25737-81941-1-SM (1)
25737-81941-1-SM (1)
25737-81941-1-SM (1)
3; 2024
Received: February 2, 2024 Accepted: March 15, 2024 Online Published: April 27, 2024
doi:10.5430/wjel.v14n3p547 URL: https://doi.org/10.5430/wjel.v14n3p547
Abstract
Totaling Literature in general mirrors the life of humans. Dalit literature glasses social justice which has not been attainable for Dalits for
ages. It is an art by the heart not to entertain, it is to empower them. To empower, education is the only tool to access everything they lost
for many centuries. As per the constitution, India is a democratic country but there is no equality in the practical society. In the
twenty-first century caste inequalities prevail in so many both politically and socially. Generation changes but caste does not. Reformers
and revolutionaries would come, and caste would act as a dead snake. The novel expresses the importance of education scrupulously.
Author and protagonist Sathyanarayana fruitfully pinioned the painful story that centralized the theme on education, and how that makes
the oppressed into the national builders. Education is the only tool to empower and that makes a rationalist protest against inequalities.
First, it changes the person and then the society would change when educators contribute their knowledge to break the inhumanity
followed by caste. That is the only aim leaders always insist on getting an education not to make violence. This paper focuses on, Dalit
Education which primarily moulds a person as a self-determined individual who can easily acquire everything, they lost in the name of
Sadhana dharma. During the colonial period; Dalits got a prospect for education and a good living. This paper has concentrated on
real-life facts and contemporary issues that happened in society. Education is an ocean, to reach the destination, Indian leaders functioned
as the river and navigated Dalits to reach the ocean.
Keywords Dalit, Colonialism, Education, Politics, Rationalism
1. Introduction
Dalits are outcasts in the social caste hierarchical order in India. They were not allowed to get fundamental rights and ethical status, like
getting an education, or rights to use common things like public wells, streets, temples, and crematoriums that upper caste people were also
using. They lived only in servitude to the orthodox families, by the name of God, purity, pollution, Vedas and Puranas, etc. Dalits were made
to believe that serving upper-caste people was a pure deed. Upper-caste people created a norm that seeing and touching them was pollution
to them. So, they were treated with extreme brutality if they crossed their limits. For this reason, they were banned from entering and using
public places. They were living in the outskirts of the villages, named as slums. The status of Dalits has been changed during British rule, by
Christian missionaries. They were not allowed in the schools before the Britishers arrived in India, there is a Gurukulam for the higher
caste people who belong to the same caste and higher class to get an education. Several social reformers and theoreticians contributed to
the Dalits' freedom including Gauthama Buddha, Saint poets, Chokkameala, Kabir, Ayyankali, Ayodhidasa Pandit, Thanthai Periyar, and Dr.
Ambedkar some of the prominent leaders to challenge the caste culture hegemony. The first law minister of independent India and architect
of the Indian constitution father of modern India Dr. Ambedkar contributed immensely to law-making and protested for their rights.
The Dalit Panther foundational movement started in 1972 in Maharashtra by Dalit thinkers, Dalit intellectuals, theoreticians, social
reformers, and Dalit writers with the principles of Dr. Ambedkar. Dalit writers like Sharan Kumar Limbale, Mulk Raj Anand, Namdea
Dhashal, Bama, Anand Tentumley, Urmila Pawar, Baby Kamble, and Sivagami, Dalit literature shaped and also spread all over Indian
languages and abroad. No one took Dalit Literature seriously in the beginning, but nowadays, globally, colleges and universities are teaching
it seriously. Dalit literature is rewriting history and valuing human beings with new vocabularies and aesthetic values of life and liberation.
R.K. Satyanarayana is a dynamic writer, his novel „My Father Baliah reconsiders the empowerment of education, and how that plays a
significant role in his life. From generation to generation how that changes their identity in society and how it empowers rationally to break
the casteism in their life. The novel is not only about individuals or families, it is about Dalits protesting strongly to annihilate the caste.
