Dalit political leadership in Punjab a study of Hoshiarpur district

Abstract

This research work is basically focused on the nature and working of Dalit political leadership in Punjab and particularly in Hoshiarpur constituency with two assumptions. First, despite having highest proportion of Dalit population in Punjab, Dalit political leadership has not been able to raise specific issues related to Dalit community keeping in view the specificities of this region. Second, Dalit political leadership has remained far from effective to evolve an integrated ideology that helped them to unite the different Dalit castes in Punjab under one umbrella. This study broadly explores the emergence of Dalit political leadership in Punjab, their perceptions regarding Dalit issues and the nature of their working to address the issues of Dalit community. A total 150 elected /nominated and non-elected Dalit political leaders were interviewed from the selected field. The study revealed that most of the respondents have agreed to the prevalence of caste based discrimination at different levels in Punjab. Dalits are also divided into different sub castes and also observed caste hierarchy. They discussed their perceptions on the various problems faced by the Dalits in Punjab and agreed that social transformation is the only way to get rid of all miseries for Dalits which can be achieved by capturing political power. Most of the respondents agreed that there is a crisis in Dalit leadership in Punjab especially after the death of Kanshi Ram. There is a strong need for an impressive and dynamic leadership which can unite the Dalits on one platform by defying the hierarchical.