbai, India in 2004. This idea was...

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Dalit Women

Ruth Manorama Received the Right to Livelihood Award

January 12th, 2006

Ruth Manorama is a Dalit woman born in 1952 in Madras. Her parents escaped the worst consequences of being Dalits by becoming Christians. In 1975...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Musahar Demand Day

December 6th, 2004

DECEMBER 6. 2004: More than 5,000 Musahars organised Mushar Mang Diwas (Mushar Demand Day) and they marched to the Parliament to press for their...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Resolution on Muslim Dalit Quota Passed

December 6th, 2004

The Samajwadi Party-sponsored resolution, which demanded Constitutional amendment to provide reservations to Dalit Muslims and Christians in...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Dalit Dignity Rally

December 5th, 2004

DECEMBER 5, 2004: More than 50,000 people gathered and had a huge Dalit Dignity Rally at the Ram Lila Grounds. Grass root leaders of Dalits from all...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

World Dignity Day: International Day of Socially Excluded

December 5th, 2004

The Social Movements International Network/ World Assembly of Social Movements, in association dalit movements and mass organisations in India, gave a...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Formation of ICDR

December 1st, 2004

DECEMBER 1, 2004:, with the leadership of DB Sagar, Dalit NGO Federation (DNF-Nepal) organized an International Consultation on Caste-based...

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Dalits in the Diaspora

CasteWatchUK was Founded

July 1st, 2004

It was formally launched in July 2004 and registered as a Charity with the Charity Commission in February 2005. Building on the momentum created by...

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Legislation/Politics

89th Amendment of the Constitution Establishes NCST

February 19th, 2004

With the 89th Amendment, The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has been set up under Article 338A to oversee the implementation of various...

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Sports

Two Dalit Youth Killed for Winning Cricket Matches

January 1st, 2004

Two young dalits were killed by some upper caste Rajputs charging them of theft in a village near Saharanpur. The young men indulge in friendly...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

World Social Forum Mumbai

Dec 5th, 2003 - Jan 16th, 2004

Originally the World Social Forum (WSF) had been convened as an alternative to The World Economic Forum in Davos. Hosted for three years in Puerte...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Uprising Against the Jatt Sikh Landlords in Talhan

June 1st, 2003

In 2003, the Talhan village Gurudwara endured a bitter dispute between Jatt Sikh and Chamars. The Chamars came out in force and confronted the...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Dalit Consultation to India's 10th Five Year Plan

June 1st, 2002

JUNE 1, 2002: NACDOR, in association with CADAM, organised a Consultation on the Approach Paper of the 10th Five Year Plan and submitted a memorandum...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Bhopal Conference in Madhya Pradesh

Jan 12th, 2002 - Jan 13th, 2002

JANUARY 12-13, 2002: The conference was held at Bhopal in the Hindi Belt state of Madhya Pradesh, India. Its purpose was to address issues relating to...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Inauguration of Deekshabhoomi

December 18th, 2001

Deekshabhoomi (Marathi: दीक्षाभूमि) is a sacred monument of Buddhism at the place where the architect of the Indian Constitution, Dr. Babasaheb...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

NACDOR Founded

December 10th, 2001

DECEMBER 10, 2001:Initiated by Centre for Alternative Dalit Media (CADAM), National Confederation of Dalit Organisations (NACDOR) was launched in a...

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Religion

Mass Dalit Conversion to Buddhism

November 4th, 2001

A prominent Indian Navayana Buddhist leader and political activist, Udit Raj, organised a large mass conversion on 4 November 2001, where he gave the...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Dalit Adivasi Bahujan Minority Students Association Founded

April 14th, 2000

The immediate beginnings of this organization can be traced to the rustication of ten Dalit students in HCU, in 2001. Following this, the then CIEFL...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

International Dalit Solidarity Network is Founded

March 1st, 2000

MARCH 1, 2000: Together with the advocacy of Dalit leaders in India, the work of the activists in the diaspora led to the formal establishment of the...

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Atrocities

Kambalapalli Massacre

March 1st, 2000

In March 2000, seven Dalits were burnt alive by the dominant Vokkaligas in Kolar district in the state of Karnataka. The Vokkaliga community are...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Formation of NCDHR

October 1st, 1998

In October 1998, seventy-eight Dalit activists and human rights activists from across India, concerned about the frequent atrocities and the blatant...

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Dalits in Srilanka

Strike by Plantation workers begin in Sri Lanka

February 2nd, 1998

The Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) lead a strike of half a million tea and rubber plantation workers. They were seeking a 26.5% wage increase while...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

K R Narayanan Becomes First Dalit President of India

July 25th, 1997

He was the first dalit President and was in office until 25 July 2002. President Narayanan in his speeches consistently sought to remind the nation...

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Atrocities

Ambedkar Statue Desecrated in Ramabai

July 11th, 1997

On 11 July 1997, a statue of B.R. Ambedkar in the Dalit colony of Ramabai was desecrated by unknown individuals. An initially peaceful protest was...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

MRPS Second Rally in Hyderabad

June 6th, 1997

In Hyderabad, 10 Lakhs people rally and hold public meeting.

