Caste System: An Introduction
One of the most distinctive features of the Indian society and culture has been the varna system or the caste system. This system emerged in Vedic times and became an integral part of Hindu society. Originally it was a four-fold division of the Hindu society having four varnas i.e. the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras organized into a hierarchy from top to bottom. But as the time passed by it got divided further into many castes (jatis) and sub-castes due geographical expansion, racial admixture and diversification of the crafts. Initially the varna or caste of a person was decided on the basis of merit and occupation of a person, but later this identity came to be based on birth or family. It is the caste of a person that determines his or her status and purity in this system. Later another group, a fifth one, also got added to it. The members of the last group were labelled as outcastes or the lower castes. They were the Asparshyas or the ‘untouchables’ who were not only placed at the lowest level but also subjected to a variety of discriminations. They performed tasks like scavenging, sweeping, skinning and leather works. They were deprived of many basic human rights as they were considered impure. Thus they were not touched, neither allowed to pray or live with the members of the other castes, nor permitted to enter temples or use public wells and tanks!! They had suffered the most in the Hindu social order. They are also known as the Depressed Classes or the Scheduled Castes.

British Rule: Disruption of the Caste System
The British rule created such conditions that helped in weakening the caste consciousness to some extent. The caste system, the steel frame of the Hindu society, began to disintegrate due to various reasons. For example, the notion of private property in land was created which allowed its sale and purchase like any other commodity. It disturbed the caste equations by destroying the Jajamani system. Now the close links between caste and vocation started getting delinked. New opportunities of employment were created due to modern commerce and industries. Growth of urbanization and introduction of modern means of transportation and communication facilitated mobility of population.

The British government introduced a common set of laws in the form of the Indian Penal Code (1860) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (1861). These laws were uniformly applicable to all irrespective of their caste. It abolished the privileges of the higher castes available to them under the traditional Hindu law. The government jobs were opened to all on the basis of merit instead of any caste considerations. The modern western education was open to all. The common education system facilitated the weakening of caste prejudices. The ongoing national movement also provided an opportunity for the lower castes to get exposed to modern ideas and thoughts of liberty, equality, justice and democracy. In this background, many socio-religious reform movements also began in the nineteenth century. They aimed at promoting social and religious equality and abolition of social evils and caste discriminations. They helped in creating a new consciousness among the lower castes or the untouchables.

Dalit Identity: Emergence and Evolution
The term “Dalit” is derived from Sanskrit word ‘Dal’ which means to crush, crack, split or open. Perhaps, Jyotiba Phule was the first to use it, in the nineteenth century, for the members of lower castes or the untouchables. Later it came to be used commonly to give the oppressed sections of the Indian society a common identity. The term was popularized by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, to create a separate, dignified socio-political identity for the untouchables, in the twentieth century. Since then, the issues regarding the rights of the untouchables came to be viewed from the prism of dalit identity. Thus ‘Dalit’ is not a Caste that one is born into and does not feature in the Hindu caste system, but is a constructed identity. It is a term that asserts unity among the untouchables.

The dalit identity emerged and evolved gradually and it has undergone many changes before acquiring its present form. The foundation of this process was laid down by the socio-religious reform movements of the nineteenth century. The movements like Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission and Theosophical Society preached against the caste system. They strongly disapproved untouchability and rigidities of the caste system. They supported the concept of equality and also took positive steps in this direction. For example, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar admitted non-Brahmin students in Sanskrit college at Calcutta and the Prarthana Samaj established ‘The Depressed Classes Mission’ in Maharashtra. The Arya Samaj began a crusade against the disintegration of Hindu society into a complex web of castes and sub-castes. It supported merit and equality while aiming at regeneration of the original varna system based on four-fold division. Swami Vivekananda was highly moved by the poverty, hunger, ignorance and suffering of the Indian masses. He identified inhumane socio-cultural practices, pursued by orthodox upper castes to subjugate the lower classes, as one of the major causes for the degradation of the Indian society. He strongly emphasised that without the upliftment of the masses, the real national progress was impossible. Such reformers and movements created a new environment supporting reforms from within, through legislation, through symbols of change, and through social work.

It was under such circumstances that Jyotiba Phule, born in a low caste Mali family, started a powerful movement against the domination of the upper castes, in the nineteenth century. Phule particularly challenged brahmanical supremacy in Maharashtra. He questioned the traditional customs and beliefs in his books Ghulamgiri and Sarvajanik Satyadharma Pustak. He founded the Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873 and mobilized the downtrodden sections. The movement started creating a sense of common identity among the depressed communities. It nurtured a sense of common class among them against the brahmins who were seen as their exploiters. Phule gave them a common name called ‘Dalit’. It was the beginning of the dalit movement in India. He aimed at the complete abolition of the caste system and socio-economic inabilities. To improve the situation of dalits he also focused on education especially that of females. His movement proved to be the precursor for the subsequent anti-brahmanical or lower caste movements.

