W.E.B Du Bois, B.R. Ambedkar and the History of Afro-Dalit Solidarity

Authors

  • Anindya Sekhar Purakayastha

Keywords:

W. E. B. Du Bois, B. R. Ambedkar, Afro-Dalit solidarity, Dalit-Black internationalism, caste as race

Abstract

Caste is not a category, exclusively endemic to Indian society, rather, it typifies universal forms of social stratifications premised on racial, religious, ethnic and colour based segregation. In fact W E B Dubois, the celebrated Black civil rights crusader used the word ‘caste’ while diagnosing the cause of racism in Jim Crow America. DuBois and Ambedkar share a lot of commonalities, both were renowned observers of specific modes of social division prevalent in their individual societies, they spearheaded historic social mobilisations and evinced wonderful capacities to internationalize issues of caste and race as universal forms of social systems of discrimination to be abolished for ever. Both knew each other, communicated to each other and shared a collective vision for social justice. A conjunctive study of DuBois and Ambedkar will throw new light in Ambedkar studies by foregrounding unexplored histories of Afro-Dalit solidarities that had significant connection to postcolonial studies and international struggles for peace.

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Author Biography

Anindya Sekhar Purakayastha

Anindya Sekhar Purakayastha is Professor in the Department of English, Kazi Nazrul University, India. He was a Fulbright Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellow 2018-19 in the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has also been a Fellow in the Institute for Critical Social Inquiry, New School for Social Research, New York in 2017. His current area of research focuses on postcolonial political violence, citizenship rights and governmentality crisis. His co-edited volumes include Violence in South Asia: Contemporary Perspectives (Routledge, 2019). He has contributed in journals such as International Journal of Zizek Studies, Parallax, Journal of Postcolonial Writing, Contemporary South Asia, South Asia Research, History and Sociology of South Asia, Journal of Social Movement Studies, Economic and Political Weekly, Transnational Literature, etc. He co-edits Kairos, A Journal of Critical Symposium and is one of the founding members of the Postcolonial Studies Association of the Global South (PSAGS).

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Published

2021-11-09

How to Cite

Sekhar Purakayastha, A. . (2021). W.E.B Du Bois, B.R. Ambedkar and the History of Afro-Dalit Solidarity. Sanglap: Journal of Literary and Cultural Inquiry, 6(1), 20–36. Retrieved from https://sanglap-journal.in/index.php/sanglap/article/view/116