ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the rejection of the Dalit category among number of Dalit women political activists and interrogates this category's universal appropriation and understanding. It focuses on earlier writings to further elaborate on question of difference as central to Dalit women's representation. The chapter shows that Dalit caste status as a synonym of marginalization, exploitation and violence is not the only avenue for Dalit women's subject formation. It discusses how the issue of difference among Dalit women became part of author's inquiry and what this implies in terms of representation. The chapter argues that this dilemma informs the formation of an alternative analytics of difference for Dalit women and their repositioning within the study of contemporary Indian society. It describes the world of women's politics when author's subsequent research project began in mid-2000s. The chapter argues that emphasis on untouchability as the main analytics displaces the salience of other categories and experiences which are not mediated and explained by 'Dalit'.
