According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data between 2019 and 2022, atrocities against Dalits increased by 19 per cent in Uttar Pradesh alone. BJP-governed states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Bihar account for nearly 76 per cent of all reported atrocities against Dalits (Times of India, 2026). However, it would be misleading to attribute caste violence exclusively to BJP-ruled states. Atrocities against Dalits are also prevalent in states governed by the Congress and other so-called progressive parties. NCRB data captures only reported cases; unregistered atrocities—often suppressed at the local level by dominant castes—remain widespread and largely invisible.
Even after 75 years of independence, and amid the state’s celebration of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, violence against Dalits is still a routine within India’s social and political life. Dalit communities increasingly exhibit reluctance to report atrocities or mobilise collective outrage. Since 2014, public protests against caste violence have declined significantly. Protest movements are frequently labelled “urban Naxal” or “anti-national,” while Dalit activists are incarcerated under draconian laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the National Security Act (NSA). These constitutionally sanctioned legal mechanisms have been systematically used to suppress dissent and curtail Dalit freedom of expression over the last decade.
The present ruling regime, which openly favours Brahminical and upper-caste interests, increasingly seeks to remove justice from the domain of law and constitutional safeguards. In this political climate, perpetrators of caste violence are protected with impunity and even celebrated. The Hathras case exemplifies this trend: despite the accused receiving an initial life sentence, the Supreme Court granted bail, a decision publicly celebrated and endorsed by BJP leaders. Such celebrations normalise caste violence and render it culturally acceptable, reinforcing the idea that atrocities against Dalits will not only go unpunished but may also be socially legitimised. This normalisation is further enabled by the fragmentation and weakening of Dalit political mobilisation, alongside a noticeable decline in sustained campaigns against caste violence.
The Failure of Dalit Political Parties
Contemporary Dalit politics is arguably at its weakest, marked by declining visibility, ideological compromise, and organisational stagnation. Two primary factors explain this failure: the attempt to achieve political “mainstreaming” through alliances with upper castes, and the entrenchment of hereditary leadership within Dalit political parties. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) provides a crucial example. After Kanshi Ram's death, the party under Mayawati’s leadership sought to broaden its base by incorporating Brahmins and Kshatriyas, transforming itself into a Dalit-Savarna party. This strategy initially yielded electoral success, enabling Mayawati to become Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh multiple times. However, over time, upper-caste voters shifted decisively toward the BJP, while Dalits within the BSP grew increasingly alienated. The party’s foundational anti-caste ethos was diluted, leading to political disenfranchisement rather than empowerment. This ideological vacuum gave rise to the Bhim Army and the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), led by Chandra Shekhar Azad. Although Azad’s militant rhetoric and Dalit Panther-style activism enabled his election to Parliament with Dalit-Muslim support, his politics has not translated into sustained grassroots mobilisation against everyday caste violence in Uttar Pradesh. Like many Dalit MPs, his parliamentary presence has remained largely symbolic, failing to generate fear or accountability among dominant castes.
Similar patterns are evident elsewhere. In Tamil Nadu, Thol. Thirumavalavan’s accommodation within the DMK-led alliance has resulted in repeated compromises on Dalit rights where the indian political structure make upper caste political party alliance inevitable which is a post-poona pack affect in Kanshiram terms creates the stooge among the dalit canditure in such parties.. In Maharashtra, Various fraction of Dalit parties such RPI, very recent as the Anandraj Ambedkar’s Republican Party of India (RPI) and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) frequently align with ruling coalitions with Shinde’s Shive Sena who is also in alliance BJP at the state government. These parties previously aligned with the Congress and now appear increasingly accommodative of the BJP. The prioritisation of electoral alliances over principled resistance has normalised violence against Dalits and weakened political accountability. In the name of independent politics they are controlling the power and making it restrictive for the Dalit community within access or benefits from such a disruptive coalition remain antithetical to Ambedkarite politics. Unless the Dalit parties should not gain the confidence from their own community and integration and unity of Dalit castes enable them to constitute a strong Dalit base for their own. It is necessary to bring the all Dalit community together and merge them into one political identity as Ambedkarite, rather flaunting their municipal election achievement on social media only winning two three seats and making corporators does not solve anything and only produce the rudimentary form of politics remaining fractured and unable to protect their own community from the violence that they enduring in everyday basis.
Hereditary Politics within Dalit Leadership
A second major crisis within Dalit politics is the consolidation of hereditary leadership. The current generation of Dalit politicians often consists of sons, daughters, and close relatives of established leaders, many of whom are foreign-educated and treat politics as a career rather than a movement. Examples abound: Mayawati’s nephew has been appointed as BSP’s Uttar Adhikari; Chirag Paswan inherited leadership of the Lok Janshakti Party; Jogendra Kawade’s sons now lead factions of the RPI; Prakash Ambedkar has positioned his son as successor within the VBA. These developments restrict the emergence of new leadership and suppress internal democracy. Proximity to upper-caste power centres further distances these leaders from grassroots Dalit concerns. Coalitions with right-wing parties—such as Anandraj Ambedkar’s alliance with the Shiv Sena—underscore the ideological bankruptcy of contemporary Dalit leadership. While Ambedkarite symbolism is retained, Ambedkarite politics is hollowed out. These parties increasingly resemble the very upper-caste political formations they once opposed, prioritising power, wealth, and personal legacy over collective emancipation. The result is political stagnation, diminished accountability, and the routinisation of caste violence.
Towards a New Dalit Movement
In the absence of credible political leadership, social media and independent Dalit journalism have emerged as critical spaces of resistance. Movements such as the Bhima Koregaon protests and the mobilisation against amendments to the Atrocities Act were largely catalysed through digital platforms. However, online mobilisation must translate into sustained grassroots action to be politically effective.
“As Ambedkar argued, social reform must precede political reform. A renewed Dalit movement must therefore transcend party affiliations and hereditary leadership, uniting diverse sections of the community around shared social and economic struggles.”
Dalits today confront intersecting crises: unemployment, exclusion from education, privatisation, landlessness, displacement, erosion of reservations through EWS quotas, and the casualisation of labour under neoliberal reforms. The rise of artificial intelligence and contractual employment disproportionately affects Dalit workers, intensifying precarity and exploitation. As Ambedkar argued, social reform must precede political reform. A renewed Dalit movement must therefore transcend party affiliations and hereditary leadership, uniting diverse sections of the community around shared social and economic struggles. Grounded in constitutionalism and Ambedkarite principles, this movement must cultivate new leadership, rebuild grassroots organisations, and reclaim collective agency. Only through such a revival can Dalits challenge the normalisation of violence and reassert dignity, justice, and democratic participation in contemporary India.