--- layout: default title: "Full Text: The Religious Factor in Dalit Liberation: Some Reflections" description: "Complete verbatim text of A. M. A. Ayrookuzhiel's essay 'The Religious Factor in Dalit Liberation: Some Reflections', first published in 1996." permalink: /amaa/religious-factor-dalit-liberation-full-text/ categories: [A. M. A. Ayrookuzhiel, Full text] date: 1996 created: 2026-04-30 --- The **full text of the [The Religious Factor in Dalit Liberation: Some Reflections](/amaa/religious-factor-dalit-liberation/)** is reproduced here verbatim from the original paper by [A. M. A. Ayrookuzhiel](/amaa/). This article first appeared in *Culture Religion and Society: Essays in honour of Richard W. Taylor*, edited by Saral K. Chatterji and Hunter P. Mabry (Published for The Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, Bangalore, by Delhi ISPCK, 1996). This version preserves the original wording, structure, and formatting as presented in the source document. ## Contents 1. [Introduction](#introduction) 2. [The Limited Role Religious Factors play in changing Social Consciousness](#limited-role) 3. [Need for Dalit Solidarity](#dalit-solidarity) 4. [A temptation to be avoided](#temptation) 5. [Indigenous Religious Resources for anti-Caste Consciousness](#indigenous-resources) 6. [Concluding Remarks](#conclusion) 7. [Notes](#notes) ## Introduction {#introduction} The emerging Dalit consciousness nurtured by Dalit literature is opposed to caste consciousness that pervades the Indian society. The predominant note that characterises this consciousness and this literature is anger. It swells up from the deep recesses of Dalit writer's personal childhood experiences and suffering, from the stories of afflictions, insults and humiliations told to them by their parents and from their study and knowledge of India's history and civilisations. Out of this anger come poems like these:
*I spit on this great civilisation Is this land yours, mother because you were born here? Is it mine because I was born to you? Must I call this great land mine love it Sing its glory? Sorry, mother, but the truth to tell I must confess I wondered Should I be born Should I be born into this land.*1
Another author gives a clarion call to his untouchable brother to 'either leave the country or make war':
*What is an untouchable like? What does he look like? Does he look like the very image of leprosy? Or like the prophet's enemy Does he look like a heretic, a sinner, a profligate, or an atheist? Tell me, What will your answer be? Will you reply without hesitation: 'Untouchable' - that's me? That's why I say - You who have made the mistake of being born in this country must now rectify it: either leave the country, or make war.*2
The guns of their anger and rebellion are especially trained on the traditional religious belief of the caste Hindu: *And yet I could see no adverse effect on Bapu's attack on Grandpa. In fact, I discerned a sense of pride in him as he straightened himself and said, 'How could you say that, Anna? This Yetalya is certainly not one of those claiming equality. How can one, in that case, account for God's creating religion and castes?' 'Come on, don't you know that the rain-god got enraged because you - the Mahar and Mang - have profaned religion, and abandoning caste, have defiled Lord Vithoba of Pandharpur. How else can you account for the drying up of the Chandrabhanga river?' Bapu Patil added insult to injury. I could take it no more. I felt my cheeks burning. But I quelled my temper and, cutting Bapu Patil short in the middle of his fiery tirade, burst out, "Patil, will you kindly tell me what you meant when accused us of forgetting religion, abandoning our caste and of polluting the god? And if a religion can't tolerate one human being treating another simply as a human being, what's the use of such an inhumane religion? And if our mere touch pollutes the god, why were the Mahar and Mang created at all? And who, may I know, who indeed, created them? And would you please tell me the name of the god whom the Mahars and Mangs can claim as their own? My retort made Bapu Patil wild. I'd addressed him simply as 'Patil'."*3 The Dalit attack does not stop at the individual religious consciousness of the Hindus but goes deeper to the scriptural roots which nourishes such a consciousness:
*I ask for my rights as a man Each breath from my lungs set off a violent trembling in your texts and tradition your hell and heaven fearing pollution ...... I'll uproot the scripture like railway tracks. Burn like a city bus your lawless laws...*4
Similar examples could be taken from Dalit literature all over the country.5 Their revolt does not recognise the so-called good and bad preached to them by the traditional society:
*I have been silent all these days listening to the voice of right and wrong But now I will fan the flames for human rights. How did we ever get to this place this land which was never mother to us? Which never gave us even the life of cats and dogs I hold their unpardonable sins as witness and turn, here and now, a rebel.*6
They paint with extreme vigour the separate situation into which many Dalits are driven, a realm of existence beyond the pale of good and evil: *He had read everything that came within his reach. But he didn't need to hear or read because the hutment colony in Koliwada had taught him a lot, made a scholar of him. The path it had shown him cut clean through good and bad, wicked and evil, right and wrong, ending in another world altogether. Therefore he thieved as well as laboured. Picked pockets and carried loads. Conned people, cheated people, slit people's throats. He did all these things because there was no alternative to living, and he had no wish to die. Live he must by whatever he could. But pockets weren't always available to pick or load to carry.