Dalits in the History of Freedom Struggle

Within and Beyond Texts

Abstract

Over the last few decades history has become a site of contestation on the issue of historical amnesia. The Indian historians did not ritually engage with the role of the Dalits in anti-colonial struggles or in the freedom struggle. This historical amnesia exemplifies the depth of the predicament of Indian history and historiography. The present paper is of course a step toward small beginnings in the grand project of ‘History from Below’. Focus has been devoted to the following aspects: participation of dalits during the period of 1857 revolt to 1947 freedom struggle movements, association of dalit heroes in some of the important historical incidents and dalit movements, their historical consciousness or identity and the aspiration of dalits to carve out a respectable place in history. It highlights the importance of revisiting the past through the folklores and memories juxtaposed with some archival materials and memorials from a different perspective. No doubt History of Dalits is within and beyond text.