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Ravidass Deras and Social Protest: Making Sense of Dalit Consciousness in Punjab (India)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 November 2008

Ronki Ram
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Abstract

This paper argues that Dalit consciousness in Punjab emerged against the backdrop of the teachings of Ravidass, an untouchable saint-poet of the North Indian Bhakti movement who presented a middle path between assimilation and radical separatism for the construction of a separate Dalit identity. Dera Sach Khand Ballan, one of the most popular Ravidass Deras in Punjab, played an important role in concretizing this path by chiseling the markers of a separate Dalit identity in the state. The author assesses the long-term implications of the newly emerged Dalit consciousness in Punjab for the deepening of democracy in India.

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Research Article
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The Journal of Asian Studies , Volume 67 , Issue 4 , November 2008 , pp. 1341 - 1364
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Copyright © The Association for Asian Studies, Inc. 2008

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