Bhupinder writes this wonderful post at The Mustard Seed where he talks about the transformation of Indian communists from a group that saw dalit activism as a reactionary and dangerous act to a group that complements dalit activists
This has now changed, and rightly so. The communists and the Dalit movement share a complementary role. While the Dalit movement has articulated the social and political aspirations of the oppressed community, it has lacked a firm economic program, with the result that once power is gained (in Uttar Pradesh, for example), the lack of a class based theoretical perspective restricts it to either parliamentary politics or the perspective, often narrow, of a single leader. A Marxist understanding and placing the Dalit movement within a larger national and world wide struggle for emancipation complements this social and political approach.
Thanks to Shivam Vij for the hat tip
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yes, we did see a sign of this transformation a few weeks ago when d.raja was the only communist spokesman to speak out against the supreme court’s opinion on the ‘creamy layer’ among the scs.
It is true that Dalit movement at present lacks radicalism but it is also a tragedy that Indain communists also failed to take the dalits with them who are born proletarait. It is also a hard fact that Indian communists also suffer from a latent castism which is reflected in their attitude towards various casted related issues of Dalits. They have also failed to promote leadership among dalits working in their ranks. It is true that bith caste and ecomic issues should be taken together showing a blend od Ambedkarism and Communism. It is also encouraging to see that Indian communists are now realising their folly of neglecting caste.