->BD2412 at 20:19, 7 January 2022

2022-01-07T20:19:12Z

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{{short description|Annual celebration of Dalit history}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox holiday
|holiday_name = Dalit History Month
|type = national
|image =
|imagesize =
|caption = official logo of the Dalit History Month
|nickname = Bahujan History Month
|observedby =[[India]], [[United States]], [[Canada]]
|litcolor =
|longtype =
|significance = Celebration of [[Dalit]] history
|begins =
|ends =
|date = April (worldwide)
|frequency = Annual
|duration = 1 month
}}

'''Dalit History Month''' is an annual observance as a way of remembering important people and events in the history of the [[Dalit]]s or [[Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes]].<ref>{{cite news | title=The new 140-character war on India's caste system | newspaper=Washington Post | date=2016-05-11 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/the-new-140-character-war-on-indias-caste-system/2016/05/11/df3f38e8-299a-43b8-a313-fcce84055301_story.html | access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://feminisminindia.com/2017/04/27/dalit-history-month/|title=Writing Our Own Histories – Why We Need Dalit History Month|last=Harad|first=Tejas|date=2017-04-26|website=Feminism In India|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref> It is celebrated in April all over the world by followers of [[B. R. Ambedkar|B.R Ambedkar]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/celebrating-the-dalit-history-month/article23527323.ece|title=Celebrating Dalit History Month|last=Krishnan|first=Mini|date=2018-04-13|work=The Hindu|access-date=2019-12-08|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://m.himalmag.com/the-roots-of-dalit-rage-ambedkar/|title=The roots of Dalit rage|last=Says|first=Rohit|website=Himal Southasian|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref> Discussions,<ref>{{Cite web |title=caste can no longer be ignored: US conference will discuss dalit culture's resistance
|url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/caste-can-no-longer-be-ignored-us-conference-will-discuss-dalit-cultures-resistance-80701|website=The News Minute|date=May 4, 2018|access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref> storytelling,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scroll.in/magazine/875331/resistance-and-resilience-dalit-history-month-2018-showcases-neglected-histories-and-untold-stories|title=Resistance and resilience: Dalit History Month 2018 showcases neglected histories and untold stories|last=Chari|first=Mridula|website=Scroll.in|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref> history projects,<ref>{{cite web | title=Dalit history threatens the powerful. That is why they want to erase, destroy and jail it | website=ThePrint | date=2018-04-01 | url=https://theprint.in/opinion/dalit-history-month/dalit-history-threatens-powerful-erase-destroy-jail-it/46177/ | access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref> special publications in media,<ref>{{cite web | title=The Dalit History Month series | website=The News Minute | date=2016-04-01 | url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/dalit-history-month-series-41033 | access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref> and art works<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.firstpost.com/living/ambedkar-jayanti-2017-heres-a-look-at-dalit-history-month-to-explore-forgotten-narratives-3383696.html|title=Ambedkar Jayanti 2017: Here's a look at Dalit History Month to explore forgotten narratives|website=Firstpost|date=April 14, 2017|access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref> are organized during this month.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.questia.com/magazine/1G1-473149309/resisting-injustice-seeking-new-ways-to-speak | title=Resisting Injustice: Seeking New Ways to Speak! | author=Gnanadason, Aruna | journal=[[CrossCurrents]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/152747641987213 | title=New Media and the Dalit Counter-public Sphere | author=Arvind Kumar Thakur | journal=[[Television & New Media]]|publisher=[[SAGE Publications]] | year=2019| doi=10.1177/152747641987213 | doi-broken-date=October 31, 2021 }}</ref>

