Caste Violence and Dalit Deprivation

Dalits are socially economically and politically suppressed people in Indian society and performed occupations like scavenging, leatherwork etc. Under colonial conditions they constituted the bulk of agricultural labour force and worked as farm servants and casual labourers. Very few less than 10% Dalit families possessed agricultural land. The main source of their livelihood was manual labour. They had no right to won land nor were they considered to be peasants or tillers of soil. The colonial land regulations never granted them the status of an occupancy tenant, though they might have cultivated land as tenants and sharecroppers. In the case of untouchables, therefore, there was a clear correspondence/correlation between social and economic status. Dalits were fighting for a long time, against the caste system and for their identity as well as for self-respect in the society.