[2] In June 1926, Ad-Dharm movement was launched by Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia for the upliftment of the Dalits of Punjab.
To bring consciousness in the Dalit community, they also started newspapers like Adi Danka and Ujjala.
[4] In 2001, thirty-seven community-groups were designated as SCs in the Punjab, with two more, the Mahatam/Rai Sikhs and the Mochi, being added to the SC list prior to the 2011 census.
[4] On 21 September 2021, Charanjit Singh Channi became the first person from Dalit community to become the Chief Minister of Punjab.
He was appointed as a chief minister by Congress Party after the resignation of Captain Amarinder Singh.
According to the 2011 census, the literacy rate among Scheduled Castes in Punjab was 64.81%, compared to 75.84% for the whole state.
[19][29][30][31] The table below shows the Scheduled Castes literacy rate of districts of Punjab by gender, as of 2011 census.
Dalits comprise 62.3% of the total number of people living Below Poverty Line (BPL) in Punjab.
About 73.33% of the Dalit population lives in villages and is largely landless and faces housing shortages.
[39] In March 2023, a 26 year old Dalit female doctor doing her internship at an SGPC-run Medical college in Amritsar died by suicide after allegedly being subjected to caste discrimination and abuse.
About 10 people, including 2 and 4 students of Sri Guru Ram Dass Institute of Medical Science and Research at Vallah, were later booked by police under charges of abetment to suicide and under provisions of SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.
According to the victim's mother, the accused allegedly used to make casteist slurs on her and would also used to threaten her that they will not let her complete her MBBS degree.