Only education can fill people with humanity. Dalits who were not supposed to get an education for a long time, may not be treated as a
humans they were only suffering from inhumanity. Once after academe, they travelled with emancipation and empowerment. Education is
not an easy thing for Dalits, they broke many barriers for generations protesting to find their dignity through education. Like the shuttle,
food, and dress to live life, education is also a basic fundamental right, but they lived as slaves under higher caste people. Brahmins were
higher than anyone according to caste hieratical order which is built under the belief in God and Creation, like Ramayana and
Mahabharata which follows the essence of Manusmrithi and Vedas-based Hindu ideology. Manusmrithi is a law and orders Hindus to
follow once in Vedic and before British India, but after India had a constitution since in free India the impact of Manusmrithi is still in
practice. This is the major reason for Dalits are still at the lower level in everything like the economy, education, social status, etc.
To change this shameless caste-based society, Dalits need fundamental rights without any margins. That is the social justice to make
everything possible for them once what are all merely not impossible. In the British era, the Christian missionaries and Dalits were
supposed to avail education at the start, and strongly after the Indian constitution Dr. B.R. Ambedkar who was the ideal leader in India
raised their voice for social justice. Dr. Ambedkar‟s contribution is incomparable for Dalits since he assured their constitutional education
through articles 45 and 46. Also, his protests all made Dalits highly empowered. Dalits had no opportunity for education in India before
the Britishers had arrived. They have wide open the door for Dalits to avail some knowledge of education. Also, they created
opportunities for jobs, lifestyle, and economic growth; Likewise, they are free from caste atrocities. Many reformers also contributed
much to their education. „My Father Baliah‟ is a novel that depicts the travel of the family and how they come across the skirmishes to
build a great family nation builder. “Quietly brave immensely enlightening-the colors of Satyanarayana‟s memories break the boundaries
of Dalit narrative” – Gita Ramasamy. His intention in writing this novel was to elaborate on the history and explore his family story as a
Dalit and how they overcame the caste-ridden society with the help of education. The novel vividly shows the great spirit of education
and how it builds an egalitarian society through one‟s individual growth to society‟s growth.
2. Literature Review
Surajit Senapati's analysis about Dalit emancipation is possible with an education. He spoke about the value of education how education
has been banned for Dalits and nowadays how it is restricted by the inequality society and how Western education has been imposed by
the Christian missionaries. He relates the colonial power with the education system, and how it has been changed by the new ideology and
practices. (Senapati,2017). Raju and Vengateswarlu have discussed the Feudal system and how that affects the Dalits' lives. The old
ideology of the caste system still affects the people, that is the only thing for the inequality society. to break the inequality and bring
fraternity, want to seed education with rational thinking. Generations should be changed with modern thinking to get equality (Raju and
Vengateswarlu, 2023). Smitha Margeshwar attempts in the article about social mobility. The researcher encounters the Dalits'
marginalization and discrimination in education. Also, the article discusses the included and excluded faces of Dalit students the nature of
the caste, and the caste horror faced in the education sectors. And resistance and reflections on the Dalit lives (Neelakandan & Patil 2012).
Raju Mushika probes about the life of Dalits with the connection of colonialism and with the concept of the caste impact. The relationship
between suppressive Dalits and the feudal landlords has been discussed particularly in the plot of Telangana. Here caste hierarchy,
classism, discrimination, and Dalit struggles are analysed by the researcher (Mushika & Koduri, 2023). Rakesh has been able to explicate
the experiences of the Dalit students and how they are struggling to get an education, humiliation, exploitation, marginalization, and
exclusions are discussed regarding the Dalit situation and the relationship between the Dalit students and faculties, administrative and
other students in various places of an academic domain. And how this thing gets students to extreme thoughts of suicide and withdrawing
from their studies. (Maurya, 2018). Sonu Kahali clarifies the incapability situations of the Dalit students in their education because, they
have harassed, humiliated, lynched, stressed, etc. This thing makes sociological understanding of the circumstances. Commonly the
article concentrated on the female Dalits and about their incapable conditions to get an education within their comfort zone. Interest and
intelligence have not worked with caste-based society to get an education with easy access. Parth Purohit encounters the implementations
in education in the British period as well as in independent India. The paper discusses filtration theory and colonialism. The opportunities
and special supports have been allocated by the law and impairments by governments in various periods. There are many acts and
commissions to develop the Dalit's education and the researcher spoke about the things that would be supportive for the Dalits. (Purohi,
2018), Erik Fraser evaluates the literacy of the Dalits. and how education is important to them to overcome poverty, powerlessness,
inequality, etc. Education helps social equalization and empowers people with a quality of life. Also, the paper argues with the safer
environment of the Dalit schooling, they first developed well with rational thinking with the support of night schools around their areas.
