Aspects of Mobilizations of Dalits in Bihar (1913–1952)

Abstract

This article seeks to prepare an account of political activism of Dalits in Bihar during the years between 1913, when Dalits started to raise their voice through caste associations, and 1952, when the first election took place in Independent India. In between these years, there were various social campaigns, like the anti-untouchability campaign by a determined Congress under Gandhi, which faced stiff challenges from the orthodox sections of the caste-Hindu society. In the absence of a Dalit ideological campaign which was the case in some other parts of India under the inspiring leadership of Ambedkar, these efforts had a crucial role in raising Dalit issues, campaigning for the social rights of them and resisting the orthodox voices that were unwilling to respond favourably to these campaigns. The resistances of orthodox sections, however, failed to stop Dalit issues from being raised. This article argues that the Dalits of Bihar remained with Congress with high hopes till 1952. During this period, Dalit leaders from Bihar such as Jagjivan Ram and Jaglal Chaudhary had been trying to put pressure on the Congress leadership with (what they considered) legitimate and reasonable demands of Dalits. They believed that Congress represented the mainstream political space and that any development of Dalits could be possible only if along with attempts to raise the sense of unity among different Dalit castes, the efforts were made to impress upon the well-intentioned great national leaders of the country.