Dalit Evolution (1947 to 1970) after Independence: with special reference to Bihar

Abstract

After independence, the only objective of Indian leaders was to establish a modern, egalitarian, progressive state in India. There should be no discrimination in the name of caste-religion-sex and everyone can get equal opportunity to progress in life. Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar made a very important contribution to this work. Through the Constitution, a lot of effort was made to eradicate the discriminatory and exploitative social system that has been running in India for centuries. Before independence, the province of Bihar was also entangled in the quagmire of feudal malpractices. Even now, the backward castes were seen here as untouchables and inhuman and various types of inhuman atrocities were done on them. After the establishment of the Republic in India in 1950, the first elections were held in India under the new constitution in 1952, in which seats were reserved for the upliftment of Dalits and for representation in the Central and Legislative Assemblies under the Indian Constitution. Under which the total number of Lok Sabha seats in Bihar was fixed at 55 and out of these 7 seats were reserved for Dalits. In the parliamentary elections of 1957, the total number of seats in Bihar was increased to 53, in which 7 Dalit leaders were victorious, which were Bhola Raut, Rameshwar Sahu, Ramdhani Das, Nayantara Das, Bheli Sardar, Jagjivan Ram and Chandramani Lal Chaudhary, all successful candidates of the Congress party. He was victorious on the same ticket. The main problem of the untouchables and the Dalits was untouchability and the social incapacity arising out of it. Mahatma Gandhi forced the British government to accept the famous Poona Pact through his fast in 1932, which resulted in the British government being forced to give up the use of separate constituencies for untouchables and Dalits. In return, many posts were reserved for untouchables and Dalits in both the state and central legislatures. The Prevention of Untouchability Act was enacted by the government in 1955. This step of the government brought great relief to the untouchables and the downtrodden and opened the way for their participation in the social, religious, and cultural spheres of society. Restrictions on entry into places of public worship on the grounds of untouchability were removed. In this way, the untouchables and Dalits got the right to worship, pray, bring water from the holy reservoir and bathe in it. There was a provision for punishment of those who used the exercises with imprisonment with a fine or both.