(Fraser, 2010), Abdus Salam discusses the Government report on the educational status of Dalits. It helps to understand the economic
value, and how it is powerful for human identity. The paper handles the essence of Dr. Ambedkar‟s ideology and what he has valued about
education. (Salam, 2014)
3. Methodology
The researcher has used the qualitative method with a theoretical framework based on Colonialism. Analyzing the articles, thesis, news,
and real factors have been used to get knowledge to get a consequence for this paper on how Dalits have faced problems and how
education is noteworthy.
4. Objectives of the Study
To understand Dalit academia by tracing the inequalities and discriminations in the education system.
To identify how caste plays as a Barrie picket for the Dalit.
To evaluate how education plays a key role in annihilating the caste from the social sector.
To critically analyze the importance of education and the life of Dalits portrayed in the novel „My Father Baliah‟.
5. Theoretical framework
In this paper, the researcher has used the colonial theory through the spectacle of Dalit education. Colonialism is one of the key aspects
that brought modern ideologies to India that have brought a change in the Dalit lifestyle. The base idea of colonialism is the theory that
breaks the inequalities and discriminations by the practices of race, class, caste, religion, gender, etc. In India, the colonial period has
supported for subalterns with education and job opportunities. The novel „My Father Baliah‟ is written based on the colonial period in the
state of Telangana in India. The paper critically analyzes the text and the theory. The theory examines the effects of British colonial rule
and its reflection in literature.
6. Discussion
The story happened in the colonial period of British rule. When many changes materialized in India socially and politically, there were
changes in the Dalits‟ lives auspiciously through opportunities in jobs and education. In this novel, Sathyanarana depicts the struggles and
sufferings of three generations of Dalits and how their lives have been changed from being incompetent to empowered through education.
Baliah is a young fellow who belongs to a Dalit community and is a son of Narasiah, who chiefs his life as a railway employee. He is in a
low cadre position because he is not educated and is also a Dalit. In higher ranks after British officers, there are only Brahmins in the
higher cadre because they have access to education. Neither Dalits nor individuals from any other communities didn‟t have access to
education until the Britishers arrived. Before the British rule, Hindus had the domination power unswervingly, they ruled people by the
Vedas and Puranas that were constructed by the essence of Manusmrithi (the holy book for Hindus). Those laws detained the people
mentally, they have molded the society that has practiced the Manusmrithi directly and indirectly. It played the role directly with the
common people and indirectly with the administration. Dalits did not realize that they were enslaved by other communities and they had
fear of hell and heaven that tied stories based on God. Manusmrithi is a law that spoke about the representations of God. It teaches
inequalities to individuals. So mentally they are slaves without education they cannot come out of that mental prison in which they are
stuck. They believed that it was their duty. And they have been stuck inside the shades of poverty and slavery economically, politically,
culturally, and mentally. Only education makes sense in reality and that makes them empowered to protest for their rights and only
education can make them think rationally. People who had authority over other communities did not want Dalits to become empowered,
and hence education was strongly banned for Dalits and other communities. Besides Brahmins were allowed to have access to get
education. Therefore, education is only a „dream‟ for the other communities even though they would not think about getting an education.
