Dalit Movement in Mainstream Sociology

The dominant current in sociological studies of the dalit movement views dalit protest as a necessary outcome of an obscurantist Hindu tradition with its deep-rooted prejudice against the dalits. It therefore assumes that the movement is limited to achieving the objectives of advance in socio-economic, civic and political fields within the existing order, without seeking a transformation of that society. This has constrained the understanding of the movement. Social sciences must now critically examine these assumptions and seek to study the dalit movement from below.