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{{short description|Indian social organization}}
{{about|the social movement in Indian state of Maharashtra|the social movement in Indian state of Tamil Nadu|Dalit Panthers Iyyakkam}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}{{use Indian English|date=July 2017}}

{{Infobox Indian political party
|colorcode = RED
|logo =
|ppchairman =
|foundation = 9 July 1972{{efn|There are different recordings on the day of the foundation. Mamta Rajawat in ''Encyclopedia of Dalits in India'' states it was established in April 1972,{{sfn|Rajawat|2004|p=325}} while ''[[Mid-Day]]''{{'s}} Prutha Bhosle affirms it was on 29 May 1972,<ref name=md/> and Sebastian Maria Michael, author of ''Dalits in Modern India: Vision and Values'', states it occurred on 9 July 1972.{{sfn|Michael|2007|p=173}} |name=foundation}}
|founder = {{unbulleted list|[[Namdeo Dhasal]]|[[J. V. Pawar]]}}
|headquarters =
|eci =
|ideology = [[Dalit#Political involvement|Dalit socialism]]<br>[[Caste system in India#Criticism|Anti-casteism]]<br>[[Buddhism]]<br>[[Marxism]]
|flag =
|party_name = Dalit Panthers
|predecessor =
|successor =
|colours =
|dissolution = 1988
}}

The '''Dalit Panthers''' was a revolutionary<ref>—

* {{cite book |last= Mitra |first=Subrata K. |author-link= Subrata K. Mitra|title=The Puzzle of India's Governance : Culture, Context and Comparative Theory |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7Dh-AgAAQBAJ|publisher= [[Routledge]]|page= 131 |isbn= 9781134274925|year= 2007|quote=The Dalit Panthers are a militant political organisation committed to total revolutionary struggle for the destruction of the established socio-political and economic order.}}
* {{cite book |last=Omvedt |first=Gail|author-link=Gail Omvedt|title=Dalit Visions: The Anti-caste Movement and the Construction of an Indian Identity |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=y3AMAQAAMAAJ|year=1995 |publisher=[[Orient Longman]] |page= 73 |isbn=9788125006367|quote=...Dalit Panthers, a militant organization of dalit youth. Born in Bombay in 1972, with its leadership drawn from a new generation of young poets and writers, and founded against the backdrop of in-creasing rural and urban tensions-it was a period in which atrocities against dalits in the villages, often of brutal and horrifying forms, seemed on the increase the Dalit Panthers proved to be the spark that set off a wave of organizing efforts throughout the country.}}
* {{cite book |last=Kunnath |first=George J. |title=Rebels From the Mud Houses: Dalits and the Making of the Maoist Revolution in Bihar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IkcrDwAAQBAJ |year=2017 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|page=16 |isbn=9781351418744 |quote= The Dalit Panthers was a militant organization formed by Dalit activists in Maharashtra in the 1970s. The name, with its insurrectionist symbolism, was borrowed from the Black Panthers of the United States.}}
* {{cite web |last=D'Mello |first=Bernard |date=20 August 2018|title=How the Dalit Panthers Attempted to Break Free of Shackles |url=https://thewire.in/books/india-after-naxalbari-review-bernard-dmello |website=[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]] |location=India |access-date=5 June 2025|quote=Earlier that year, in May, the militant Dalit protest organisation and movement, Dalit Panthers, was founded by Namdeo Dhasal and the poet/writer J.V. Pawar. Dhasal’s defense of Dhale led the latter to join the Panthers. The Dalit Panthers were inspired by the African-American Black Panther Party.}}
</ref> organisation in India that sought to combat [[Caste system in India|caste]] discrimination. It was led by a group of [[Mahar]] writers and poets, including [[Raja Dhale]], [[Namdeo Dhasal]], and [[J. V. Pawar]] in some time in early 1972.{{efn|name=foundation}} It was founded as a response to the growing discontent among the Dalit youth during the 25th Independence Day celebrations. Inspired by the [[Black Panther Party|Black Panther movement]] in the United States, poet-writers J V Pawar and Namdeo Dhasal founded the Dalit Panthers, urging a boycott of the Independence Day revelry, terming it a 'Black Independence Day'. The movement's heyday lasted from the 1970s through the 1980s, and it was later joined by many Dalit-[[Buddhist]] activists.