According to Sanatana Dharma, it is a huge sin. Sanatana Dharma is a Hindu Ideology, that differentiates people into four different
divisions namely, Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra in terms of their caste, class, and occupation. It was a common practice among
the Brahmin Hindus that they could not teach the Dalits even though, they believed that „sin‟ was seeing and touching the Dalits. Coming
from the background of a Dalit family, Baliah has the knowledge to read and write; whose father Narasiah was put under a circumstance
to carry out his wife‟s dead body on his shoulders. After all, they would not allow the village common crematorium to burn the dead body
because they are Dalits. Thoroughgoing still, the things are in practice in India. When the Caste Hindus would not allow the Dalits either
in their common crematorium or in the streets, Dalits always would think to carry the dead bodies to the crematorium, which they didn‟t.
As a consequence, caste will not vanish from birth to death whether people like it or not, caste is practiced in India since it is deeply
embedded in the culture. It is to be considered that Narasiah has a fifty-acre land gifted by King Nisam as a return gift of admirable silk
and soft handmade slippers. later the village administrator (Dora) asked to give the land back because Dalits should not own any land
according to Hindu Dharma. The condition clearly explains the Dalits' lives in society, and how society treats Dalits. Shelter, food, and
clothing are considered fundamental needs for humans. In addition to that, education is also an important aspect of Dalits. There is no life
deprived of liberty but Dalits have been living in the state of slavery in their land for centuries. Through education, liberty will be
understood and it will be practiced in society. Yellukati's family had many changes because of the job that Baliah got in the railways.
There are no economic problems compared to the situation before. He was not allowed to get an education in the school but he had the
knowledge to read and write.
“„Father, I want to go to school.'
Narsiah looked at his son's innocent face, and drawing him close, said, 'Dear child, we are Harijans, they won't teach us.
'But why?"
'Because we are untouchables.'
'So what? I shall sit far away. I won't touch them in school, just as we don't touch them elsewhere.'
'But the teacher will not teach you.'
'But I won't touch the teacher, either.‟
Narsiah had no answer… unable to explain the laws of Manusmrithi…
Narisah could only say, „No son, we are not supposed to write and read. We sin when we do that”- pg. 22.
When Ramaswamy was near the school, he was curious about the classroom and how the students read aloud beautifully. He loved the
way of teaching when teachers held books with them. But he could not go ahead like other students. The innocent child Baliah
daydreamed about studying but he did not get any way to formal education because of his caste identity. He can only express his desire for
his dreams by watching other students studying loudly with their books along with the teacher. The only thing Baliah could do was watch the
classroom from afar and its students adoring the lessons. In the earlier days, this illness of inequality was strongly prevalent. In the life of
contemporary Dalits, they have the right to go to school but the casteist approach of the olden days still exists meanderingly. Even now,
many of the atrocities are happening against Dalit students all over India. In common they were notorious for their caste and they were
treated inhumanly by the caste certificate, village name, father‟s job, inhabited area, etc. Students‟ caste identity is checked by the teachers
and workers in the school. Based on their identity, students are treated with partiality, also inhuman work is assigned by the faculties. Dalit
students have been ordered to clean the toilets. Even among the students, caste gangs are identified through casted-based symbols such as
tattoos and colored ropes knotted in their hands. These caste gangs are supposed to follow their caste leader‟s speeches and activities.
Students stand by their caste individuals; they do not even maintain humanity with other community students. Like a mother gives birth to
her children, a new generation is born out of schools. Sadly, when caste is practiced, the new healthy society is dying before it is born. Dr.
