The post-Ambedkar era has witnessed the rise of Dalit consciousness across India, not only in Maharashtra but also in northern and southern parts of the country. These movements transformed Dalit politics and introduced a new vision of social autonomy while raising universal questions about human rights and dignity.
In states like Uttar Pradesh, the emergence of Dalit-led political parties such as the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) marked a significant milestone, bringing Dalit aspirations to the forefront of governance and policymaking. However, Assam, with its rich diversity and history of Brahminical oppression, has yet to experience a well-organized Dalit movement despite 7.15% of the state’s population comprising Scheduled Caste communities.
Dalit communities in Assam continue to suffer historical marginalisation at the hands of entrenched caste hierarchies. The state and central governments have largely ignored their aspirations in development discourses, leaving them voiceless in critical decisions affecting their socio-economic well-being. Even the elected representatives from Scheduled Caste (SC) communities have failed to address these pressing concerns adequately.
The rapid pace of privatisation, loss of livelihood and land to annual floods, big corporations, ‘ecological’ development projects, and continued educational marginalisation have only worsened the plight of Assam’s Dalit communities, stripping them of opportunities and entrenching socio-economic disparities.
Besides the fact that public and private sectors are held disproportionately by Brahmin-Bania conglomerates that prevent SC youth from entering these spaces, even the negligible ‘welfare’ schemes do not reach SC communities, as several recent scams have highlighted.
This neglect calls for immediate action and the rise of a robust Ambedkarite consciousness in Assam to counter these systemic injustices.
This urgent need was recognised by a few like-minded individuals located in Assam. Most of them are recent graduates, postgraduates and research scholars who have engaged deeply with Ambedkarite ideas and thought and also as active participants in Ambedkarite student political movements. Rupam, a postgraduate from Hyderabad Central University, recalls his association with the Ambedkar Students’ Association (ASA). “Dalit-Bahujan student politics is powerful at the University of Hyderabad, primarily because of ASA and other Dalit-Bahujan student organisations.
“ASA is the same organisation that Rohith Vemula was a part of before his institutional murder at the university. As a member of ASA, I learned many things, such as organisational skills and anti-caste consciousness. ASA helped me view my surroundings through an anti-caste lens. Whether marginalised students actively join ASA or not, the organisation becomes an integral part of their day-to-day life, as ASA is always at the forefront of fighting the administration regarding protecting the interests of marginalised students,” he said.
Another member recalls their journey at the Pondicherry Central University. “For me, the institutional murder of Rohith Vemula and the constant dirt slinging on his identity by the Brahminical state were monumentally painful. In a state of turmoil, when I finally read Babasaheb (Dr. B. R. Ambedkar), it was like an emotional shelter to me. I saw Ambedkarite student unions mobilising on issues that were institutionally overlooked, but I was fearful and unconfident to join them. After my postgraduation, when I enrolled myself on a prestigious fellowship in the social development sector, I witnessed and experienced a complicated mix of casteism and racism, as well as gender bias. It was hard to place my experience anywhere but my subjectivity. Again, the scholarship of intersectional feminists like Sharmila Rege helped direct my subjectivity with a foundation in Ambedkarite thought,” the member said.
The Myth of ‘Casteless’ Assam
However, their political grounding comes from their experience of caste/class discrimination back home in Assam.
Brothers Pritam and Sayan explain how their upbringing in flood-prone areas of Upper Assam and then in Barak Valley was marked by their caste identity. “During our teenage years, we had to hide our identities to have friends deliberately, and so did others from our community. Some of our community friends would get bullied due to the colour of their skin, the food that we ate, and the locality where we came from, and we are few among the dominant groups – many of us couldn’t even afford education fees. When we lived in Silchar for around 4 years, our classmates who mocked our lived experience could never understand our struggle, let alone show solidarity.”
Others speak of the various ways that caste operates in ‘namghars’ and other religious institutions, schools and colleges, government offices, and even on social media. Blatant forms of untouchability in the form of proscriptions of inter-caste dining and refusing water or food from ‘lower castes’ are being practised widely across regions of Assam. Individuals who seek to or aspire for class mobility and enter educational institutions remain tagged as ‘quota kids’ irrespective of their rank or academic performance. “Government employees belonging to scheduled caste communities of Assam have also expressed to us the dismissal of their ‘merit’ when they qualify for a post or promotion; the burden of caste becomes only theirs to carry while the so-called ‘upper-castes’ bask in caste pride,” said Sanjana Hazarika.
A Deliberate Silence in Discourse and Jatiyotabadi Politics
The concern of scheduled castes has never found a place in political agendas or ‘popular’ ethnonationalist movements. On the contrary, the identitarian politics of ‘Assamese’ nationality, on the one hand, and the steady rise of radicalised, militant Hindutva in the Northeast have hindered any mobilisation of the scheduled castes to voice their issues. Further, Marxist scholars and academics have hardly looked critically at the existing caste structure in Assam, rather they have exalted the Vaishnative movement and its seeming egalitarianism.
An Ambedkarite scholar from Assam, Dona Biswas, points out, “In my growing years in Assam, I could see how the silences of caste hierarchy are maintained in the name of religion, region, and most evidently through linguistic division. The upper caste enjoys these divisions more by building the narrative of Centre-Periphery, which empowers the mainstream society of Assam to sustain their movement in the state. However, the reality of hatred on the ground is built, targeting marginalised communities one against the other, sometimes putting tribals against minority religions and vis-a-vis flaring the politics of hatred. In that myriad discourse of Assam, the reality of the socio-political backwardness of Dalits acts out as a ‘ghost of caste’ in the more extensive public debate.”
