Social Justice : An Illustrated Primer on Dalit Politics and Hindutva

Social justice is a resounding cry after sixty years of independence. Dalits form about one-sixth of the population of India and still face severe social, economic and political oppression. The reservation policy on education, job quotas and electoral constituencies have ensured that Dalits would gain and become ‘equal’ to others over time. Today, the augmentation of the quotas in higher education is again a response to the call of increasing social justice.

Introducing the reader to issues in current politics simply and succinctly, Puniyani argues that the public rage against the liberation of Dalits hides the discomfort felt at the liberation of women; indeed the real social issues of caste and gender are buried deep and deflected so that the structural hierarchy of caste and gender remains intact. He argues that we need to be involved actively in the goal for greater social justice, that democracy cannot be protected without supporting the common struggles of Dalits, workers, women and Adivasis for economic, social and gender justice.