*7 However, it would be wrong to view the whole of Dalit literature and Dalit consciousness as a negation of religion and values. On the contrary they only show that they are victims of inhuman religious perceptions and inhuman religious practises of other people, beside being economically oppressed and socially persecuted. Therefore they are on a historical march to redeem their sacred humanity like any other people. Their yearning for personal honour and justice is not only a problem of economics and politics; it is also very much a religious demand as religious concepts, practises and laws undergirded the denial of social honour and economic justice to them. Historically the stigmatisation of the Dalits as unclean people was part of the Brahmanical religious dispensation. Brahmanical ritual practises of clean and unclean, the philosophical concepts like *Karma*, rebirth, *Swadharma* and *Swadhikara* legitimised ethnic, caste and cultural differences and organised the Hindu society in religious hierarchy of high and low corresponding to economic and political power factors. This is why Dr. B.R. Ambedkar felt that Dalits could not get rid of their stigma as unclean people within the Brahmanical religious tradition. He therefore quit Hinduism and embraced Buddhism with thousands of his followers. His perception and action follows a historical pattern. In the course of Indian history, whenever the Dalits revolted against their stigma of untouchability as a group or as individuals, they moved into other religions or formed their own as a mark of protest religious sects. As a result, the Dalits today belong to a number of religions like Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Sikhism or to protest sect like Lingayats, Ravidasis, Valmikis, Satnamis, Kabirpanthis, Dadu panthis, Mahima Dharma and innumerous other small groups all over the country. All the same, a large section of Dalits still follow their traditional religious practises and customs considered to be a part of the Hindu composite tradition. In this situation when they belong to a number of diverse religions and religious sects, how do we understand the role of religion which would facilitate the Dalits' struggle for liberation? ## The Limited Role Religious Factors play in changing Social Consciousness {#limited-role} Here, one is reminded of Dr. Ambedkar's saying 'Preaching did not make caste system nor will it unmake it'. In other words, Brahmanical religion most probably did not make the caste system nor will anti-Brahmanical religious preaching unmake it by itself. For instance, it is quite natural and probable that Brahmanical ideas of clean and unclean people reflected the social condition in ancient India resulting from economic, political, ethnic and cultural differences and conflicts among the people. But once they are conscientised conceptually and built into religious rituals they become instruments to perpetuate class, ethnic and gender interests and privileges. In the same way, empirical studies suggest that the meaning, content and the field of application of concepts like *Karma*, rebirth, *Swadharma* and *Swadhikara* are very much determined by the material, cultural and educational conditions of the people. It means that unless efforts are made to change the material condition and political powerlessness of the Dalits, providing them with alternative religious symbols they may have limited value. This is borne out by the experience of the Dalits who embraced other religions like Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism or who formed protest sects like Ravidasis, Valmikis and others. This is not to deny that providing them with alternative religious and scientific concepts helped them to redefine their self-image and world-view which often resulted in more intensive struggles against caste stigma as exemplified by Neo-Buddhists, converted Christians, Sikhs, Ravidasis, Satnamis and many others. ## Need for Dalit Solidarity {#dalit-solidarity} The core of the Dalit problem is their all-round powerlessness which can only be addressed politically in the Indian context today. Politically the Dalits can meet this challenge effectively if there is unity among them across different religions and political parties. Religions and political parties led by caste people tend to divide the Dalits, especially since the Dalits themselves are found to be a very heterogeneous people even in the same region, in terms of their ethnic roots, cultural identity, level of educational awareness and other material conditions. Their all-India situation is further complicated by the differences in languages. ## A temptation to be avoided {#temptation} The anti-Brahmanical nature of the Dalit literature and the need for the Dalits to acquire political power make some leaders to advocate Dalit alliance with other religious minorities such as Muslims, Christians and Sikhs. But the majority of the Dalits feel that it is a dangerous path of religious confrontation and Dalit interests will be the casualty in such conflicts. Secondly, the general maladies affecting the Indian society, such as caste consciousness and discrimination against women, persist in all these religions, and the need for religious renaissance applies to them as much as to the Hindu tradition. Thirdly, even though the Hindu Renaissance has failed to bring about any change in temple and domestic rituals based on the concept of clean and unclean, or to accept the Dalits as religious equals by conferring on them the right to become priests in temples, there is a very vocal and articulate section among the Hindus who would uphold human equality and social justice on a secular, political platform along with like-minded people in other religions. Dalits feel that such a secular, political atmosphere would be most suitable to promote their economic, political and educational interests, and people will have the freedom to choose a religion that upholds their human dignity as they become aware of the problem. Fourthly, it is most unlikely that all the Dalits would at anytime belong to any one religion. The Hinduised Dalits have a deep emotional attachment to the gods of their early tribal days, as for instance, God Murugan of Tamilnadu, Lord Ayyappa of Kerala, and God Jagannath of Orissa who have now become part of the Hindu pantheon. Therefore, an anti-Brahmanical political front will not solve the religious problem of the Dalits and it might harm them in the crucial area