<PART II : LANGUAGE, LEARNING AND IDENTITY>Language and the Formation of Self-Identity : The Case of 'Dalits' in India

Abstract

Born as a Hindu in India, one's social status and role in society are determined by the caste into which one is born. Dalits ('the poor' or 'oppressed'), formerly called 'Untouchables', are considered inherently unclean according to the Hindu ideology of 'unclean and pure theory'. Placed outside the Hindu caste system, they have long suffered, therefore, from poverty and exploitation. For poor Dalits, poverty has remained a more urgent difficulty than searching for their identity. Nevertheless, since the 1980's, educated middle class Dalits have emerged with the assistance of a positive discrimination policy. They have spurred the search for their own identity through social and political movements. However, this recent increased interest in Dalits identity does not mean that it has not been discussed until recently. In fact, a variety of terms have been applied to describe Dalits' identity throughout India's history. This paper tries to explain how different terms were formed from different perspectives to describe Dalits' identity and what these terms meant for the Dalits' formation of self-identity.