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Dalit Murasu was Started

January 1st, 1997

It was the birth centenary celebrations of Dr B R Ambedkar in the year 1991 that gave hope of a resurgence of the Dalit liberation struggle. The...

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Atrocities

Ranvir Sena Slaughters Dalits in Bathani Tola

July 11th, 1996

21 Dalits were slaughtered by the Ranvir Sena in Bathani Tola, Bhojpur in Bihar in 11 July 1996. Among the dead were 11 women, six children and three...

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Dalits in Srilanka

Privatization of Tea and Rubber Estates

January 6th, 1996

The government was proceeding with its program to privatize the country's tea and rubber estates. The Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) was threatening...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

MRPS Rally Visakhapatnam

September 28th, 1995

Rally and public meeting of 40,000 people

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

MRPS Rally Ongole

May 31st, 1995

A rally and public meeting of approximately 70,000 people was conducted in Ongole town. The first meeting of the MRPS was conducted on 31st May 1995...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

People's Watch India Founded

January 1st, 1995

People's Watch is an Indian Human Rights NGO founded by a group of social activists in 1995 and is based in Madurai in the southern Indian state of...

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Dalits in Nepal

Dalit Welfare Organisation Established

September 16th, 1994

The Dalit Welfare Organisation (DWO), established in 1994 and registered in the office of District Administration in Kathmandu on 16 September 1994,...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

First MRPS Meeting

August 25th, 1994

The first meeting in Ongole was conducted on 25th August 1994 with five thousand people. Subsequently the MRPS conducted a series of meeting covering...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS) Formed

June 7th, 1994

In the history Scheduled Castes for social justice in India, the Madiga Movement has a long legacy. This movement became dynamic when Manda Krishna...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Namantar Din

January 14th, 1994

Namantar means name change and andolan means social movement. The Namantar Andolan was a 16-year-long Dalit campaign to rename Marathwada University...

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Dalits in Nepal

Feminist Dalit Organization - Nepal , FEDO

January 1st, 1994

The Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO) was founded in 1994 by a group of courageous and conscious Dalit women working for Dalit women’s rights and...

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Dalits in Srilanka

Home Ownership for Tea Plantation Tamils

April 1st, 1992

Thousands of tea plantation workers hoped to become home owners for the first time in their history. The promise of ownership was given by the CWC,...

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Atrocities

Tsunder Massacre

August 6th, 1991

Reddys caught the fleeing Dalits, beat them with iron rods, and killed them with daggers and axes. They then packed some of the bodies in gunny bags...

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Legislation/Politics

Government of India Reserves Posts for OBCs

August 7th, 1990

National Front Government (Government of India) decided to reserve 27 percent posts for Other Backward Classes under the Central Government and public...

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Legislation/Politics

65th Amendment Act Includes Dalit Buddhists in Scheduled Caste Order

May 21st, 1990

The Constitution of India guaranteed rights to representation in legislatures, higher education and public employment for Scheduled Castes and...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Pasmanda Movements of the 90s and Beyond

January 1st, 1990

We bring to forefront a contemporary anti-caste struggle of Dalitbahujan Muslims in India –the Pasmanda Movement. “Pasmanda” is a Persian term...

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Sports

Yuvraj Walmiki - Representing Indian Hockey

November 29th, 1989

Yuvaraj Balmiki is an Indian professional field hockey player from Maharashtra. He was a member of 2011 Asian Men's Hockey Champions Trophy winning...

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Legislation/Politics

The SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act

September 11th, 1989

The SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act was enacted on 11th September 1989 with stringent provisions that extend to the whole of India except the State...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Rohith Vemula

January 30th, 1989

ROHITH VEMULA was a research scholar at the University of Hyderabad (UoH). In Life he inspired through his activism and in the wake of his...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Dalit Demonstration in Support of "Riddles in Hinduism"

February 5th, 1988

With the death centenary of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and the birth centenary of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar due in 1990-91, the state government of...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Pro-Reservation Rally

December 1st, 1985

DECEMBER 1, 1985: The Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF), Dalit Shoshit Sangharsh Samiti (DS-4) and the Bahujan Samaj...

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Legislation/Politics

Bahujan Samaj Party Founded

April 14th, 1984

The ideology of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is "Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation" of the "Bahujan Samaj", which is comprised of the...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Dr. Berwa Testifies on Dalit Human Rights at the UN

August 31st, 1982

Dr. Laxmi Berwa testified to the UN Sub-commission on Human Rights. He began his speech thus: "Today is a big day in the history of millions of...

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Business

Bhagwan Gawai Becomes Chairman and Managing Director for Saurabh Energy...

April 16th, 1982

Bhagwan Gawai becomes chairman and managing director for Saurabh Energy DMCC.

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Religion

The Twice-Alienated: Culture of Dalit Christians - Kothapalli Wilson

January 1st, 1982

Kothapalli Wilson’s work, The Twice-Alienated: Culture of Dalit Christians, marked a clear shift in the direction of Indian Christian theology in the...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

“Towards a Shudra Theology” Shakes the Church

April 1st, 1981

The event that if said to have originated the strand of Dalit theology is Arvind P. Nirmal’s address entitled “Towards a Shudra Theology” to the...