==Formation and influence==
[[File:Raja dhale.jpg|thumb|[[Raja Dhale]], one of the first members of the Dalit Panther Party]]

The backdrop for the formation of the Dalit Panthers was set by various socio-political developments in [[Maharashtra]]. The first non-[[Indian National Congress|Congress]] state governments were established in 1967, and global youth political movements gained momentum. The ''Yuvak Kranti Dal'' had been formed in [[Maharashtra]], and a mass conversion of [[Dalit|Dalits]] to [[Buddhism]] occurred in 1956. The period also witnessed a significant land rights movement led by [[Bhaurao Gaikwad|Dadasaheb Gaikwad]] and an extension of reservation benefits to converted Buddhists in the late 1960s.<ref name=":0" />

Litterateur [[J. V. Pawar]] first became interested in the activism against Dalits discrimination by the time of [[B. R. Ambedkar]]'s death on 6 December 1956.<ref name="md">{{Cite web|url=https://www.mid-day.com/articles/the-last-panther/21386193|title=The last Panther|date=21 July 2019|first=Prutha|last=Bhosle|website=[[Mid-Day]]|language=en|access-date=8 August 2019}}</ref> "Stunned" by Ambedkar's work, he was inspired to write critical pieces in collaboration with poet [[Namdeo Dhasal]]. Pawar and Dhasal's attention to the Dalit question was further increased by 1971, when a special committee by the then Prime Minister [[Indira Gandhi]] reported on atrocities against Dalit and two Dalit women were forced to walk naked in a [[Maharashtra]] village.<ref name="md" /> By mid-1972, there was a vacuum created in Dalit politics resulting from [[Ambedkarism|Ambedkarite]] [[Republican Party of India]] (RPI) splitting into factions.<ref name="md" />{{sfn|Satyanarayana|Tharu|2013|p=55}} Motivated by the [[Little magazine movement|Little Magazine movement]] and the blossoming Dalit literature, Pawar and Dhasal started the Dalit Panthers{{efn|Several sources state that Raja Dhale was among its founders,{{sfn|Michael|2007|p=173}}<ref name=times/> but Pawar himself have told that Dhale was invited to him some time after the establishment.<ref name=md/> }} – also as a response to what was perceived as a factionist, corrupt and ageing politics of the RPI.{{sfn|''Economic and Political Weekly'' 1974|page=716}} Hoping to break with all established parties, the Dalit Panthers originated with the [[Scheduled Caste]] community of the [[Mahars]] as its social base.{{sfn|Gokhale-Turner|1979|p=77}}

The Dalit Panthers were largely inspired by the Black Panther Party, a socialist political party that sought to combat racial and economic discrimination against [[African-American]]s, during the [[civil rights movement]] in the United States, which occurred in the mid-20th century.<ref name="md" />{{sfn|Satyanarayana|Tharu|2013|p=55}} Because of this, they adopted Black Panther's organisational structure and strategies, as well as were influenced by [[African-American literature]].{{sfn|Michael|2007|p=173}} During the first public meeting of Dalit Panthers', Pawar invited writer [[Raja Dhale]] to give a speech after being impressed by an opinion piece of Dhale ("Black Independence Day") about unfair laws towards Dalits. Dhale's speech was lauded, and Pawar invited him to join the Panthers, which he immediately agreed.<ref name="md" /> After that, Dhale, Dhasal, and Pawar took the role of organisation's president, defence minister and general secretary respectively.{{sfn|Michael|2007|p=173}}

