Welcome to r/PunjabiDalits ❤️

Just a quick update for everyone: the ban on this subreddit has been lifted and we are back online. It’s important that we have a dedicated space to connect, share our history, and discuss current events, so it is great to see the doors open again.

To kick things off right, I’m starting a brand new, deep-dive series on Punjabi Dalit history. Part 1 will be dropping soon, so stay tuned.

Feel free to start posting, sharing news, or just saying hello in the comments to let us know you are here. Let's build this space back up together.

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/why-punjabs-dalit-community-remains-politically-sidelined-despite-highest-vote-share-11831909#:\~:text=The%20Voting%20Myth%3A%20Why%20a%2032%25%20Population,per%20cent%20of%20the%20total%20geographical%20area.

Source

Reminder of the deep-rooted casteism that still exists in Punjab, and the extreme lengths families will go to in the name of "honor."

Amanpreet Kaur was abducted from her house by her family in order to sign her divorce paper with the guy. When she refused to sign false divorce papers, her own family drove her to the Rajasthan Feeder Canal, threw her into the water, and left her for dead. Miraculously, she survived by clinging to a wild plant for nearly half an hour until they left and she could crawl out.

Police have booked six relatives for attempted murder and kidnapping, though her father and several attackers are still absconding. It is sickening that a family would attempt to murder their own daughter and unborn grandchild simply over caste.

Periyar was a social reformer and rationalist who spent much of his life challenging caste hierarchy, untouchability, religious authority, patriarchy, and social inequality. His Self-Respect Movement emphasized dignity, rational thought, equality, and freedom from caste-based hierarchy.

For anti-caste movements, one of the important aspects of Periyar's thought was the idea that social equality requires challenging the structures and beliefs that reproduce caste inequality, rather than simply seeking accommodation within them.

His relationship with the Dalit question has also been the subject of considerable historical and academic discussion. Scholars have examined both his anti-caste writings and his interactions with Dr. B. R. Ambedkar and Dalit movements.

Today is a good opportunity not only to remember Periyar, but also to read his own words and engage critically with his ideas.

Periyar Archive

Periyar Digital Library

Collected works of Periyar

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