of their economic and political struggles. Fifthly, as in other religions, Hindu tradition has internal theological resources for self-criticism. For instance, many Dalits as well as non-Dalit writers, poets and religious leaders, have used *Advaita* philosophy for criticising the practice of untouchability and caste consciousness. The concept of God in some systems of Hindu thought and practice also do not permit untouchability and caste, as we shall see in the next section. Sixthly, Hindu civilisation is more open to the principle of rationality and evolution in the absence of religious dogmas and centralised religious authority. ## Indigenous Religious Resources for anti-Caste Consciousness {#indigenous-resources} The principle of critique against caste consciousness comes from two types of religio-philosophic perceptions in the Indian thought, and the other is a conception of the Ultimate reality very similar to the One God, one humanity, found in Christian and Islamic traditions. Both of these streams are found in the ascetic and the saints' traditions familiar to India, sometimes in the spiritual life of the same person and the movement he initiated, though without any logical clarity as to its exact nature.8 Though Brahmins and the Backward Castes as well as Dalit saints are found following this spiritual path, much of the virulent attacks against casteism of Brahmin priests, came from untouchable sages or saints who were barbers, butchers and tailors by profession - low in the esteem of the larger society. They rejected the absolute authority of the Vedas, called for a religion of humanity, and emphasised the need for purity of mind and heart against external ablutions, fasting, rituals and pilgrimages. It can be truly called the religion of the unclean people against Brahmanical priestly religion of external purity, gods and rituals. Though the common people, particularly the untouchables in different regions, followed these rebellious prophets in small groups and sects, they were unable to convert this religion of the anti-establishment into an all-India counter culture religious movement. The Dalit poets of today stand in direct succession to this religious tradition in their deep yearning for human equality, human dignity and justice:
*We have begun a new life We have found our own temples Regained our lost faith All are equal here.*9
## Concluding Remarks {#conclusion} The religion preached by the untouchable and lower-caste saints - many of whom were wandering ascetics without any economic base and political support - never struck institutional roots in India even among the untouchable masses, though small bands of disciples kept their tradition alive in different parts of the country. The teachings themselves remained as folk wisdom in the lower strata of society. They were never a threat or challenge to popular beliefs and practices centred around temples and places of pilgrimage, massively supported by Brahmanical myths and stories and presided over by Brahmin priests. Poverty, ignorance and lack of education kept the masses, including the untouchables, as superstitious as ever, given to the fear of evil spirits and addicted to rituals of propitiation. The ideas of purity and pollution built into the Brahmanical literature were naturally internalised, probably because these ideas originated from the tribal past of the people themselves. Brahmin priests only religiously institutionalised them with myths and forms of cult practices to their own advantage. The anti-Brahmanical stance of the Dalit literature has not only religio-cultural but also political implications in the democratic political set up of India today. The traditional worldview of the Dalits, dominated by the fear of evil spirits and ritualism, is being increasingly challenged, not only by the Dalit literature but also by scientific and rational ideas in the realms of their economic, social and political life. One may wonder that this emerging historical situation of the Dalits with their increasing conscientisation, decisive political importance and growing base may not lead to a renaissance of all Indian religious traditions. The anti-Brahmanical stance of the Dalit literature is a question mark before all Indian religious traditions. The anti-Brahmanical stance of the Dalit literature is a question mark before all Indian religions as all these religions are infected by caste consciousness in varying degrees. It is here that the religion preached by the Dalit saints comes into focus as they indicate the nature of the religious problems faced by the Dalits, as well as the direction of renaissance and renewal required of the established religions. Will the leaders of the established religions respond to this challenge? ## Notes {#notes}
  1. "To be or Not to be Born" by L.S. Rokade, translated by Shanta Gokhale, in Poisoned Bread, edited by Arjun Dangle, Orient Longman, Bombay, 1992, pp. 1-2. ↩
  2. "You who have made the mistake" by Baburao Bagul, translated by Vilas Sarang, in Poisoned Bread, op.cit., p.70. ↩
  3. "The Poisoned Bread" by Bindhumadhav, translated by Ramesh Dnyate, in Poisoned Bread, op.cit., p.148. ↩
  4. "White Paper" by Sharankumar Limble, translated by Priya Adarkar, in Poisoned Bread, op.cit., p.64. ↩
  5. A.M. Ayrookuzhiel, "Dalits' Challenges to Religious Systems: A People Ignored by Church History," Indian Church History Review, Vol. XXIII, No.2 (December 1989), pp.115-131. ↩
  6. "Caves" by Jyoti Lanjewar, translated by Shanta Gokhale, in Poisoned Bread, op.cit., p.22. ↩
  7. "Livelihood" by Bhimrao Shirwale, translated by Shanta Gokhale, in Poisoned Bread, op.cit., p.174. ↩
  8. Shri Narayana Guru, who led the movement of one humanity, one God and one religion against the caste consciousness in Kerala was an advaitin in his philosophical perceptions, but taught theism to people. ↩
  9. Harish Bonso de, quote by Gangadhar Pantawane in his "Evolving an Identity: The Development of a Dalit Culture," in Untouchable, Voice of the Dalit Liberation Movement, edited by Barbara Joshi, Select Book Service Syndicate, New Delhi, 1986, p.85. ↩
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