We Also Made History: Women in the Ambedkarite Movement

Originally published in Marathi in 1989, this book, a contemporary classic, details for the first time, the history of women's participation in the Dalit movement led by Dr B.R. Ambedkar. The first part outlines the involvement of women in various Dalit struggles from the early twentieth century, drawing on diverse sources including Dalit periodicals, records of meetings, and personal correspondence. It speaks of the social conditions of Dalit women s lives, daily religious practices and marital rules among Dalits, the practice of ritual prostitution, and various issues related to women. The second part consists of interviews with Dalit women activists from the 1930s. Both provide a rich store of material for historians of the Dalit movement and of gender in India.