Caste and religion are not just practices. They are two main pillars of Indian society which determine the social structure, status, hierarchy and functional roles of people. Historically, religion performed two functions. On the one hand it was used as an agency of social control and mechanism for social exclusion, and on the other, it brought social mobility. A careful study of India’s social structure helps us understand the religious organisation of Dalits. It can be described as ‘a wheel within a wheel’ where each caste is linked with social, religious and other responsibilities. It is quite clear from the existing surveys, research studies and writings that the Dalit religious tradition as a belief system is very different from that of mainstream Hinduism. Religious exclusion and marginal space within Hinduism pushed most of the Dalits to explore alternative religious identities. The untouchables were always in search of new religions at various historical junctures. Thus, Buddhism and Jainism in ancient India, Islam in the medieval period and Christianity in modern era attracted Dalits. The book Dalits and Religion contains personal narratives by learned Dalit scholars. These are neither translations, nor creations of non-Dalits, who, at times, are unable to realize the angst of Dalit community. Apart from narratives, there are insightful articles on various aspects of Dalit existence, viz. their religious tradition, forms of indigenous knowledge, conversion of Dalits into Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity and Islam, etc. Critiques on Dalit literature like Narendra Jadhav’s Outcaste: A Memoir, Kalyana Rao’s Untouchable Spring and Joshua’s Naa Katha also form part of the book. Besides, there is an examination of Hindi Dalit autobiographies of North India, while Dr. Ambedkar’s conversion to Buddhism has been studied with a historical perspective. The book highlights the relationship between caste and religion and the socio-religious struggles that marginalized castes had to wage against the cultural hegemony of so-called upper castes. It is written in simple style and easy-to-understand language. It will prove highly useful to research scholars on Dalit religion and tradition, Dalit intellectuals and those concerned with the welfare of Dalits.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements; Preface; Introduction; 1. Who is “Brahman”, not Brahmana/Brahmin? A Personal Narrative of Mala Dasari-D. Murali Manohar; 2. Dalit Religious Tradition and the Village Deities-Suneetha Rani and Ganjha Chakrapani; 3. “Why Should I Conceal?”: My Boyhood Memoir-J. Bheemaiah; 4. Religion of the Liangmai Nagas in North-East India-Ajailiu Niumai; 5. Religion as Emancipatory Identity: Dalits and Christianity in Andhra Pradesh-Nagaraju Gundimeda; 6. Continuity and Change in the Worship of Local Goddesses: A Study on the Protest Religion of Marginal Communities in Coastal Andhra Pradesh-Sujatha Devarapalli; 7. The Homosexual/Dalit Interface-Hoshang Merchant; 8. Establishing a Dalit Tradition: Narendra Jadhav’s Outcaste: A Memoir-Sheeja Rajagopal; 9. Forms of Indigenous Knowledge and Their Relevance in Policy Formulations-Anand Mahanand; 10. Examining Hindi Dalit Autobiographies of North India-Bhim Singh; 11. Dalit Autobiographies: Caste, Birth and Hunger- T.V. Kattimani; 12. Kalyana Rao’s Untouchable Spring: A Conformist Dalit Novel-K. Purushotham; 13. Personal Narrative of Omprakash-Kamble Omprakash; 14. Ambedkar’s Conversion to Buddhism: A Note on Historical Background-Vulli Dhanaraju; 15. Personal Narrative of Swaroopa Rani-K. Swaroopa Rani; 16. Garram joshua’s Naa Kaatha-Po Ramulu; 17. Valedictory Address-Justice K. Rama Swamy; List of Contributors