Paper short abstract:

Indian political economy has witnessed transformation from demands of redistributive to recognitive forms of justice. This paper aims at focusing on understanding alternative forms of justice constructed by marginalized Dalits.

Paper long abstract:

My doctoral work on 'The Dalit Quest for Recognition and Redistribution: The Politics of Deras in Punjab', aims to examine the development politics of the state which creates compulsions for the inclusion of one group and the exclusion of the other in the process of its redistributive justice which the modern liberal state has taken upon itself in the form of welfare state in order to retain its legitimacy which facilitates its governance.

In this context, I study caste politics in Punjab, a state in India where Dera politics constructs alternative forms of politics of recognition based on the acquired redistributive benefits of state policy.

I argue that inequality exists at differential levels, both economic as well as social. As my work focuses upon the (in) capacities of state policies to deliver social recognition as a policy response to the existing social inequality, how communities seek alternative form of justice through articulation of their own identity thereby creating a space for more just future for themselves becomes an intriguing issue that is to be examined.

Historically, Deras in Punjab are older than Sikh religion. However, their revival in such a way that their vision for future with less unjust society through the creation of separate Dalit identity in Punjab creates a challenge for status-quo.

The use of poetry, teachings and legends about the life of Ravidas in order to assert equal rights and dignity reflects the construction of identity for the alternative forms of justice to attain citizenship in essence.