== Worli riots ==
Prior to the foundation of the Dalit Panthers, [[Shiv Sena]], a [[Hindutva|Hindu nationalist]] political party, was the most influential organisation among the Maharashtrian youth.{{sfn|Gokhale-Turner|1979|p=86}} Especially in the [[Worli]] neighbourhood of Mumbai, Sena influenced both Dalit and non-Dalit youngsters who formed gangs united by their lower-class status that were mobilised by Sena for support in elections.{{sfn|Gokhale-Turner|1979|p=86}} However, the formation of the Panthers led to a declining support for Sena among Dalits and eventually culminated into conflict between the two groups.{{sfn|Gokhale-Turner|1979|p=86}} Sena's partisans said the Dalit Panthers were undermining Maharashtrian unity by raising issues of [[Caste system in India|caste]], while the Panthers's counterargument was that the Sena only represented upper-caste individuals.{{sfn|Gokhale-Turner|1979|p=86}} In January 1974, in opposition to both Shiv Sena and RPI leaders who were backing Congress candidate [[Ramrao Adik]],<ref name="times" /> they called for an [[election boycott]] of the [[by-election]] to the [[Lok Sabha]] from the South-Central Bombay constituency and for the [[Maharashtra Legislative Assembly]].<ref name="md" />{{sfn|''Economic and Political Weekly'' 1974|page=716}} This happened in the context of a "Maharashtra Bandh Day" ("Shut Down Maharashtra"), called 2 January, led by [[Communist Party of India]] (CPI) and supported by some opposition parties, including the Panthers.{{sfn|Gokhale-Turner|1979|p=87}} They previously backed a CPI-led mill workers' strike,{{sfn|Gokhale-Turner|1979|p=87}} and, according to Pawar, they wished the win of [[Roza Deshpande]] of the CPI.<ref name="md" />

In the same year, the organisation was attacked by civilians, mostly Shiv Sena's supporters,<ref name=times/> and by police at least in two occasions in January. On the fifth day of that month, a Dalit Panther's meeting in Worli was attacked with stones, and police made a [[lathi charge]] and arrested 19 persons.{{sfn|Mody|1974}} Five days later, police arrested four important leaders of the Dalit Panthers during a march against police brutality and partisan attitude against Scheduled Caste persons on a [[Maratha (caste)#Worli BDD Chawl violence|BDD Chawl violence]] case.{{sfn|Mody|1974}} During what become known as the [[Worli riots]], Bhagwat Jadhav, a member of the Dalit Panthers, was killed by a grinding stone thrown from an apartment at the rally.<ref name=times>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nashik/Dalit-Panther-founder-launches-new-body/articleshow/12642868.cms|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130820024728/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-04-13/nashik/31336719_1_dalit-leaders-jogendra-kawade-rpi|url-status=live|archive-date=20 August 2013|title=Dalit Panther founder launches new body|date=13 April 2002|work=[[The Times of India]]|access-date=5 March 2018}}</ref>

The organisation's heyday lasted until 1977.<ref name=md/>

==Ideology==
The Dalit Panthers advocated for and practised radical politics, fusing the ideology of [[Karl Marx]] to Indian authors like Ambedkar and [[Jyotirao Phule]]{{sfn|Satyanarayana|Tharu|2013|p=55}}—the latter two being the only authors they recognised being influenced by.{{sfn|Michael|2007|p=173}} Thus, they adopted the idea of [[class conflict]], directing their criticism towards upper-caste capitalists and those who oppressed the Dalits.{{sfn|Michael|2007|p=173}} They openly defended the use of violent strategies, if necessary, and affirmed a complete revolution was needed to fulfill Dalits' emancipation.{{sfn|Michael|2007|p=173}} Accordingly, their manifesto, published in 1973,{{sfn|Satyanarayana|Tharu|2013|p=55}} read as the following: "We do not want a little place in the ''Brahmin Alley''. We want the rule of the whole land, we are not looking at persons but at systems and change of heart ... liberal education will not end our state of exploitation. When we gather a revolutionary mass, rouse the people, out of the struggle, the giant mass will become tidal wave of revolution".{{sfn|Michael|2007|p=173}} According to [[K. Satyanarayana (academic)|Satyanarayana]] and [[Susie Tharu|Tharu]], their manifesto fit the Ambedkarite spirit into a broader Marxist framework and heralded the rise of an autonomous Dalit perspective in post-Independence India.{{sfn|Satyanarayana|Tharu|2013|p=55}} Divergent ideological perspectives emerged within the Dalit Panthers' founding members, particularly between Namdeo Dhasal, Baburao Bagul, and Raja Dhale. The release of the manifesto '[[Zahirnama]]' in 1972 by Dhasal sparked disagreements, with Dhale accusing it of having a purely Communist agenda. However, the Panthers continued to expand their influence in Mumbai, challenging the Shiv Sena and Bal Thackeray. Although they indirectly supported Deshpande of the CPI in 1974, Pawar noted Dhasal was the only Marxist, while he and Dhale were [[Buddhist]]s, which caused divergences that led to the dissolution of the organisation.<ref name=md/>

