The Neo Buddhist movement is a religious as well as a socio-political movement among Dalits in India which was started by B. R. Ambedkar. It radically re-interpreted Buddhism and created a new school of Buddhism called Navayana. The movement has sought to be a socially and politically engaged form of Buddhism.
Kanshi Ram, also known as Bahujan Nayak or Manyavar or Saheb, was an Indian politician and social reformer who worked for the upliftment and political mobilisation of the Bahujans, the backward or lower caste people including untouchable groups at the bottom of the caste system in India. Towards this end, Kanshi Ram founded Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti (DS-4), the All India Backward (SC,ST,OBC..) and Minorities Communities Employees' Federation (BAMCEF) in 1971 and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in 1984. He ceded leadership of the BSP to his protégé Mayawati who has served four terms as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
Chamar is a Dalit community classified as a Scheduled Caste under modern India's system of affirmative action. Historically subject to untouchability, they were traditionally outside the Hindu ritual ranking system of castes known as varna. They are found throughout the Indian subcontinent, mainly in the northern states of India and in Pakistan and Nepal.
Chuhra, also known as Bhanghi and Valmiki, is a Dalit caste in India and Pakistan. Populated regions include the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, as well as Uttar Pradesh in India, among other parts of the Indian subcontinent such as southern India. Their traditional occupation is sweeping, a "polluting" occupation that caused them to be considered untouchables.
The Nishad are a Hindu caste, found in the Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Ramswaroop Verma, was an Indian humanist. He was the founder of Arjak Sangh, a humanist organisation. The organisation emphasises social equality and is strongly opposed to Brahminism. Verma denied the existence of god and soul. He was strongly opposed to the doctrine of Karma and Fatalism. Verma campaigned tirelessly against Brahminism and Untouchability. According to him, Brahminism is rooted in the doctrine of rebirth and it is not possible to eradicate it without attacking the doctrine of rebirth. Verma strongly asserts that Brahminism cannot be reformed, and it has to be negated totally.
Kushwaha is a community of the Indo-Gangetic Plain which has traditionally been involved in agriculture. The term has been used to represent different subcastes, being those of the Kachhis, Koeris and Maurya. Under the Indian governments system of positive discrimination, the Kushwahas are classified as a "Backward" or "Other Backward caste". They claim descent from the mythological Suryavansh (Solar) dynasty via Kusha, who was one of the twin sons of Rama and Sita. Previously, they had worshipped Shiva and Shakta.
The demographics of Uttar Pradesh is a complex topic, which is undergoing dynamic change. Uttar Pradesh is India's most populous state, and the largest subdivision in the world. It has a population of about 199,812,341 as per the 2011 census. If it were a separate country, Uttar Pradesh would be the world's fifth most populous nation, next only to China, India, the United States of America and Indonesia. Uttar Pradesh has a population more than that of Pakistan. There is an average population density of 828 persons per km² i.e. 2,146 per sq mi. The capital of Uttar Pradesh is Lucknow, and Allahabad serves as the state’s judicial capital. Hindus and Muslims both consider the state as a holy place.
The Dhanuk is an ethnic group found in India. In Bihar where they are significantly present, they have been categorised as the "lower backwards", along with several other caste constituting 32% of state's population. In recent times they have been identifying themselves with the Kurmi caste along with the Mahto of Chhotanagpur. In Bihar, they are considered as a sub-caste of the Mandal caste and are often found using Mandal surname. In recent times, there has been attempt to forge a socio-political alliance between them and the twin castes of Koeri and the Kurmi, as a part of Luv-Kush equation.
The Khatik, are an ethnic tribe found in the Indian subcontinent, mainly modern-day India, Pakistan and Nepal. They are one of the most widespread community in South Asia. Khatik have a population of approximately 10 millions and are located mainly in New Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.
The Pasi is a Dalit (untouchable) community of India. Pasi refers to tapping toddy, a traditional occupation of the Pasi community. The Pasi are divided into Gujjar, Kaithwas, and Boria. They are classified as an Other Backward Class in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They live in the northern Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
The Bhar are a caste in India.
The Paswan, also known as Dusadh, are a Dalit community from eastern India. They are found mainly in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. The Urdu word Paswan means bodyguard or "one who defends". The origin of the word, per the belief of the community, lies in their participation in the battle against Siraj-ud-daulah, the Nawab of Bengal at the behest of British East India Company, after which they were rewarded with the post of Chowkidars and lathi wielding tax collector for the Zamindars. They follow certain rituals such as walking on fire to assert their valour.
Ram Shankar Katheria, is an Indian politician and former Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. He is a member of the 17th Lok Sabha of India representing Etawah constituency of Uttar Pradesh. He represented the Agra constituency of Uttar Pradesh previously. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party political party. He was a Minister of State in the Human Resource Development Ministry till 6 July 2016.
Babu Jagdeo Prasad, alternatively spelled as Jagdev Prasad and popularly known as Jagdev Babu, was an Indian politician and a member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly who served as Bihar's deputy chief minister in 1968 for four days in the Satish Prasad Singh cabinet. A socialist and a proponent of Arjak culture, he was the founder of Shoshit Dal and was a staunch antagonist and critic of India's caste system. He was nicknamed as the "Lenin of Bihar".
Rajputs in Bihar are members of the Rajput community living in the eastern Indian state Bihar. They are popularly known as Babu Saheb, a term that is mainly used in Bihar, the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand. They traditionally formed part of the feudal elite in Bihari society. Rajputs were pressed with the Zamindari abolition and Bhoodan movement in post-independence India; along with other Forward Castes, they lost their significant position in Bihar's agrarian society, leading to the rise of Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
Maharaja Bijli Pasi was a king from the Pasi community, a Scheduled Caste categorised under the umbrella term "Dalit". According to popular belief, he ruled part of what is now Uttar Pradesh.
Jagdish Mahto was a naxal leader, who led the Bhojpur rebellion of 1970s, in a landlord-dominated Ekwari region of Bihar. He was a member of Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation, an organisation which was leading Naxalite insurgency against Government of India. He also fought against the upper-caste landlords for the cause of lower-caste people. Mahto, also called Master Saheb, was the member of Bihar State Committee of CPI-ML and one of the founder leader of the party in Bhojpur.
On 14 September 2020, a 19-year-old Dalit woman was gang-raped in Hathras district, Uttar Pradesh, India, by four upper caste men. She died two weeks later in a Delhi hospital.
Ramnarayan Yadavendu (1909–1951) was a Hindi writer, storyteller, essayist and social reformer.
