Dalit Panthers

The period also witnessed a significant land rights movement led by Dadasaheb Gaikwad and an extension of reservation benefits to converted Buddhists in the late 1960s.

[7] Hoping to break with all established parties, the Dalit Panthers originated with the Scheduled Caste community of the Mahars as its social base.

[3] Prior to the foundation of the Dalit Panthers, Shiv Sena, a Hindu nationalist political party, was the most influential organisation among the Maharashtrian youth.

[9] In January 1974, in opposition to both Shiv Sena and RPI leaders who were backing Congress candidate Ramrao Adik,[6] they called for an election boycott of the by-election to the Lok Sabha from the South-Central Bombay constituency and for the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

On the fifth day of that month, a Dalit Panther's meeting in Worli was attacked with stones, and police made a lathi charge and arrested 19 persons.

[3] According to Satyanarayana and Tharu, their manifesto fit the Ambedkarite spirit into a broader Marxist framework and heralded the rise of an autonomous Dalit perspective in post-Independence India.

[5] Divergent ideological perspectives emerged within the Dalit Panthers' founding members, particularly between Namdeo Dhasal, Baburao Bagul, and Raja Dhale.

Although they indirectly supported Deshpande of the CPI in 1974, Pawar noted Dhasal was the only Marxist, while he and Dhale were Buddhists, which caused divergences that led to the dissolution of the organisation.

Police repression and attacks by Shiv Sainiks led to the first Dalit Panther martyrs, Bhagwat Jadhav and Ramesh Deorukhkar's death.

The movement faced internal challenges during the Emergency when Dhasal expressed support for Indira Gandhi, leading to a crisis within the Panthers.

They played a crucial role in expanding the Panthers' influence to every village, supporting movements like Naamantar for renaming Marathwada University after Ambedkar.

[4] The Dalit Panthers prompted a debate on what should be the ideological focus of the struggle of the down-trodden of Indian society: Buddhism or Marxism and caste or class.

[citation needed] Pawar commented that no organisation fully continued their legacy or replaced the Dalit Panthers' spot as a radical group.