Dalit Studies and Dalit Movements in India

Rationale, Hierarchy and Typology

Vivek Kumar

• Publisher: Routledge India
• Year: 2026
• Topic: Social Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9781040872819
• Subtopic: Human Rights
• Index: Social Sciences

This volume seeks to provide a philosophical and theoretical foundation for Dalit studies. It begins by formulating a philosophical and theoretical definition of the term 'Dalit', along with its empirical characteristics—structural location; the cumulative and collective nature of exclusion; the temporal history of exclusion; and the evolution and identification of icons and cultural symbols within Dalit society. The volume studies the Dalits through the lens of social mobility; highlights the triple exploitation of Dalit women; presents an epistemic and theoretical framework for evolving a 'Dalit perspective' and its functions to understand social reality from the point of view of Dalit experience; as an integral part of Dalit studies it provides a framework to understand Ambedkar's thought and philosophy; dynamics of his movements; and engages with the different facets of the Dalit movement from local to global. Lucid, accessible, and thought-provoking, this book will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of social exclusion and discrimination studies, sociology, law and human rights, and South Asian studies.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of illustrations
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• 1. Introduction
• 2. The Nature and Scope of Dalit Studies: People, Institutions, and Processes
• 3. The Dalit Perspective: A Philosophical and Theoretical Rationale
• 4. A Framework to Understand Ambedkar’s Thought and Philosophy
• 5. The Dalit Movement: Theoretical and Epistemological Issues
• 6. The Nature and Dynamics of Ambedkar’s Movements
• 7. The Different Dimensions of the Dalit Movement: A Pan-India Perspective
• 8. Dalit Assertion and Movements in Uttar Pradesh
• 9. A Question of Caste: The Inclusion of Dalits in Global Politics
• 10. Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Index