ABSTRACT
This chapter reports the findings of a case study which was carried out to investigate to what extent the lives of Dalits have changed over half a century. It focuses on Dalit women as they have been exploited by their men and high-caste people. The narrative of the chapter is based on intensive semi-structured interviews with 16 people and protracted observations for several weeks in November 2006. Topics covered in the interviews include: jobs, agricultural labour, inter-caste relationship, social interaction, religious orientation, segregation in gurdwaras and village cemetery, reservation issues, schooling and education. The chapter describes the positions of Dalits in Punjabi villages succinctly: Caste continues to be an important marker of social, economic and political life in contemporary Punjab. This case study was undertaken in the light of previous research and literature on Dalits which concluded that caste remains an important force/dimension in the social and personal lives of Indians.
