Dalits and the democratic revolution: Dr. Ambedkar and the Dalit movement in colonial India

by Gail Omvedt

This important book traces the history of the Dalit movement from its beginning in the 19th century to the death of its most famous leader, B.R. Ambedkar, in 1956. Focusing on three states—Andhra, Maharashtra and Karnataka—Dr. Omvedt analyses the ideology and organization of the movement and its interaction both with the freedom struggle (particularly with Gandhi and Gandhism) and the "class" struggles of the workers and peasants (and their dominant ideology—Marxism). She also provides a historical account of the origin and development of the caste system.

Genres: Sociology, Nonfiction, History

348 pages, Library Binding

First published April 28, 1994

About the author

Dr. Gail Omvedt is an American-born Indian scholar, sociologist and human rights activist. Omvedt has been involved in Dalit and anti-caste movements, environmental, farmers' and women's movements.

She was born in Minneapolis, and studied at Carleton College, and at UC Berkeley where she earned her PhD in sociology in 1973. She has been an Indian citizen since 1983.

In recent years she has been working as a consulting sociologist on gender, environment and rural development, for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Oxfam Novib (NOVIB) and other institutions.

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