If Phule focused on the ways and means to get rid of socio-economic disabilities imposed on dalits, Sri Narayan Guru focused more on religious disabilities. He belonged to the Ezhava caste of Kerala, the single largest caste group that was considered untouchable. He formed the Sri Narayan Guru Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDPY) in 1902 to fight for the dalit rights. He is remembered the most for Aravipuram temple entry movement (1888). He successfully challenged brahmanical monopoly of priestly duties and religion. He built many temples and appointed non-brahmanical priests. He also established many schools for education of the dalit children. The SNDPY movement was carried forward by personalities like N. Kumaran Asan, T. Madhavan Nair and K. P. Keshav. They started the Vaikom Satyagraha in 1924 demanding temple entry rights for the dalits. Similarly Guruvayur Satyagraha was led by K. Kelappan, P. Krishna Pillai and A. K. Gopalan in 1931. Both of them were supported by Gandhi who integrated the issue of untouchability in the national movement. It was under the pressure of these movements that in 1936, the Maharaja of Travancore ordered opening of the thousands of temples, wells and tanks for the dalits. A similar step was taken by C. Rajagopalachari administration in Madras in 1938.

Another caste movement was started in South India by C. N. Mudaliyar, T. Madhavan Nair and P. Thyagaraja Chettiyar. It was more political in nature. They formed the South Indian Liberal Federation (SILF) or the Justice Party in 1916. It became the first caste based political party that demanded reservation in jobs and representation for dalits in the legislature. It expressed loyalty towards the British Government and persuaded it to pass an order in 1930 providing reservation in jobs to certain groups.

In 1925, E. V. Ramaswamy Naicker (Periyar) started the Self-Respect Movement aimed at total rejection of the brahmanical religion and culture. He believed that the invading Aryans overpowered indigenous people or Adi-Dravidas and pushed them to the status of the untouchables. On one hand the movement organized weddings without Brahman priests and temple entry for dalits. On the other, it consolidated the Dravidian identity in Tamil Nadu and led to the formation of a political party called Dravida Kazhagam in 1944. Thus Periyar’s movement had social, religious, as well as political dimensions.

In the twentieth century the Indian National Congress (INC) also started taking interest in the welfare of the lower castes. The emergence of Gandhi as the undisputed leader of the Congress helped in furthering caste reforms. Gandhi retired from active politics and displayed interest in working for the upliftment of the untouchables. He coined a new term ‘Harijan’ for them and started working on the agenda of removal of untouchability through the Harijan Sevak Sangh which he formed in 1932. He also started a weekly paper Harijan in 1933. Gandhi supported the varna system but opposed the caste inequalities. This brought him in disagreement with Ambedkar. More so because Ambedkar was not interested in merely bringing a modicum of respect to the Dalits, nor was he interested in assigning new nomenclature to the untouchables. He wanted a social revolution whereby the institution of caste would be annihilated and social and egalitarian values would be available to all. The difference of opinion between Gandhi and Ambedkar became visible during the Second Round Table Conference (1931). Gandhi strongly opposed the idea of separate electorates for the depressed classes. Gandhi went on fast unto death after the announcement of the Communal Award as he saw in it the British attempt to divide the Hindu society. Finally the issue was resolved through Poona Pact signed by the both of them.

Ambedkar realised that the problem of caste would only be further entrenched unless untouchables were able to organise, mobilise and become a political constituency. He moulded the dalit identity into a political concept. He used the term dalit to define the victims of social, religious or political exploitation and discrimination in India. The word in itself is a denial of justified caste hierarchy. With time it became a national phenomenon and a symbol of revolution. Ambedkar fought for the educational, legal and political rights of dalits. He encouraged them to throw off their traditional caste duties. He founded the Bahiskrit Hitakarini Sabha (1924) and a Marathi fortnightly Bahiskrit Bharat (1927) to raise the dalit issues. He was able to convince the government to admit the members of his Mahar caste into the Army. It finally led to the formation of a Mahar regiment in 1941. He also formed a political party called the Scheduled Castes Federation in 1942. Ambedkar’s legacy was carried forward by the post-independence dalit political outfits. The Bahujan Samaj Party formed by Kanshiram in 1984 is the most prominent among them.

Conclusion
From the above discussion it is clear that ‘Dalit’ came to be used as an umbrella term for all those caste groups and communities that had suffered oppression in different forms since ancient times. They were labelled as untouchables and as they became conscious about their rights, they started organizing themselves into one single entity. This organization started by Jyotiba Phule finally culminated into dalit assertion under the leadership of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar. The process of formation of dalit identity passed through different stages in the form of various lower caste movements during the freedom struggle. Finally, it was concretized into a unified social and political concept. It aims at seeking basic rights and attaining political power as a means to attain dignity.