'Voting for Ourselves'

Untouchable Citizens: Dalit Movements and Democratisation in Tamil Nadu by Hugo Gorringe; Sage Publications, New Delhi, 2005;
KARIN KAPADIA This remarkably useful book on dalit political movements combines detailed interviews with front line dalit activists, with a perceptive analysis of the dilemmas and paradoxes facing dalit political mobilisation. The battery of references is impressive: Gorringe trawls a wideranging secondary literature in politics, sociology, anthropology and social history to make helpful comparisons. He also considers the relevance of theories analysing the new social movements and other analytical frameworks to his data.