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Paper short abstract:

Imbibed in the social structure, caste is a live force in Indian culture and politics. This ethnographic study engages with the Dalit identity assertion in the everyday politics of student mobilisation through anti-caste politics, iconography and ideology at the University of Hyderabad, India.

Paper long abstract:

India has witnessed a radical political shift since the 1990s. Two paradoxical paradigms— neo-liberalism and social justice, continue to affect the socio-political discourse in every social setting. My research engages with one of the critical sites, ‘the university’, to understand the ‘socio-politics of caste’ using the ‘perspective from below’ in India. Further, the study examines the caste question to understand the role of the state, universities and the Dalit student organizations to critically analyze the issues of recognition, redistribution and representation.

The Dalits in Indian society experience exclusion and humiliation in every realm of social life. On the other hand, their mobilization in recent years is most noticeable in electoral politics, suggesting an identity assertion and resistance from the ex-untouchables. Similarly, counter-assertions and developing antagonisms with dominant groups are visible on university campuses. This paper is based on an ethnographic study from January 2019 to January 2020 at the University of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It examines how the Dalit identity is formed through organized collective action on university campuses. Apart from advancing a sociological understanding of representation, this paper develops a critical perspective on the actors animating the politics of social emancipation.

One of the significant manifestations of the Dalit identity in the universities finds expression through identity assertion in the form of counter-culture celebrations. However, the everyday student activism of the Dalits results in contestation with other student groups and the university administration. Correspondingly, the study documents the historical moment of identity politics in the student movement in India.