Paper long abstract:

The Dalit movements in India have always attempted to theorize the dynamics of the caste system in various socio- political and economic contexts. The assumption underlying the theorization has been that just as caste had an origin in history, it could have an end and that collective action of the Dalits could be effective in accelerating the process. Jyotirao Phule, overturned the predominant political discourse of the 'Aryan Theory of Race', to construct a theory of revolutionary praxis. Ambedkar, critically engaged in theorizing caste, its origin, mechanisms and genesis. While in the Columbia university seminar he critically evaluated the dominant anthropological discourse on caste, in his later works on the origin of shudras and untouchables, he re-interpreted the history of Indian society and articulated a materialist theory of the origin of the caste system. The Phule-Ambedkar discourse has been a constant point of reference and inspiration for the Post-independent Dalit movements such as, the Dalit Panthers and Dalit Literature movement in Maharashtra. This paper argues that while the practices of caste persisted in the Post-independent Indian society, keeping the Dalits suppressed and wretched, the onset of neo-liberal global capitalism has further accelerated their marginalization. In response, the Dalit movement has joined with the anti-globalization forces and is in search of 'another world'. This paper attempts to understand the way contemporary Dalit movement is theorizing the dynamics of caste in the age of globalization.