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Synopsis This book is an analytical study of socio-cultural consciousness and political participation of Dalit community. Dalit assertions for social identity or for political participation often confront hostility. The Gandhian project, which involved renaming them as harijans alongside campaigns to eradicate untouchability, not only remained confined to the ideational level, but it affected the liberal sanatani Hindu more than it did the dalit. Equally, the Ambedkarite legacy which focused essentially on the secular realm – resources, education, jobs and power – remained limited. The gradual regression from a radical Ambedkarite movement to a dalit political reformist movement under the leadership of BSP has compromised with upper caste elites to achieve power by the mid-1990s. this has mainly been due to its impatience to gain power by whatever means, to introduce changes from above rather than wage a long struggle at the grassroots.