ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we situate the dynamics of the Indian women’s movement by focusing on caste, particularly the rise of Dalit women leaders, by drawing attention to the intersections of caste, class and gender as critical for social change. We suggest considering movement activity as the setting up or building of an agenda as a form of political action. While agenda setting focuses on gaining formal political power that enables the inclusion of social problems in public agendas, agenda building refers to organized action for social change. Our emphasis is on agenda building because we consider it key to challenging social injustice. Despite efforts to mobilize at the grass roots, document Dalit experiences through literature, and seek formal political power, Dalit women’s experiences have remained at the margins of both the Dalit movement and the autonomous women’s movement. We argue that interlinkages between grass-roots mobilizing and Dalit women’s leadership can enable a sustainable form of agenda building that centre-stages intersectional concerns of gender, caste and class. Autonomous women’s movements, Dalit parties and leftist parties may need to acknowledge Dalit women’s leadership as central to any struggle for social justice, especially when such leadership emerges from and remains embedded in grass-roots organizing.
