#dalit panthers

Post-independence India has witnessed a myriad of social movements that have played a pivotal role in shaping the socio-political landscape of the country. These movements have addressed various issues, ranging from social justice to environmental concerns. Prominent social movements in post-independence India: Chipko Movement (1970s): Originating in the state of Uttarakhand, the 🌳 Chipko…

Manifesto of Dalit Panthers

Revolutionary stand of the Panthers Today we, the ‘Dalit Panthers’, complete one year of our existence. Because of its clear revolutionary position, the ‘Panthers’ is’ growing in strength despite the strong resistance faced by it from many sides. It is bound to grow because it has recognized the revolutionary nature and aspirations of the masses with whose smiles and tears it has been bound up…

Dr. Vimal Thorat: At that time, the Dalit Panther movement was gaining ground. However, media was not projecting it in a favourable light. They themselves did some private publications. I got to know about them and their working through their literature. In college, non-Dalit students boycotted Dalit students who talked about the Dalit Panthers. The spread of the movement was restricted to Pune, Mumbai, Aurangabad and Nagpur since there was a dearth of leaders in the rural areas. My husband, S.K. Thorat was the general secretary of the Dalit Panther movement. He was then teaching in Aurangabad University. After marriage, I came in direct contact with the movement. I joined MA in what is now known as Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Marathwada University and started participating in the movement.

I was working especially on issues specific to women. Then because of difference in ideologies, the movement got divided. Both of us, my husband and I, felt that it was unfortunate. The movement was in its full form in Siddhartha College, Mumbai and Milind College, Aurangabad.In 1977, I came to Delhi and joined JNU as a student of MA. The environment here was liberal but since this was a hub of Marxists, we used to have regular confrontations with them on the issue of caste. My husband together with friends founded the Ambedkar Study Circle. A reading group was formed and regular meetings were held on Sundays to discuss Ambedkar’s works. I participated enthusiastically in the anti-emergency movements as I saw it as a brazen attempt to hit at the roots of democracy.

9th July (1972) in Dalit History – Dalit Panthers was formed

9th July (1972) in Dalit History –  Dalit Panthers was formed

At the meeting organised on 9th July 1972 by Dalit youths at Siddharth Vihar, Bombay, the Dalit Panther formally came into existence.

Read also – The Dalit Panthers

Read also – 15th January in Dalit History – Death anniversary of Namdeo Dhasal, a founder of the Dalit Panthers

  Source – Encyclopaedia of Dalits in India: Movements

Rea…

manifesto of the dalit panthers (a radical, militant mumbai-based organization in the 1970s that was modeled after the black panthers and fought against brahmanism and casteism) 

Dalit Panther Party demonstrates in Chennai.  The Hindu, 24 Aug 2005.