Despite its name and of being generally accepted as a party of the Scheduled Castes of Maharashtra, the organisation did not seek to be an only-Dalit movement; instead, they used of the term "Dalit" to refer to all lower-caste communities and poor among the caste Hindus.{{sfn|Satyanarayana|Tharu|2013|p=55}}{{sfn|''Economic and Political Weekly'' 1974|page=715}} In their manifesto, the Dalit Panthers proclaimed themselves defenders of all exploited people in spite of caste or community, namely citing agricultural workers, small peasants, industrial workers, the unemployed and women.{{sfn|''Economic and Political Weekly'' 1974|page=715}} It was a characteristic of its distinctive trait: a radicalism that seemed to indicate they were a political force committed to the overthrow of social and political system.{{efn|A commentator on ''Economic and Political Weekly'' in 1974 analysed that their radicalism was more formal than real as their political influence was limited to Mahars, which made them a "fourth faction of the RPI".{{sfn|''Economic and Political Weekly'' 1974|page=716}} }} This feature was seen by a commentator on ''[[Economic and Political Weekly]]'' as derivative of its contact of other [[Left politics|Left]] groups in Bombay and Poona and their disgust of the RPI.{{sfn|''Economic and Political Weekly'' 1974|page=716}} As part of this radicalism, they attacked Hindu deities and popular heroes like [[Shivaji]] and campaigned for election boycott.<ref name=md/>{{sfn|''Economic and Political Weekly'' 1974|page=716}} Instead of focusing on the traditional parliamentary arena, they aimed to create an independent mass-based political movement through demonstrations, [[sit-in]]s, and strikes.{{sfn|Gokhale-Turner|1979|p=77}}

Comprising working-class individuals, the Panthers garnered support by addressing popular unrest through literature, such as Daya Pawar's '[[Kondwada]]' and J V Pawar's '[[Nakebandi]].'<ref name=":0" />

=== Martyrdom and Dissolution ===
In 1974, the Worli riots erupted following an event featuring Dhasal and Dhale as speakers. Police repression and attacks by Shiv Sainiks led to the first Dalit Panther martyrs, Bhagwat Jadhav and Ramesh Deorukhkar's death. The movement faced internal challenges during the Emergency when Dhasal expressed support for Indira Gandhi, leading to a crisis within the Panthers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 January 2018 |title=Excerpt: Dalit Panthers; An Authoritative History by JV Pawar |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/excerpt-dalit-panthers-an-authoritative-history-by-jv-pawar/story-llJqyQ3CVRrMrJ3byvbBBP.html |access-date=30 January 2024 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref>

After the 1976 Nagpur conference, Raja Dhale and J V Pawar departed to form the 'Mass Movement,' marking the second stage of the Panthers.

Post-1976, a new generation of leaders, including [[Arun Krushnaji Kamble|Arun Kamble]] and [[Ramdas Athawale]], took charge, renaming the movement the '[[Bharatiya Dalit Panthers]].' They played a crucial role in expanding the Panthers' influence to every village, supporting movements like [[Namantar Andolan|Naamantar]] for renaming [[Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University|Marathwada University]] after Ambedkar.

In 1988, Athawale became a minister, and the Panthers were officially dissolved. Subsequent attempts to form a united Republican Party were short-lived.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=21 July 2019 |title=History headline: The rise, dissolution of Panthers |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/dalit-panthers-raja-dhale-maharashtra-history-headline-5839690/ |access-date=30 January 2024 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>

==Legacy==
The Dalit Panthers prompted a debate on what should be the ideological focus of the struggle of the down-trodden of Indian society: Buddhism or Marxism and caste or class.{{sfn|Gokhale-Turner|1979|p=77}}

