Dalitology

Dalitology is THE BOOK of the Dalit people. The name that we have given to this Dalit science is ‘Dalitology’. Dalitology is derived from a self- assertion of the Dalit people that we have a history and culture of our own which is different from all other dominant histories and cultures. It is not placed in opposition to any other religion or any other discipline though all religions are analyzed without fear or favor. Dalitology aims at establishing and consolidating an age-old culture and tradition, proposing it to be a global (but non-universal) alternative to dominance and hegemony. Dalitology does not believe in any form of dominance and will positively resist all shenanigans of Objugation wherever they take place in the world. Dalitology is a philosophy that rationalizes a value system that has guided and sustained the Dalit people for more than three millennia against the unrelenting attack on their dignity and rights by Brahminism through their established Instrument called the Hindu religion. It contains multiplicity of discourses for the establishment of equality and community living. It is a way of life in communication. It is a project of Dalitization, which is the other name for a world of equality and fraternity.

The Actual Emergence

There was no plan to write such a big book. The emergence of Dalitology has something to do with the way we work. We do not plan our strategies in office rooms not do we plan our programs for a long time. We are dealing with an oppressed people. The situation of our people is filled with unpredictable events. Most of our strategies and action plans emerge with the people. As we started putting down the contents of Dalitology in black and white there were continuous reflections with them on what was written. Sometimes, after the completion of a particular chapter the entire leadership in our movement came together for a few days of reflection. Sometime elders from the community were brought together to share their knowledge on particular dimensions of history and culture. This was accompanied by personal reading of literature. The pace of writing was very slow in the first year. Since we had our intensive engagement with the people as well as with the dominant caste society there were all sorts of unpredictable problems for which we had to be constantly responding. On top of this was the new cultural resurgence of the Dalit people.

The assertion that, “We are neither Hindus, nor Christians, nor Muslims, nor Buddhists. We Dalits are Dalits. We have our history and culture. Dalit religion is our religion” had already emerged from the Movement. As the intensity of discussion on Dalitology increased the DJS leaders who are all from the community in Tumkur District started spreading among the people that it was the Dalit Scripture that was being written. This was their spontaneous response. They firmly believe this.

Not all the content was pre-planned. As we started discussing and writing Dalitology many insights emerged very spontaneously. Probably the inexplicable experience of writing things that naturally do not belong to one, many ancient writers attributed them to divine inspiration. However, we are convinced that there is nothing divine in Dalitology. We never looked up while writing Dalitology. We consciously looked down. Dalitology is very human. Yet many of the insights that are naturally beyond us must be explained. We attribute them to all the feeling and thinking waves of our ancestors. We have also drawn inspiration from the living waves of our contemporary Dalit elders. These waves have entered our bodies and through an entropy process have become possible ways for future. Our ancestors live amongst us through Dalitology.