Casteist Cry in Indian Sports: Revisiting Caste Discrimination of Palwankar Baloo and Vandana Katariya

Abstract

During the colonial era, the upliftment and status of women were unable to come out against the oeuvre or bane of patriarchy and caste rigid politics. Though many social reformers during that phase tried to alleviate the pain of the feminine gender and lower caste people through incorporating the ideology of liberal Western education system, their attempts remain unfulfilled due to various sociopolitical constraints. This scenario remained the same after independence, where Ambedkar’s efforts of bringing economic or social rights to marginalized people were completely nullified. This negative aspect of untouchability also spread in the arena of sports, too. Thus, through this article, I try to highlight the discriminatory policies and practices that two native sportspeople (Palwankar Baloo and Vandana Katariya) negotiate while facing the challenges in and off the field.