Although their political impact is source of controversy, the Dalit Panthers' impact in the literary and cultural area is more clear.{{sfn|Gokhale-Turner|1979|p=77}} They led a renaissance in [[Marathi people|Marathi]] literature and art,{{sfn|Satyanarayana|Tharu|2013|p=55}} and created a new [[Dalit literature]] of protest that expanded the frontiers of traditional Marathi works.{{sfn|Gokhale-Turner|1979|p=77}} Their works introduced a multi-caste perspective that seek to depict the fears and hopes of all Indian exploited segments, conceiving the idea of an Indian "proletariat".{{sfn|Gokhale-Turner|1979|p=77}} Opposing what was perceived as "bourgeois" literature, the Panthers used the ''[[patois]]'' of the Dalit suburban people to represent those who lived in the ghetto.{{sfn|Gokhale-Turner|1979|p=77}} Ultimately, literary critics recognised their innovative and independent style of expressing the hitherto mute masses.{{sfn|Gokhale-Turner|1979|p=77}}

The Black Panther Party acknowledged and supported the Dalit Panthers through the ''[[The Black Panther (newspaper)|Black Panther]]'' newspaper, which circulated worldwide on a weekly basis from 1967 to 1980.{{Citation needed|date=May 2017}}

Pawar commented that no organisation fully continued their legacy or replaced the Dalit Panthers' spot as a radical group. He said, "I cannot think of anyone who could replace us, as many end up compromising on their idealism in quest for power in politics. But, the movement for a new radicalism is waiting to be born".<ref name=md/>

==See also==
*[[Bahujan Samaj Party]]
*[[Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti]]
*[[Namantar Andolan]]
*[[Anuradha Ghandy]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{Cite journal|date=1974|title=Dalit Panthers: Another View|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=9|issue=18|pages=715–716|issn=0012-9976|jstor=41497050|ref={{sfnref|''Economic and Political Weekly'' 1974}}}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Gokhale-Turner|first1=Jayashree B.|title=The Dalit Panthers and the Radicalisation of the Untouchables|journal=The Journal of Commonwealth & Comparative Politics|date=1979|volume=17|issue=1|pages=77–93 |doi=10.1080/14662047908447324}}
* {{cite book|last=Michael|first=S. M.|title=Dalits in Modern India: Vision and Values|publisher=Sage|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7619-3571-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xnyo1xPNwxwC}}
* {{cite journal| last=Mody| first=Navroz | date=19 January 1974 | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4363353 | title=Atrocities on Dalit Panthers | journal=Economic and Political Weekly | volume=9 | issue=3 | page=44| jstor=4363353 }}
* {{cite book|last=Rajawat |first=Mamta |title=Encyclopaedia of Dalits in India, Volume 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oXNQvgAACAAJ&q=Encyclopaedia+of+Dalits+in+In+mamta |year=2004|publisher=Anmol Publications|isbn=978-81-261-2084-0}}
*{{cite book|last1=Satyanarayana|first1=K.|last2=Tharu|first2=Susie|title=The Exercise of Freedom: An Introduction to Dalit Writing |year=2013|publisher=Navayana|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-8-18905-961-3}}

==Further reading==
* Contursi, Janet A. (1993). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2059650 "Political Theology: Text and Practice in a Dalit Panther Community"], ''Journal of Asian Studies'' 52 (2), 320–339 {{JSTOR|2059650}}
* Murugkar, Lata (1991). ''Dalit Panther Movement in Maharashtra: A Sociological Appraisal'', South Asia Books. {{ISBN|0-86132-246-0}}.
* Sebastian, M. (1994). ''Liberating the Caged Dalit Panther'', Emerald Publishers {{ISBN?}}
* Pawar, J. V. (2017). ''Dalit Panthers: An Authoritative History'', Forward Press. {{ISBN|978-9387441040}}
* Bargi, D. (2023). “Why Should My Life Be a Sacrifice to One Man?”: The Paradoxes of Dalit Militancy in Malika Amar Shaikh’s Memoir I Want to Destroy Myself. Journal of Narrative Theory 53(3), 297-326. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/jnt.2023.a914977.

{{Black Panther Party}}

[[Category:1972 establishments in Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Dalit history]]
[[Category:Dalit politics]]
[[Category:Identity politics]]
[[Category:Organisations based in Mumbai]]
[[Category:Ambedkarite organisations]]
[[Category:Marxist organizations]]

Dalit Panthers - Revision history

Vilianajgd at 17:54, 12 February 2026