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Legislation/Politics

Mandal Commission Established

January 1st, 1979

The decision of the Janata Party Government with Mr. Morarji Desai as PM to set up a second backward classes commission was made official by the...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

BAMCEF Founded

December 6th, 1978

The All India Backward (SC, ST, OBC) And Minority Communities Employees' Federation, known as BAMCEF, is an organization of employees from Scheduled...

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Dalits in the Diaspora

Ambedkar Memorial Mission Founded in Canada

November 7th, 1978

In Canada, the Ambedkar Memorial Mission was founded in Vancouver in 1978, but moved to Toronto the next year and was renamed the Ambedkar Mission....

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Legislation/Politics

National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Established

August 1st, 1978

The first Commission for SCs and STs was set up in August 1978 with Shri Bhola Paswan Shastri as chairman and other four Members. In 1990, The...

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Dalits in the Diaspora

VISION founded by Dr. Shobha Singh in the United States

June 1st, 1978

The first association in the United States, Volunteers in the Service of India’s Oppressed and neglected (VISION), was founded in the early 1970s in...

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Atrocities

Atrocities Against Jatvas

April 14th, 1978

The organization protested the Indian government’s handling of upper caste violence against Jatvas, a Dalit community in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. As part...

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Arts & Literature

Sunil Abhiman Awachar: An inimitable voice in Dalit poetry and painting

January 26th, 1978

Dr. Sunil Abhiman Awachar is well known as a poet and painter, also an assistant professor with the Department of Marathi in University of Mumbai....

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Atrocities

Marichjhanpi Massacre

January 1st, 1978

We defiantly tell the genocide of Dalits at Marichjhapi in West Bengal. The events involved The Namashudras, Who at that time were a politically...

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Legislation/Politics

Dalit Sangharsha Samiti (DSS)

June 1st, 1977

Karnataka Dalit Sangharsha Samiti (DSS) came into existence in June 1977, though it was registered in the year 1974-75. DSS developed and emerged as a...

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Leaders

Death of Bhikku Jagdish Kashyap

January 28th, 1976

Bhikkhu Jagdish Kashyap was born in 1908 in Ranchi, Bihar (now Jharkhand), India. His birth name was Jagdish Narain, and the name Kashyap was given to...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Dalit Panthers is Founded

April 1st, 1972

The Dalit Panthers was a social organization founded by Namdeo Dhasal, Raja Dhale, and Arun Kamble in April 1972 in Mumbai. Formed in the state of...

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Leaders

Radhika Vemula

January 1st, 1971

Radhika Vemula, born of Dalit parents, she was adopted by a Shudra couple when she was still a baby. Throughout her life, she experienced several...

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Business

Birthdate of Rajesh Saraiya

October 2nd, 1969

Rajesh Saraiya is an industrialist, and one of India's first Dalit millionaires. Born on 2nd October 1969, Rajesh Saraiya is CEO of the UK-based...

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Dalits in the Diaspora

Dr. Ambedkar Memorial Committee of Great Britain

July 19th, 1969

The first of these diasporic associations was established by dalit immigrants to the United Kingdom. Punjabi immigrants to Wolverton in the English...

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Sports

I.M. Vijayan - Football Player

April 25th, 1969

Inivalappil Mani Vijayan is one of the leading Indian football players of modern times. Vijayan started out as a seller of soda bottles in the Trichur...

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Dalit Women

Shyamala Gogu

January 1st, 1969

This date represents the birth year of Shyamala Gogu : a Dalit feminist writer, poet, artist and activist in Telangana, India. She was born in...

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Dalits in Nepal

Durga Sob - Defining Dalit Leadership

July 3rd, 1966

Durga Sob was just 10 when she realized she was from the Dalit. She narrates, “I drank from a water pot that other people used, and by sharing this...

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Leaders

Birthdate of Manda Krishna Madiga, leader of MRPS

July 7th, 1965

Manda Krishna Madiga is a Dalit politician and activist fighting for the rights of the madigas. He heads the movement fighting for the rights of the...

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Arts & Literature

Kalekuri Prasad - Rebellion and Poetry

October 25th, 1964

Kalekuri Prasad was one of the great rebel Dalit Telugu poets who came out of the People's War Group and VIRASAM (The Revolutionary Writer's...

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Dalit Women

Phoolan Devi

August 10th, 1963

Phoolan Devi (1963 – 2001) was born into a traditional boatman class Mallaah family, she was kidnapped by a gang of dacoits. The Gujjar leader of the...

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Leaders

Reverend Dr. Evangeline Anderson-Rajkumar

March 19th, 1963

Reverend Dr Evangeline Anderson-Rajkumar, a Dalit spiritual leader whose struggle and contributions have revolutionized the Church’s approach to...

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Arts & Literature

Savi Savarkar - Drawing the Struggle

January 23rd, 1961

Savi, as he is popularly known had to face the mainstream modern Indian Art and struggled to evolve a space for Dalit art and imagery in the realm of...

