Author: Ambrose PintoPublisher: Indian Social InstituteYear: 1999Language: EnglishPages: 179ISBN/UPC (if available): 8187218169 DescriptionDivided into three parts - Experience, Reflection and Action, this book is an outcome of a three day seminar held in Delhi, where over hundred Dalit students pursuing their post-graduate and research degrees attempted to define their identity as Dalits.Around two hundred and fifty million humans of the country are termed as impure, untouchables and polluted by India's caste system. Where working in the field from dawn to dust, chained to landlords as bonded laborers, working as scavengers, sweepers and in other professions, theirs is a miserable existence. They are not considered as humans at all. Untouchability remains abolished by the constitution. And yet the fact is that it not only exists but pervades the mental framework of caste people. In this book, privileged students of untouchable community pursuing their research degrees in several universities across the country at their very first national Congress share their experiences, reflect on the reality of their lives and propose an action plan for their liberation from bondage. It is a book of the Dalit students and provides a deep insight into their psyche.ContentsIntroductionWelcome SpeechPART I : EXPERIENCESExperiences of DiscriminationExperiences of AtrocitiesExperiences of HarassmentPrejudices Against DalitDalit IdentityVarna and OppressionMulti-dimensional ExploitationDalit Identity and Student Politics in JNUDeconstruction and Reconstruction of Dalit Identities in U.P.PART II ; REFLECTIONSHistoriographical Critique on the Dalit MovementChange in Nomenclature : A Historical NoteFormation of Dalit IdentityDalit Identity in the Ambedkar EraDalit Economy and IdentityPsycho-Social Dimensions of Dalit IdentityDalit Women's Quest for IdentityReligious Conversions and Dalit IdentityReligious and IdentityPART III : ACTIONOur Cripped Identity: United We need to StandDalit Mobilization through EducationPlan of Action for LiberationConversion as a DeviceActivating Social Capital for Dalit IdentityAnnexuresFinal Statement of the National Assembly of Dalit University Students On Dalit IdentityParticipants
