He converted to Buddhism and is also credited with providing a spark for the transformation of hundreds of thousands of Dalits or untouchables to Theravada Buddhism.

In the same year, the Meenakshi temple at Madurai also opened to the Dalits and Shanars.

The parable of the Good Samaritan is also seen as significant, providing a " life-giving message to the marginalized Dalits and a challenging message to the non-Dalits.

Special quotas were also provided to the under-privileged Dalits and Janajatis for higher education.

The term can also be attributed to Dalits of Pakistan called the haris, who are a group of pucca house builders.

India has its 15 % of seats in the Parliament of the country, State Assemblies, Local Municipal Bodies and Village level institutions reserved for untouchable castes, also called Dalits or Scheduled Castes.

These are also the views of many who say that they have nothing against Ambedkar or the Dalits but are attached to the name Mhow.

Dalits also settled among them with the help of the Chenchus and learned agriculture from them, and the nomadic Banjara herders who graze their cattle in the forest also have been allotted land there.

He was also drawn into the Indian National Congress, in the same year he proposed a resolution in the 1935 session of the Hindu Mahasabha demanding that temples and drinking water wells be opened up to Dalits.

: A Buddhist source claimed that " 300, 000 Dalits are estimated " to have converted to Buddhism as part of 50th anniversary celebrations in 2006 of Ambedkar's deeksha.

The Dalits claim that this opposition is mainly due to the ingrained bias that upper castes have against them.

These upper sub-castes among Dalits would not interact with lower-order Bhangis, who have been described as " outcasts even among outcasts ".

The term Dalit Christian ( sometimes Christian Dalit ) is used to describe those low-caste who have converted to Christianity from Hinduism or Islam and are still categorized as Dalits in Hindu, Christian and Islamic societies in India, Pakistan and other countries.

Tensions along caste lines between the Kunbi and the Dalit communities were seen in the Khairlanji killings, and the media have reported sporadic instances of violence against Dalits.

In ancient and medieval times, lower caste Hindus ( dubbed " Untouchables " or, more recently Dalits ) have had reduced social statuses similar to slaves.

Substantial improvements have taken place in the rights of Dalits ( former " Untouchables ") enshrined in the Constitution of India ( primarily written by a Dalit, Ambedkar ), which is the principal object of article 17 in the Constitution as implemented by the Protection of Civil rights Act, 1955 and the fact that India has had a Dalit, K. R.

This new campaign was not universally embraced within the Dalit community, as Ambedkar condemned Gandhi's use of the term Harijans as saying that Dalits were socially immature, and that privileged caste Indians played a paternalistic role.

Gandhi, although born into the Vaishya caste, insisted that he was able to speak on behalf of Dalits, despite the presence of Dalit activists such as Ambedkar.

The Mahars are an oppressed caste from Maharashtra state of India and are part of the Dalits or downtrodden and untouchable people of India.

Untouchability has been made illegal in post-independence India, and Dalits substantially empowered, although some prejudice against them continues, especially in rural pockets dominated by certain other backward caste ( OBC ) groups.

The 1950 national constitution of India legally abolishes the practice of untouchability provides measures for positive discrimination in both educational institutions and public services for Dalits and other social groups who lie within the caste system.

Ayyankali (; 1863 – 1941 ) was a leader of the native Indian people treated as lower caste Dalits known as the Untouchables.

These parties are traditionally based on regional aspirations, e. g. Telangana Rashtra Samithi or are strongly influenced by caste considerations, e. g. Bahujan Samaj Party which claims to represent the Dalits.

Dalits who converted to Christianity did not escape the caste system which has a strongly ingrained presence in Indian society that is not limited to Hindu religious ideals.

After he voiced his protest against the killing of several Dalits by upper caste landlords in Karamchedu village in Prakasam district in July 1985, the police raided Gaddar's house.

Nirmal criticised Brahminic dominance of Christian theology in India, and believed that the application of liberation theology to India should reflect the struggle of Dalits, who make up about 70 % of Christians in India.

His demands included ( a ) stoppage of the practice of not giving tea in tea shops to Dalits who were given tea till then in coconut shells ; ( b ) right to education for Dalit children ; ( c ) resting time for workers during work hours ; and ( d ) replacement of the system of wages in-kind by payment of cash.

Although considered uncivilized and primitive, adivasis were usually not held to be intrinsically impure by surrounding ( usually Dravidian or Aryan ) casted Hindu populations, unlike Dalits, who were.

Reservation is available to Dalits who follow Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism, but Dalit Christians and Muslims are not protected as castes under Indian Reservation policy.

But Christians who claim to belong to no cast are not included in the quotas, meaning those Dalits who convert to Christianity are no longer part of the affirmative action program run by the government.

Mahatma Gandhi visited Devakottai in 1934 to condole with the death of Poochi, a Dalit, in the movement against untouchability, and held discussions with Dalits and Nattars, who were opposed to Dalits wearing shirts.

A petition from the All India Christian Federation ( AICF ) has been filed with the Supreme Court of India seeking reservations for all Dalits irrespective of their religious faith ; on January 6, 2010, a Bench comprising Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan and Justice B. S. Chauhan issued a notice to the Ministry of Social Justice and Ministry of Minority Affairs seeking their responses to the petition.

Gandhi and Ambedkar often clashed because Ambedkar sought to remove the Dalits out of the Hindu community, while Gandhi tried to save Hinduism by exorcising untouchability.

An estimated 40 million people in India, most of them Dalits or " untouchables ", are bonded workers, working in slave-like conditions in order to pay off debts.

President Narayanan in his speeches consistently sought to remind the nation of its duties and obligations towards the Dalits and Adivasis, the minorities, and the poor and downtrodden.

President Narayanan spoke on various occasions on the condition of the Dalits, Adivasis, and other backward sections of society, and the various iniquities they faced ( often in defiance of law ), such as denial of civic amenities, ostracism, harassment and violence ( particularly against women ), and displacement by ill-conceived development projects.

He felt that Ambedkar's exhortation to " educate, organise, agitate " continued to be relevant ; with the Dalits forming a quarter of the population in a democracy with universal adult franchise, he felt that the ultimate destiny of the backward sections lay in the hands of the backward sections themselves, organised socially and politically.

" In Indian Dalit theology, it is seen as providing a " life-giving message to the marginalized Dalits and a challenging message to the non-Dalits.

Mahatma Gandhi and Ambedkar often clashed because Ambedkar sought to remove the Dalits out of the Hindu community, while Gandhi tried to save Hinduism by exorcising untouchability.

Rajaji issued the Temple Entry Authorization and Indemnity Act 1939, under which restrictions were removed on Dalits and Shanars entering Hindu temples.

Regarded as a pioneer of social reform, Rajaji issued temple entry proclamations in the Madras Presidency and worked towards the upliftment of Dalits.

In India, he was active in the conversion movement of Dalits — so-called " Untouchables "— initiated in 1956 by B. R. Ambedkar.

M. E. Prabhakar expanded on the Dalitness of Jesus, stating that " the God of the Dalits ... does not create others to do servile work, but does servile work Himself.

* Dalits given entry into Tamil Nadu temple after decades http :// www. ndtv. com / article / india / dalits-given-entry-into-tamil-nadu-temple-after-decades-148842

The Bharatiya Janata Party clashed with her over the Christian Dalits, but praised her in death, sending a representative to her funeral.