==History==
Inspired by [[Black History Month]], a young group of Dalit women started the Dalit History Month in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/content/669977/a-month-reminisce-dalit-contribution.html|title=A month to reminisce Dalit contribution to history|date=2018-04-12|website=Deccan Herald|language=en|access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref> [[Sanghapali Aruna]] started project Dalit History Month for creating a documentation of Dalit, [[Adivasi]] and [[Bahujan]] history and culture.<ref>{{cite web | title=A new TV show on B.R. Ambedkar raises questions of responsible representation | website=ThePrint | date=2019-12-06 | url=https://theprint.in/features/a-new-tv-show-on-b-r-ambedkar-raises-questions-of-responsible-representation/331115/ | access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Watch - Sanghapali Aruna, 'The Woman Who Made Twitter's Legal Head Cry' | website=The Wire | date=2018-11-21 | url=https://thewire.in/video/watch-sanghapali-aruna-brahminical-patriarchy-twitter | access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref> Sanghapali Aruna and [[Thenmozhi Soundararajan]] came up with idea during discussions at [[The Color of Violence|Color of Violence]] conference in [[Chicago]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-10-26/meet-indian-women-trying-take-down-caste-apartheid|title=Meet the Indian women trying to take down 'caste apartheid'|website=Public Radio International|language=en|access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/dalitwomenfight-brings-fight-against-caste-based-violence-u-s-n454056|title=#DalitWomenFight Brings Fight Against Caste-Based Violence to U.S.|website=NBC News|language=en|access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref>

==Significance==
Dalits are discriminated against because of their [[caste]], despite such discrimination being illegal in India.<ref>{{cite web | title=Dalit history month: In UP's Chitrakoot upper-caste sanitation workers outsource cleaning to lower-castes, paying them paltry sums as wages | website=Firstpost | date=2018-04-24 | url=https://www.firstpost.com/videos/india/dalit-history-month-in-chitrakoot-upper-caste-sanitation-workers-outsource-cleaning-to-lower-castes-paying-them-paltry-sums-as-wages-4443645.html | access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last=Slater | first=Joanna | title=A young Indian couple married for love. Then the bride's father hired assassins. | newspaper=Washington Post | date=2019-08-19 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/a-young-indian-couple-married-for-love-then-the-brides-father-hired-assassins/2019/08/19/3d1ce9a0-a1d0-11e9-a767-d7ab84aef3e9_story.html | access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=US to hold first ever Congressional briefing on caste discrimination in the country | website=The News Minute | date=2019-05-22 | url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/us-hold-first-ever-congressional-briefing-caste-discrimination-country-102200 | access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref> Ignorance and absence of Dalits in [[Indian history]] by mainstream authors is discussed during Dalit History Month.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scroll.in/article/720249/on-ambedkar-jayanti-dalit-history-month-rewrites-the-history-of-the-marginalised-community|title=On Ambedkar Jayanti, Dalit History Month rewrites the history of the marginalised community|last=Chari|first=Mridula|website=Scroll.in|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref> Issues faced by Dalits are pondered upon by citizens.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thewire.in/caste/dalit-history-month-education-is-a-distant-dream-for-some-children|title=Dalit History Month: Education Is a Distant Dream for Some Children|website=The Wire|access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="160">
File:DalitHistoryMonth April15Editathon 05.jpg|[[B. R. Ambedkar]] portrait at Dalit History Month event
File:DalitHistoryMonth April15Editathon 07.jpg|Dalit History Month event poster
File:DalitHistoryMonth April15Editathon 17.jpg|Dalit History Month Editathon at [[University of California, Berkeley|UC Berkeley]], April 15, 2017
File:DalitHistoryMonth April15Editathon 09.jpg|[[Dalit literature]] at a Dalit History Month event
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Dalit]]
* [[Caste system in India]]
* [[Untouchability]]
* [[Caste-related violence in India]]
* [[Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal and Green Garden]]
* [[April 2018 caste protests in India]]
* [[Battle of Koregaon]]

== Footnotes ==
{{reflist|2}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.dalithistory.com/ Dalit History Month website]
*[https://www.projectmukti.com/dalit-history-month-2 DALIT HISTORY MONTH at Project Mukti]

[[Category:B. R. Ambedkar]]
[[Category:Dalit culture]]
[[Category:Dalit politics]]
[[Category:Dalit history]]
[[Category:Dalit literature]]
[[Category:April observances]]
[[Category:Commemorative months]]
[[Category:2015 introductions]]
[[Category:Observances in India]]
[[Category:Month-long observances in Canada]]
[[Category:South Asian Canadian culture]]
[[Category:Observances in the United States]]
[[Category:South Asian American culture]]
[[Category:Observances in the United Kingdom]]

Dalit History Month - Revision history

->BD2412 at 20:19, 7 January 2022