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Leaders

Udit Raj -Bringing Dalit Buddhism to Political Activism

January 1st, 1958

Udit Raj (born as Ram Raj) was born in Ramnagar, Uttar Pradesh into a low caste Khatik (butcher) Hindu family, and studied BA at Allahabad...

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Arts & Literature

Bama - Dalit Novelist and Teacher

January 1st, 1958

Our village is very beautiful." This was the opening line of 'Kurukku', the childhood memoirs written in Tamil by Dalit writer Bama. 'Kurukku', (which...

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Religion

Mass Conversion Drive by Pragyanand

January 1st, 1957

In 1957, Pragyanand held a mass conversion drive in Lucknow for 15,000 lay persons, a mammoth gathering and the biggest in those days in northern...

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Dalits in Srilanka

Prevention of Social Disabilities Act

January 1st, 1957

The Government of Sri Lanka passed the Prevention of Social Disabilities Act making it an offense to deny access to various public places to persons...

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Religion

Historic Mass Conversion of Ambedkar and Other Dalits to Buddhism

October 14th, 1956

Ambedkar organised a formal public ceremony for himself and his supporters in Nagpur on 14 October 1956. Accepting the Three Refuges and Five Precepts...

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Legislation/Politics

Republican Party of India Established

October 14th, 1956

One of the first post-independence parties for Dalits emerging was the Republican Party of India. At the day of his mass conversion to Buddhism at...

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Leaders

Eknath Awad

September 1st, 1956

Advocate Eknath Awad, who is also known as “Jija” fondly, (meaning “the respected”). he was born in Maharashtra on 19th January 1956 in a Potraj...

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Dalit Women

Mayawati Kumari

January 15th, 1956

Mayawati Kumari is an Indian politician who served four terms as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (UP) as head of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which...

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Dalit Women

Birthdate of P. Sivakami

December 1st, 1955

P.Sivakami, an I.A.S officer of the 1980 group from Tamil Nadu, chose a deliberate exit from significant post mainly to fight atrocities towards...

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Sports

Death of Babaji Palwankar Baloo

July 4th, 1955

He was the first Dalit (Chamar in hindu caste system) to make a significant impact on Indian cricket. He bowled left-arm spin with great accuracy and...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Dr. Ambedkar and Periyar Discuss Conversion to Buddhism

December 5th, 1954

Dr. Ambedkar met Periyar in Rangoon during the Third International Buddhist Conference. Dr. Ambedkar revealed that he had decided to convert to...

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Leaders

Prakash Yashwant Ambedkar

May 10th, 1954

Prakash Yashwant Ambedkar is an Indian politician. He is national leader of a local political party called Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM). He is the...

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Leaders

Kotiganahalli Ramaiah - Dalit Cultural Icon from Karnataka

January 1st, 1954

Kotiganahalli Ramaiah is an eminent Dalit poet, playwright, philosopher and cultural activist from Karnataka, India. He is one of the founders of...

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Leaders

Katti Padma Rao - Poet-Activist

July 27th, 1953

Katti Padma Rao is an Indian poet and dalit activist. Dalit activist and energetic publicist and leader of the Dalit Mahasabha in Telugu speaking...

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Leaders

Kancha Ilaiah - Leader and Author of "Why I am Not a Hindu"

October 5th, 1952

Kancha Ilaiah is an Indian activist for Dalit rights and a writer. His books include Why I am not a Hindu, Post-Hindu India: A Discourse in...

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Legislation/Politics

Ganti Mohana Chandra Balayogi

October 1st, 1951

Ganti Mohana Chandra Balayogi (October 1, 1951 – March 3, 2002) was an Indian lawyer and politician. Growing up in a small village, Balayogi had to...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Dr. Ambedkar Resigns from Nehru's Cabinet Citing Lack of Support for the...

September 9th, 1951

When Ambedkar spearheaded the passing of the Hindu Code Bill, he had initial support from Nehru, who had declared that his government would “stand or...

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Arts & Literature

Om Prakash Valmiki

June 30th, 1950

Om Prakash Valmiki was an Indian Dalit writer and poet well known for his autobiography, Joothan, considered a milestone in Dalit literature. He was...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

The Constitution of India Takes Effect

January 26th, 1950

January 26, 1950: The Constitution of India came into force, ending the British Sovereignty over India. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar is the Father of the...

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Leaders

Periyar Imprisoned for Publication of "Ponmozhigal" Book

January 22nd, 1950

Periyar was sentenced to undergo imprisonment for the publication of his book ‘Ponmozhigal’ (Golden sayings).

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Ambedkar Spearheads the Hindu Code Bill

January 11th, 1950

After his great triumph in the Constituent Assembly in spearheading the preparation of Constitution of India, Dr. Ambedkar returned to Bombay with a...

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Leaders

Birthdate of Namdheo Dhasal

February 15th, 1949

Namdeo Dhasal was a Dalit poet, writer, and revolutionary who was born on February 15, 1949, in Pur Kanersar village near Pune, India to a butcher's...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Temple Entry Agitation in Gujarat

January 14th, 1948

Five hundred dalit satyagrahis collected at the gate of Swaminarayan Temple in Kalupur, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The Kalaram Temple Agiation that took...