Birth of AIISCA Assam
Coming from their lived experience, these Ambedkarite scholars and social activists felt the dire need for a relevant platform in the form of an organisation. At the national level, the All India Independent Scheduled Castes Association (AIISCA) was formed in a mass public meeting held at Nagpur on October 3, 2023.
In this meeting, public intellectual and ex-president of BAPSA (JNU), Dr Rahul Sonpimple, was elected President of AIISCA and thus began its movement of grassroots mobilisation. The call for action resonated with Ambedkarites of Assam.
The goal was to build a movement that not only represents the interests of the Dalit community but also provides them with the tools and resources necessary to achieve social justice and equality.
This includes educating and mobilising Dalit youth, strengthening local organisations, and ensuring that Dalit voices are heard and acted upon at every level of governance. By spreading Ambedkarite ideals and fostering solidarity, AIISCA aimed to create a movement that stands as a bulwark against oppression and advocates for an egalitarian society envisioned by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. With this objective, the Assam wing was established a year later, i.e., 1st October 2024, in Guwahati with a public conference. In this gathering of activists, community members, professionals, students, and leaders, a state committee was formed for a powerful, organised Dalit movement in Assam. There was also a need to raise consciousness among scheduled caste communities beyond regional and linguistic divides and create a sense of solidarity towards truly eradicating caste from all social institutions of Assam.
Creating Space for Ambedkarite Literature at the Assam Book Fair
“In our subsequent meetings, we felt that as our initial step to raise consciousness amongst our people, we have to introduce Dr B. R. Ambedkar’s writings widely, just as we got the opportunity to read and understand at the university,” said a member.
As such, the AIISCA decided to set up a book stall at the two-week-long Assam Book Fair held at Khanapara, Guwahati. Their objective was to ensure affordable books on caste, social oppression, and emancipation reach readers in regional languages and also highlight the existence of the organisation. However, gathering funds was the biggest roadblock to this initiative, with the registration fee for setting up a 10×10 stall with shelves at the Bookfair being Rs 16,000.
While the members began contributing small amounts ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 500, they simultaneously started an online campaign that slowly started gaining traction. “We made an Instagram account of the association and began making calls for donations. Through shares and reshares, sharing stories and personal groups, we were getting money at a very slow pace; we thought we couldn’t register for the stall before the deadline,” said a member of AIISCA.
On the last day, when we were nearly giving up hope, a donation of Rs 5,000 set us up for our goal, and we managed to submit our registration form mere hours before the office of the Assam Publication Board closed. “We are very grateful to all our donors who showed trust in our movement and contributed to getting Babasaheb into the biggest literary festival of the Northeast,” an AIISCA member said.
As the donation campaign continued, they started curating books from Ambedkarite publishers in Delhi and Maharashtra. “Our criteria was to keep the books as cheap as possible and to get as much discount from the publisher. We got books from Critical Quest, Navayana, Panther’s Paw Publication, Gautam Books, Samayak Prakashan, Siddha Publishers (North Bengal) and so on. Apart from accessibility, these publishers have been instrumental in upholding and sustaining the anti-caste movement through discourse when mainstream publishing houses showed neglect until popular names like Roys and Tharoors took interest.” a member added.
They got several titles of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s writings and speeches (published as separate books) in the Rs. 50-200 range and announced special student discounts. “We assumed our books wouldn’t be sold, but surprisingly, we ran out of stock on Day 3 of the fair! With the help of money from sales, we ordered more books. We also showcased reports by the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), posters by artists like P. K. Naik and artwork by Malvika Raj. All of the books and artwork garnered much praise from visitors. There were hardly any people who came into the stall and left without buying something. Moreover, we also handed out smaller titles, reports and articles of the Ambedkarian Chronicle free of cost,” another member said.
Most importantly, they had books on caste in 4 languages: English, Assamese, Bangla and Hindi.
“As the fair progressed, we approached authors who wrote on Ambedkar, Savitrimai and Jotiba Phule, and Buddhist tradition in Assamese and asked them to showcase a few books at our stall. These books sold out quite fast, too,” said a member.
Talking about their experience at the 12-day-long fair, we can say it was beyond our expectations. “We had repeat visitors to our stall who would come in to chat, discuss, and read with us. They would bring their friends with them. Several individuals from scheduled caste communities across Assam shared their experiences of being marginalised because of their social location and commended us for our initiative. We are overjoyed at the response,” the members added.
A member of the AIISCA told us: “I come from Barak Valley, which is known for its literature, culture, and rich heritage. However, when the entire agrarian and fishing (SC) community and their struggles are not represented and are not considered a struggle, we decided to join AIISCA to educate ourselves. We have observed Assam Book Fair for the past 2 years, where we failed to find any literature representing our community. So together, we took the initiative to represent the struggle we all have faced and connect our people who are part of the struggle.”
They also highlight that some visitors came in to claim the irrelevance of such literature, as caste was not ‘strictly followed’ in Assam. “I remember particularly an elderly person who visited us twice to say Ambedkar may have done this and that, but Vaishnavism propagated by Sankardev brought all castes together. We pointed out that the practice of segregation of castes also takes place in namghar institutions, but people who come in intentionally with bitterness do not wish to discuss it. I am still grateful to have engaged with them,” the member added.
Some visitors also showed interest in connecting with the organisation, which they believe paves the way for their grassroots movement. “We need more research and projects on caste in Assam. We are also pushing for a nationwide caste census to clear a lot of misinformation and myths regarding Assamese society,” a member said.
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