Dalit History Month is an annual observance as a way of remembering important people and events in the
history of the Dalits or
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
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 is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
recognized April as Dalit History Month.
History
Inspired by
Black History Month
Black History Month is an annually observed commemorative month originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It began as a way of remembering important people and events in the history of the Af ...
, a group of Dalit women launched the Dalit History Month project in April 2015. The ''Dalit History Month collective'' originally included
Thenmozhi Soundararajan, Christina Dhanuja, Maari Zwick-Maitreyi,
Sanghapali Aruna,
Asha Kowtal, and Manisha Mashaal .
Sanghapali Aruna and
Thenmozhi Soundararajan came up with the idea during discussions at the
Color of Violence conference in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. Dalit History Month is now community-led.
Significance
Dalits are discriminated against because of their
caste
A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...
, despite such discrimination being illegal in India. Ignorance and absence of Dalits in
Indian history by mainstream authors is discussed during Dalit History Month. Citizens engage in discussions and reflections on the issues faced by Dalits during this observance. The observance honors figures such as
Babasaheb Ambedkar
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (Bhīmrāo Rāmjī Āmbēḍkar; 14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of India based on t ...
; one of the architects of modern India, whose birth anniversary falls in April—alongside
Ramabai Ambedkar,
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),*
*
*
was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...
,
Savitribai Phule,
Jyotiba Phule,
Periyar
Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy (17 September 187924 December 1973), commonly known as Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician. He was the organizer of the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam and is considered the architect o ...
,
Kanshi Ram, freedom fighters
Birsa Munda and
Uda Devi,
Phoolan Devi,
Babytai Kamble,
Shahuji Maharaj,
Fatima Sheikh,
Grace Banu, and many others.
In 2022,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
's
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
province has recognised April as Dalit History Month.
In March 2024, the city of Burlington in Ontario Province, Canada, declared April as Dalit History Month and 14 April as Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Day of Equity.
Gallery
File:DalitHistoryMonth April15Editathon 05.jpg, B. R. Ambedkar portrait at Dalit History Month event, 2017
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, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...
, April 15, 2017
File:DalitHistoryMonth April15Editathon 09.jpg, Dalit literature at a Dalit History Month event
See also
*
April 2018 caste protests in India
*
Battle of Koregaon
*
Caste system in India
The caste system in India is the paradigmatic ethnographic instance of social classification based on castes. It has its origins in ancient India, and was transformed by various ruling elites in medieval, early-modern, and modern India, espe ...
*
Caste-related violence in India
*
Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal and Green Garden
*
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 ...
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=7 July 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