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Leaders

Periyar's View of Birth Control Reported in Kudi Arasu Magazine

January 1st, 1948

Periyar’s view on birth control reported in Kusi Arasu magazine. First of all, whether a woman needs birth-control or not should be entirely woman’s...

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Atrocities

The Supreme Court of India Rules in Favor of an Adivasi Woman

January 1st, 1948

The Supreme Court upheld the conviction of four persons for stripping a tribal woman and parading her naked in a Maharashtra village in broad ...

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Legislation/Politics

Constituent Assembly Adopts Resolution

January 22nd, 1947

his resolution was moved by Jawaharlal Nehru on 13 December 1946, and adopted by the constiutent assembly on 22 January 1947. The constituent assembly...

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Leaders

Dr.B.R.Ambedkar and W.E.B. DuBois

July 31st, 1946

An interesting record appears in the papers of W.E.B. Du Bois, the prominent African American intellectual and activist, whose archive is housed at...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Hindu - Mahar Riots

January 16th, 1946

JANUARY 16, 1946: In the wake of the growing tensions of the Poona Act of 1932, and the fight around separate electorates for Dalits and Savarnas,...

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Leaders

Birthdate of P.L. Punia

January 23rd, 1945

Panna Lal Punia, usually known as P. L. Punia, is an Indian politician and Member of the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh since 2014. He was member of...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Dr. Ambedkar's Lecture on "Ranade, Gandhi, and Jinnah"

January 18th, 1943

Dr. Ambedkar delivered the lecture on “Ranade, Gandhi and Jinnah” on the occasion of 101st birthday celebration of Ranade in Gokhale Memorial Hall,...

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Dalit Women

Sulochanabai Dongre Presided Over the 2nd Session of the All India...

July 20th, 1942

She was a fearless leader in the All India Depressed classes Women Congress. She presided over the 2nd session of All India Depressed classes women’s...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Founding of the Scheduled Castes Federation

Jul 17th, 1942 - Jul 20th, 1942

The All-India Scheduled Castes Federation was founded by Dr. Ambedkar in a national convention of the scheduled castes held at Nagpur and led by Rao...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Founding of Dera Sach Khand by Devotees of Guru Ravidass

January 5th, 1942

Dera Sach Khand is a religious social organization based in the village of Ballan near Jalandhar, Punjab, India. It was founded by devotees of Guru...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

The First Publication of The Annihilation of Caste

May 15th, 1936

This was an undelivered speech written in 1936 by B. R. Ambedkar, The speech was prepared as the presidential address for the annual conference of a...

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Leaders

The Father of Dalit Theology - Arvind P. Nirmal

January 1st, 1936

This was the birthyear of Arvind P. Nirmal (1936–1995), the father of Dalit Christian theology and a member of the Church of North India. He...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Yeola Declaration

October 13th, 1935

Historical Yeola Conversion Conference held under the Presidentship of Dr. Ambedkar at Yeola Dist., Nasik. He exhorted the Depressed Classes to leave...

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Legislation/Politics

The Government of India Act

August 1st, 1935

Act legislated by the British government giving Indians limited roles in the provincial and central legislatures in order to appease growing demands...

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Leaders

Birthdate of Kanshi Ram

March 15th, 1934

Kanshi Ram (15 March 1934 – 9 October 2006) was an Indian politician and social reformer who worked for the upliftment and political mobilisation of...

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Leaders

Matadin Bhangi's Question Seeds the Indian Rebellion of 1857

March 15th, 1934

Matadin Bhangi is claimed to be the father of the 1857 rebellion. There was a factory in Barrackpore where cartridges were manufactured, and many of...

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Leaders

Dashrath Manjhi

January 1st, 1934

Dashrath Manjhi (c. 1934 – 17 August 2007) was born into a poor labourer family in Gehlaur village, near Gaya in Bihar, India. He is known as...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Dr. Ambedkar Refuses to Support Temple Entry Bill

February 4th, 1933

Gandhi requested Dr. Ambedkar to lend his support to Dr. Subbarayan’s Temple entry Bill and that of Ranga Iyer-when both met on 4th Feb. 1934 at...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Hyderabad Census Report on Adi-Hindu Identity Discussion (Adi- Movements)

January 1st, 1931

It reports, “ A controversy recently raged in the press as to whether Adi-Hindus are Hindus. While the caste Hindus maintained a discrete silence, two...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

NYT Article: "Prince and Outcaste at Dinner in London"

November 30th, 1930

Charles A. Selden wrote an article in New York Times titled "Prince and Outcast at Dinner in London," based on an interview with Dr. Ambedkar. The...

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Arts & Literature

Baburao Bagul

July 17th, 1930

Baburao Bagul was a Marathi writer from Maharashtra, India; a pioneer of modern literature in Marathi and an important figure in the Indian short...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Kalaram Mandir Satyagraha

March 2nd, 1930

The Nashik Kalaram temple started under B.K (Dadasaheb) Gaikwad's direction. Dr. Ambedkar addressed the conference the next day after the procession....

