This study presents a detailed analysis of the multifaceted struggle of the Scheduled Castes, the odyssey of their transformation from the apolitical, ostracized and indigent mass into a crucial factor in the political structure. It examines the inter-play of the forces, generated both by the British Raj and the changing complexion of the Indian national movement, which helped their emergence as a political power in India. How was the most apposite appellation the ‘Scheduled Castes’, coined? What were the measures adopted for arriving at their exact enumeration? How was it affected by the ‘politics of numbers’? What was their socio-economic condition at the turn of the Century? What was its impact on the process of their politicization and political participating? How did they become an important factor both in the Indian national movement and the politics of the period? What was the pattern of their politics? How far were the ideas, strategies, and ends and means of their mentors in conflict with those of the caste Hindu leaders and nationalists? These are some of the basic questions this study probes and seeks to answer. All through, this study is backed by sound scholarship and critical sensitivity. It is the first study of its kinds in that it (i) traces the chequered career of the term ‘Scheduled Castes’; (ii) conducts a province-wise survey of their socio-economic condition; (iii) examines the manipulation of Scheduled Castes’ census in the game of the ‘politics of numbers’; and (iv) highlights the part played by Baba Saheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar as also by other prominent leaders, especially, M.C. Rajah, who have hitherto remained ignored. The work is well documented and makes use of all available archival, official and non-official sources.
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