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam asked youngsters to dream of a world power country and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar drafted a constitution with democracy, but
India was torn apart with the caste identification. Caste is a kind of mental illness, and patients are not aware of the disease. Education is the
only medicine to cure the illness but casteists surround the education sector too. When Baliah got the opportunity to get an informal
education from a Muslim named Ali Saheb, he loved and relished by going learning to read and write. He expressed his piousness when he
gets ready punctually after doing his housework. Soon he learned to read and write in his regional language, after his father‟s transfer to
another station, Baliah was able to acquire knowledge from the station master to learn English. This is a great opportunity for the Yellukati
family and the initial step for the national builders. It is a very immense achievement for a Dalit boy. It is a celebration but he cannot do any
celebrations and it is a proud thing but he cannot be proud in common society he can be proud of himself and in his community. Ali is a
Muslim there are no caste differences within him to teach and learn with others. Also, there are no hesitations with him, there is kindness and
love for other humans in the same we are born. The caste cannot play an arrogant role in learning with another religion. However, the Hindu
ideology does not have the mentality to teach other religions. In Uttar Pradesh, India, a teacher asked a student to slap a Muslim student in
the classroom. Education sectors are the womb to shape a friendly society, in reverse schools and colleges have spread inequality practices.
Through the institution, nineteen-year-old Dalit girl Muktabai explores her knowledge of how people are depressed and segregated by caste
Hindus by the name of purity and how to uproot the caste culture through education. “Oh, the Mahars and Mangs, you are poor and sick.
Only the medicine of knowledge will cure and heal you. It will take you away from wild beliefs and superstitions. You will become righteous
and moral. It will stop your exploitation. People who treat you like animals will no longer dare to treat you like that”. Education is not an
easy thing to access for a Dalit. It is prohibited in their society. Narsiah was very grateful to Baliah because he was the only person who
read and wrote in the untouchable community. He would show a letter to his friends and communities with pride and joy whenever he
received it. In the railways, only a few are literate, station masters, and higher officials, and mostly they are from the Brahmin community.
Because they were only educators and graduates at the time. As sound, Baliah is the only person to read in the Dalit family and Sudras. At
his work site in railways, the person in higher authority was only able to read and write but Baliah‟s knowledge at the period was
unbelievable to everyone surrounding him, and also it was a big sin for him to look from the eyes of caste Hindus. When Baliah hears these
comments, he giggles and moves on with his work. When people get educated, they become rational thinkers. In that way, Baliah was well
matured. Likewise, Baliah when he was in his free time reading books looked like a different person in their community. Now and then,
Baliah was advised to not study because the untouchables would become sinners according to Sanatana Dharma when they studied. Baliah
dreams of studying and cannot get into a school because he belongs to a lower caste.
When Baliah got a great learning opportunity, he respected and loved learning. He will appear punctually with dressed decently. Ali
sowed the seeds of learning to the Yelukati family first, which finally became the banyan tree of their education. And Sathyanarayana son
of Baliah gently remembers Ali always for the greatness he has done for Ali it was just teaching but for the Yellukatti family, it was an era
of the revolution. When Baliah was above ten, his stepmother insisted her husband send him to a job. Baliah had a job in railways and he
was the person who disciplinary elders and station masters with a good name that he was able to read and write. This way of respect and
responsibility comes from the education that he has taught. Education will teach how to behave and how to be a good personality with
others. It will characterize people with good qualities who face problems and handle hard or critical situations knowledgeably. Nevertheless,
the dream of formal education went as a dream to Baliah. After years of his marriage with Narsamma he has had many changes in their
existence. When Baliah has time, he goes through the books that make him not only a good person or knowledgeable; he becomes a rational
thinker which is why he wishes to send his children to school to get a formal education. He knows about society clearly and how it
suppresses them so the only way to break the barriers the only thing is through education. He became a highly disciplined person and he
wished to send his children to school to gain knowledge in the higher education sector to become a postmaster on railways, which is the
highest post in their working cadre of his time. “Education is the only weapon that cut slavery chains of thousands of years and makes
independent human existence.”- DR. Ambedkar. Dr. Ambedkar quotes clearly about education, and how it works for social justice. For
that, he is a great example, who was isolated in school in the beginning but later on, he became a leader of the constitution drafting
committee. Through his unremitting protesting, he demanded fundamental rights for Dalits and he annihilated the caste practice by
forming Article 15. Then Baliah‟s life moved on with numerous transfers and a few promotions. „It was his strong desire to send us to study
in a big school, however, and he tried to convince my mother: (Balraja, we will adjust. We can skip a meal if required, but our children
have to go to a big school.‟ – pg. 105. Except for his first son Balraj, Baliah sent everyone to school for formal education. It is the only
aim of Baliah because he knows the value and importance of education and also how it is more important for Dalits in common. He
successfully sent his sons to school and sacrificed everything for his children‟s studies. Now and then the family faced some economic
problems because of the large family. But also, Baliah did not give up his dreams and efforts to give education to his children. They
could have enjoyed life by spending on other things but still, they invested them in receiving an education. They faced all the family‟s
hardest situations but never forgot about their children‟s education. He did extra work for daily wages. Sathyanarayana expresses the
intention of his father and how his father understood the reputation and value of education.