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Legislation/Politics

Janta Newspaper Report on Gandhi and Leadership

January 9th, 1930

Janta newspaper reported that: 'The greatest presumption on Gandhi's part at the Round Table Conference (first) was that he claimed that he...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Periyar Visits Malaya Tamils Conference

December 23rd, 1929

Periyar inaugurated the Tamils Conference convened by the Tamils Reformatory Sangam, at Ipoh which is the capital city of Perak State of Malaysia. In...

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Leaders

Death of Narayana Guru

September 20th, 1928

Narayana Guru (ca. 1854–1928), also known was Dalit sant, sadhu and social reformer of India. He was born into an Ezhava family, in an era when people...

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Arts & Literature

P. K. Rosy

January 1st, 1928

P.K Rosy holds the distinction of being the first heroine and the first Dalit heroine of Malayalam cinema. Most accounts of her life and work are not...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Dr. Ambedkar Addresses the First Official Gathering of Dalit Women

December 27th, 1927

This was the third day of the Mahad Conference (at Raigad district, Maharashtra) to realize right of depressed classes to fetch water from Chavdar...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Adi-Hindu Conference and Procession in Allahabad

December 26th, 1927

25,000 dalits, led by Swami Achuhtanand and G A Gavai took a procession in Allahabad city as part of Adi-Hindu movement’s conference. The Adi-Hindu...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Manusmriti Dahan Din

December 25th, 1927

DECEMBER 25, 1927: On this day in 1927 the Manusmriti. the casteist and misogynist Hindu Book of Laws, was publicly burned by Dr. Ambedkar, during the...

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Dalits in Srilanka

Birthdate of Dominic Jeeva

June 27th, 1927

Dominic Jeeva is a prominent minority Sri Lankan Tamil author and literary figure from Sri Lanka. A dalit, Dominic Jeeva was for a period of time...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Mahad Satyagraha by Ambedkar

March 20th, 1927

MARCH 20 1927: The Mahad Satyagraha was a satyagraha (a nonviolent act of resistance) led by B. R. Ambedkar to allow Dalits to use the water in a...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Samta Sainik Dal (Soldiers for Equality) Founded

March 13th, 1927

Samata Sainik Dal (Army of Soldiers for Equality or Party of the Fighters for Equality) is a social organisation founded by B. R. Ambedkar in 1927...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Kasaba Jadhav, India's First Olympic Medalist

January 15th, 1926

Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav was widely known as 'Pocket Dynamo'. He was born in Goleshwar Tal Village in Karad Tashil of district Satara, Maharashtra in...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Self-Respect Movement Begins

March 1st 1925

MARCH 1, 1925: Periyar E.V. Ramaswami launched the Self-Respect Movement in Tamil Nadu on March 1, 1925. The main tenets of the Self-Respect...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Bahishkrit Hitakrini Sabha Founded

July 20th, 1924

JULY 20, 1924: Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha was established by Dr. B.R.Ambedkar in Damodar Hall of Mumbai, as the central organization for bringing...

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Dalit Women

Shantabai Kamble

March 1st, 1923

Shantabai Krushnaji Kamble is a Marathi writer and Dalit activist. She was born into a Mahar Dalit family on March 1, 1923, in Mahud, Solapur....

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Dalit Women

Birthdate of Sathyavani Muthu

February 15th, 1923

Sathyavani Muthu was an Indian politician and an influential dalit leader. She was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu, Rajya Sabha...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Cheramar Maha JanSabha Founded

January 14th, 1921

The Cheramar Maha JanSabha was founded in Kerala by Pampady John Joseph. He was of the view that the caste name ‘Pulaya’ was disgraceful as it denoted...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Annabhau Sathe

August 1st, 1920

Annabhau Sathe was born on 1 August 1920 in the village of Wategaon near Sangli in a family belonging to the a Dalit Mang community. Annabhau Sathe...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

First All India Conference of the Depressed Classes

May 30th, 1920

The First All India Conference of the Depressed Classes was held at Nagpur on 30-31 May and 1 June 1920. It was Presided over by Chatrapati Shahuji...

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Dalit Women

Rajamani Devi

February 10th, 1920

Rajamani Devi was an early Dalit woman leader who emerged from the Mala community during the Adi movements in Andhra. She became the Joint Secretary...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Ambedkar Started the Mooknayak Newspaper

January 31st, 1920

Chatrapati Shahuji Maharaj had donated Rs 2500 as seed money to start Mooknayak (Leader of the Dumb). This Marathi weekly paper championed the causes...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

The Adi Movements

Jan 1st, 1920 - Dec 31st, 1931

1920's-1930's: Many Dalit, Bahujan, and Adivasi activists of the 1920s, organizing as non-Brahmans and Dalits, were drawn to an anti-caste,...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

First Adi-Andhra Mahajana Sabha

January 1st, 1917

In the 1920s and 1930s, militant Dalits were thoroughly rejecting both the “Panchama”(The Fifth, referring to their position outside the caste system)...

