Dalit History Month is an annual observance as a way of remembering important people and events in the history of the
Dalit
Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...
s or
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
. It is celebrated in April all over the world by
Ambedkarites, followers of
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Discussions, storytelling, history projects, special publications in media, and art works are organized during this month. The Canadian Province of
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
recognized April as Dalit History Month.
History
Inspired by
Black History Month
Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and more recently ...
, a group of Dalit women launched the Dalit History Month project in April 2015. The ''Dalit History Month collective'' originally included
Thenmozhi Soundararajan
Thenmozhi Soundararajan is an Indian American Dalit rights activist based in the United States of America.
She is also a transmedia storyteller, songwriter, hip hop musician and technologist. She has been actively campaigning for the rights ...
, Christina Dhanaraj, Maari Zwick-Maitreyi,
Sanghapali Aruna,
Asha Kowtal, and Manisha Devi.
Sanghapali Aruna and
Thenmozhi Soundararajan
Thenmozhi Soundararajan is an Indian American Dalit rights activist based in the United States of America.
She is also a transmedia storyteller, songwriter, hip hop musician and technologist. She has been actively campaigning for the rights ...
came up with idea during discussions at
Color of Violence conference in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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. Dalit History Month is now community-led.
Significance
Dalits are discriminated against because of their
caste, despite such discrimination being illegal in India. Ignorance and absence of Dalits in
Indian history
According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...
by mainstream authors is discussed during Dalit History Month. Issues faced by Dalits are pondered upon by citizens.
In 2022,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
's
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
province has recognised April as Dalit History Month.
Gallery
File:DalitHistoryMonth April15Editathon 05.jpg, B. R. Ambedkar
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served ...
portrait at Dalit History Month event
File:DalitHistoryMonth April15Editathon 07.jpg, Dalit History Month event poster
File:DalitHistoryMonth April15Editathon 17.jpg, Dalit History Month Editathon at UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...
, April 15, 2017
File:DalitHistoryMonth April15Editathon 09.jpg, Dalit literature at a Dalit History Month event
See also
*
Caste system in India
*
Untouchability
Untouchability is a form of social institution that legitimises and enforces practices that are discriminatory, humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative against people belonging to certain social groups. Although comparable forms of discrimin ...
*
Caste-related violence in India
*
Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal and Green Garden
*
April 2018 caste protests in India
*
Battle of Koregaon
The Battle of Koregaon was fought on 1 January 1818 between the British East India Company and the Peshwa faction of the Maratha Confederacy, at Koregaon Bhima.
A 28,000-strong force led by Peshwa Baji Rao II whilst on their way to attack the ...
References
External links
Dalit History Month websiteDALIT HISTORY MONTH at Project Mukti
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707180440/https://www.projectmukti.com/dalit-history-month-2 , date=July 7, 2020
B. R. Ambedkar
Dalit culture
Dalit politics
Dalit history
Dalit literature
April observances
Commemorative months
2015 introductions
Observances in India
Month-long observances in Canada
South Asian Canadian culture
Observances in the United States
South Asian American culture
Observances in the United Kingdom