Religion, Freedom, and Caste

Examines the challenges and opportunities faced by Dalits in modern India.

The past decade has seen a surge in Dalit studies, offering key theoretical insights into the study of marginalized groups. This collection of essays focuses on Dalit struggles for dignity in India, highlighting the search for religious alternatives and the rejection of caste-Hinduism as the first step towards self-respect. These explorations for self-worth covered everyday secular life as well. The introduction argues that these struggles played a seminal role in informing B. R. Ambedkar's ideas, including his insistence on the inclusion of "dignity" in the Indian Constitution. It looks at his concept of "moral stamina," emphasizing ethical commitment to democratic practices, and of the "social," offering innovative approaches to studying the connected histories of caste and the making of modern India.

The essays that follow examine the challenges and opportunities faced by Dalits in modern India. Several explore the distinct trajectories of Dalit groups in their search for religious dignity. They reveal that conversion to Christianity, as well as reinterpretations of indigenous religious traditions—such as Buddhism and the Sant-mat religion associated with Raidas and Kabir—have helped to reconstitute untouchable selfhood. Other essays probe the struggle against caste by analyzing changes in sartorial choices, secular work, historical interpretation, and views of domestic space. Drawing from literary and archival sources as well as ethnographical fieldwork, this collection illustrates the connected histories of religion, politics, literature, and history.