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Leaders

Death of Subedar Major Ramji Maloji Sakpal

February 2nd, 1915

Death of Subedar Major Ramji Maloji Sakpal, father of Dr. Ambedkar

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Dalit Women

DAKSHAYANI VELAYUDHAN.

April 7th, 1912

Dakshayani Velayudhan was an Indian parliamentarian and leader of the Depressed Classes. Belonging to the Pulaya community, she was among the first...

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Leaders

Jagjivan Ram (Babuji)

April 5th, 1908

Jagjivan Ram (5 April 1908 – 6 July 1986), known popularly as Babuji, was an Indian independence activist and politician from Bihar. He belonged to...

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Dalit Women

ANNAI MEENAMBAL SIVARAJ

December 26th, 1904

Annai Meenambal Sivaraj as born to Mr. V.G. Vasudevapillai and Meenakshi. Annai's father was famous among the Adi-Dravida Leaders, who became the...

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Leaders

Birthdate of Mahapran Jogendernath Mandal

January 29th, 1904

Mahapran Jogendernath Mandal was the leader of Scheduled Caste communities in Bengal, born in an untouchable Namasudra family. He was the son of...

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Leaders

Birthdate of Babu L.N. Hardas

January 6th, 1904

Hardas Laxmanrao Nagrale, (1904–1939), popularly known as Babu L.N. Hardas was a Dalit leader and social reformer in India. He was an ardent follower...

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Leaders

Birthdate of Jagannathan Shivashanmugam Pillai

February 24th, 1901

Jagannathan Shivashanmugam Pillai (February 24, 1901 – February 17, 1975) was an Indian politician of the Indian National Congress. In 1938, he became...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Gurram Jashuva

September 28th, 1895

Gurram Jashuva (or G Joshua) : Dalit poet and writer from Andhra Pradesh, Jashuva initially worked as primary school teacher. He then worked as...

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Leaders

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

April 14th, 1891

While to the most of the country and the world, Dr. B. R Ambedkar is known as the architect of the Indian constitution, a social reformer, and an...

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Leaders

Birthdate of Sahodaran Ayyappan

August 21st, 1889

Sahodaran Ayyappan (21 August 1889 – 6 March 1968) was a social reformer, thinker, journalist, and politician of Kerala, India. He was one of the...

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Leaders

Mangu Ran Muggowal

January 14th, 1886

Born in Punjab in 1886, Muggowal, like other members of the Ghadar Party, immigrated to the U.S. for economic reasons and became involved in the ...

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Leaders

Birthdate of M.C. Rajah

June 17th, 1883

Rao Bahadur Mylai Chinna Thambi Pillai Rajah and was a Dalit politician, social and political activist from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.He...

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Leaders

Birthdate of Kisan Faguji Bansod

February 18th, 1879

Kisan Faguji Bansod was born on 18th Feb 1879 at village Mohapa near Nagpur in Maharashtra. He belonged to Mahar caste. He passed teacher training but...

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Sports

Babaji Palwankar Shivram

March 6th, 1878

Babaji Palwankar Shivram was an Indian cricketer who was one of the most successful Dalit players for the Hindus cricket team in the Bombay...

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Leaders

Birsa Munda - Jai Adivasi!

November 15th, 1875

“Our land is blowing away as the dust blows away in the storm”-Dharti Aba Birsa Munda Birsa Munda (1875–1900) was a tribal leader and a folk hero,...

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Leaders

Birthdate of Chatrapati Shahu Maharaj

June 26th, 1874

Chatrapati Shahu Maharaj implemented one of the most early affirmative action policies (Provided 50% Reservation in his state, on 26 July 1902)...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

First Priestless Marriage by Savitribai Phule

December 25th, 1873

The first marriage without a priest was arranged by Savitribai Phule under the aegis of Satyshodhak Samaj (The Truth Seekers Society). This was an...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Satyashodhak Samaj Established

September 24th, 1873

Satyashodhak Samaj is a religion established by Jyotirao Phule on on this day. This was started as a group whose main aim was to liberate the social...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Vaikom Satyagraha

September 24th, 1873

Vaikom Satyagraha (1924–25) was a satyagraha (movement) in Travancore, India (now part of Kerala) against untouchability in Hindu society. The...

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Dalit Women

UdaDevi- Dalit Virangani

January 1st, 1857

The dalit women heroes of the 1857 Rebellion have become symbols of dalit assertion and pride. Such a legendary character who is claimed to have...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

First Infanticide Prohibition Home Started by Savitribai Phule

January 28th, 1853

There were a large number of widows in the Pune City and the nearby villages, including adolescents and young girls. These widows were boycotted...

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Leaders

Rev Rathnam John

January 1st, 1846

Adi Dravidar from Madras thousand lights area. Completed School Education. He wanted to belong to a more egalitarian religion like Christianity and...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

K. Ayothidhasar (editor of Oru Paisa Tamilan) Born in Chennai

May 20th, 1845

Iyothee Thass or Pandit C. Ayodhya Dasa (Tamil: அயோத்தி தாசர்) (May 20, 1845 – 1914) was a practitioner of Siddha medicine who is regarded as a...

