Why Dalits?

“dal” means ’suppressed’ or ‘oppressed’ in Hindi. Usage of the term Dalit can be traced to:

  • Arya Samaj introduced a dalitoddhara – an improvement of the downtrodden relief program
  • In the 1930s it was used in Hindi and Marathi translations
  • In 1930 a newspaper called “Dalit Bandu” (friends of Dalits) was publishd.
  • B. R. Ambedkar used the word in his Marathi speeches
  • The Dalit Panthers issued a manifesto in 1973

However, after this history the word no longer officially exists. In 2008, at the request of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, the Government determined that the use of ‘Dalit’ was ‘unconstitutional’ and replaced it with the term ‘Scheduled Caste.’

Other terms used to refer to Dalits today in the caste system of India include, Harijan (Children of God), Adi Dravida, Adi Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Adi Andhra (all of which mean the aboriginal inhabitant of the land).