Dalit, term used to refer to any member of a wide range of social groups that were historically marginalized in Hindu caste society. The official designation Scheduled Caste is the most common term now used in India for people in these groups, although members of the Scheduled Castes often prefer the term Dalit. Use of the term “untouchable” and the social disabilities associated with it were declared illegal in the constitutions adopted by India in 1949 and by Pakistan in 1953.
Scheduled Castes include a number of groups that were excluded from the structured social hierarchy imposed by adherents of caste ideology. In the 20th century some members of these groups embraced a common Dalit self-identity that reflected their shared history and experience of exclusion from caste society. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was a leading figure in the movement for Dalit consciousness and empowerment. He often challenged Mahatma Gandhi’s claim to represent Dalits during India’s independence movement (see Poona Pact [1932]). As law minister (1947–51) and chief architect of India’s constitution (promulgated January 26, 1950), he also played a formative role in the structure of India’s government after its independence.
The constitution of India formally recognized the plight of the Dalits by legally establishing their social subgroups as Scheduled Castes (a population of some 170 million in the early 21st century). Besides banning untouchability, the constitution provides these groups with specific educational and vocational privileges and grants them special representation in the Indian parliament. In support of these efforts, the Untouchability (Offenses) Act (1955) provides penalties for preventing anyone from enjoying a wide variety of religious, occupational, and social rights on the grounds that he or she is from a Scheduled Caste. Despite such measures, the traditional divisions between caste groups persist in some levels of Indian society, making full emancipation of these groups slow to come about.
Kocheril Raman Narayanan, who served as president of India from 1997 to 2002, was the first member of a Scheduled Caste to occupy a high office in the country. Ram Nath Kovind was the second president (2017–22) from a Scheduled Caste.