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Dalit Women

Savitribai Phule

January 3rd, 1831

Savitribai Phule was a great feminist social reformer of her time. She fought against the totalitarianism of caste and other social evils in India....

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Dalit Women

Jhalkaribai

November 22nd, 1830

Jhalkaribai (November 22, 1830 – 1858) was the legendary Dalit woman warrior who played an important role in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 during...

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Leaders

Jyotirao Phule

April 11th, 1827

Jyotirao Govindrao Phule was born in Satara district of Maharastra state in India in a family belonging to Mali caste [shudra varna of Hindu...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

The Battle of Bhima Koregaon

January 1st, 1818

The Battle of Koregaon took place on January 1, 1818, at the banks of the river Bhima in Koregaon, northwest of Pune, India. There a small force of...

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Leaders

Shri Hari Chand Thakur

March 11th, 1811

Shri Hari Chand Thakur was a great social reformer born in NamaSudra Community in Bengal. Harichand received little formal education. After completing...

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Arts & Literature

Early Report on the Art of Leather-Making

January 1st, 1807

Leather work is often deemed a Dalit profession because it requires intimate contact with cows, cow flesh and cow hide. It is often seen as a job that...

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Leaders

Baba Tilka Manjhi

January 1st, 1784

Baba Tilka Manjhi (or Jabra paharia was the first Adivasi (SANTHAL) leader who took up arms against the British in the 1784, around 100 years before...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Birth of Guru Ghasidas

December 18th, 1756

Guru Ghasidas was born on 18 December 1756 and died at the age of eighty in 1836. He was born in village Girodhpuri 130 kms from Raipur of...

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Early Origins

Sant Tukaram

January 1st, 1608

Sant Tukaram was born Tukaram Bolhoba Ambile was born in the years around 1608 and lived most of his life in Dehu, a town close to Pune in...

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Early Origins

Sant Kabir Das

January 1st, 1440

Saint Kabir Das is widely acknowledged as one of the great personality of the Bhakti movement in North India. He is one of the medieval Indian saints...

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Early Origins

Sant Karamamela

March 1st, 1400

Sant Karamamela was a fourteenth-century poet saint from Maharashtra. He was a son of Chokhamela and Soyarabai who belonged Mahar caste. In his...

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Early Origins

Sant Soyarabai

February 1st, 1400

Sant Soyarabai was woman saint of the Bhakti tradition. She belonged to Mahar caste in 14th century Maharashtra, India. She followed her husband...

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Early Origins

Vithoba Sant Chokhamela - Bhakthi Movements

January 1st, 1400

Vithoba Sant Chokhamela was a Marathi poet and a leading figure of the Bhatki Movement. He lived in Mangalvedha near Pandharpur in Maharashtra with...

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Early Origins

Birthdate of Guru Ravidass

February 14th, 1377

Ravidass (also Ravidas, Raidas, Rohidas and Ruhidas in eastern India) was a North Indian Guru mystic of the bhakti movement from Ramanandi Sampradaya...

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Struggles/Movements/Resolutions

Anti-caste struggle by Basaveshwara

January 1st, 1100

One of the first historical anti-caste movements in Karnataka was initiated by Basaveshwara in 12th century A.D. It is also popularly known as the...

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Early Origins

FaXian's Writings Provide Evidence of Widespread Untouchability

January 1st, 0005

Beginning of 5th century CE : FaXian, was a Chinese Buddhist monk who travelled by foot all the way from China to India, visiting many sacred Buddhist...

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Early Origins

Ekalavya

Jan 1st, 0400 BC

400BCE-4CE: Eklavaya. The story of Ekalavaya is known to most Dalits. This is the story of an Adivasi warrior-archer whose aim is so sure that the...

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Early Origins

Saint Nandanar

January 1st, 1200 BC

The Tamil Periya Puranam, the great epic is a Tamil poetic account depicting the legendary lives of the sixty-three Nayanars, the canonical Tamil...

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Early Origins

RIGVEDA: Religiously Sanctioning CASTE

January 1st, 1500 BC

1500 – 1100 BCE. Rigveda, 19th hymn of 10th mandala - the Purusha Suktha. The theory of the origin of the universe. " When (the gods) divided...

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Early Origins

WHAT IS CASTE ?

December 31st, 1501 BC

The word “Caste” itself stems from the Spanish and Portuguese “casta”, which means “race, lineage, or breed”. It was applied by white colonials during...

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2000 BC

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    By dalitdiva
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    Dalit History Month

    Dalit History Month is a participatory radical history project. Our goal is to share the contributions to history from Dalits around the world. We are a parallel model of scholarship to academic institutions that study Dalits without Dalits in collaborative or lead roles of research. We believe in the power of our stories to change the savarna narrative of our experience as one solely of atrocity into one that is of our own making. Our story may have begun in violence but we continue forward by emphasizing our assertion and resistance. Join the conversation at #Dalithistorymonth on facebook, twitter, and your communities.

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    Dalit Asmita Yatra
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