Dalit Assertion- Not always for the better - A reader's words

Caste studies have gained a lot of academic respectability over the last two decades. It is very rare to find, on the other hand, studies around class. This is quite a dramatic shift since the 1970s- 80s. I think it is not a particularly good omen if studies based on political economy and class are ignored. However, the thrust towards caste studies is definitely welcome.

In a fascinating paper on the change in the condition of Dalits in the Punjab (1947- 2008), Dr Harish Puri touches on a number of points .It has been noted that the conditions of the Dalits in the Punjab have not been as severe as in many other parts of the country. However, this is not to state that caste discrimination and the notion of caste based hierarchies does not exist. This is ironic because the egalitarian influence of Islam and reform by the Sikh gurus and the Arya Samaj have had a long presence in the state.

There are quite a few areas in which the changes have taken place in the state- many of them for the better. Puri enumerates some of them. The results seem to be contradictory.
The most negative is the imitation of the dominant culture by the dalits. This reminds one of what MN Srinivas had termed as Sanskritization in the context of caste mobility where lower castes start imitating the behavior of the locally dominant ones.

Some of these assertions are in apparently harmless area like language. Most Indian languages that have internalized biases based on caste, religion and gender. Many times we use such terms and even idioms without thinking. Dalit writers like Chandrabhan Prasad have even gone to the extent of advocating that Dalits should renounce Indian languages in favor of English. One need not agree with this line of thought but the fact remains that language is also an area of contestation.....