“Our job is to give our children a good education, which will take care of the other things in life, said my father, with a smile.
'Baliah, I cannot do that. I have already requested the foreman…
…Turning to him, my father said, 'I have decided to send all my children to school and give them a good education. Even if I have to skip
a meal, it's all right. But I won't have them not going to school.” Pg 105
This conversation characterized Baliah and commonly others in society. Baliah explores his anger toward another person who has not
concentrated much on education. Not only words, he never failed to apply in reality. He spent everything he had earned on studies or food.
Once life turned very hard, he and Balraj his elder brother helped his family. They sold the goats to meet their expenses. Many of Baliah‟s
friends have advised him to send his children to a job in the workshop. But he never did anything that harmed their education. They will eat
Jowar roti with chili paste whenever they face this situation. Dalit for a long time, it has been prohibited, after many struggles and protests by
the leaders Dalits have been allowed to get an education. But it is not happening easily it is very challenging for them to cross the atrocities
by the casteists. Many caste atrocities are happening around India, in a government school, teachers have to handle the attendance by
mentioning the caste names besides the names of the students. This kind of activity explores teachers' mentality and how they are still living
with the inhumanity thought process even in this twenty-first century. These kinds of identities are to be treated and eradicated. “We did not
dare talk to the teachers or students, except for a few backbenchers who were of our social background. Teachers and students of the higher
classes could easily identify us as Dalits and look upon us with contempt. Our names appeared last even on the attendance register,
indicative of our social status.” Pg 147. It is not that easy to get an education for Dalits. When they already struggle much at home to get a
proper education and fight poverty; the other form of struggle they face is discrimination and inhuman atrocities in educational institutions.
Not only in the past but even in this 21st century, it is not an easy thing for Dalits to study in the school and college domains. Many
cases-based atrocities have been raised against Dalits because they are studying equally with everyone. In Uttar Pradesh, the school's
principal physically assaulted an eleventh-standard Dalit student who allegedly drank water from a bottle left on a table. This way of
segregation and oppression will spoil the mental health of the students also this way of identification and behavior is one of the cruelest ways
of caste practice. Education is like honey in the flower, but the inhuman caste practices are poison in the place of honey. Dalits want to cross
over all these illnesses of society, break the barriers, and travel with equal status to practice social justice. This psychological effect also lays
a significant amount of stress and negative thoughts on students' minds and educational institutions. But Dalits know very well about the
social setup and did not take it hard on them. It is because this segregation and oppression were not that hard when compared to older social
practices. In the end, the downtrodden Yellukati family developed themselves as nation builders whose families comprised graduates, who
later became lecturers and doctorates. When Sathyanaraya got a job in the school, he could not open up about his caste; it was all because he
was working in a school that was situated in an upper-caste area. He played a major role and was respected in the village because no other
people sustained being a teacher in the long run. He loved his profession and he taught the students well. He stayed in the village where he
was teaching, he became one among them. All the villagers shared a good bond with him. It proves that there is no need for caste to teach or
to learn. Caste is unnecessary to share a meaningful bond. At the same time, the people where he was working accepted him thinking that
he was one among them, the same caste. Otherwise, they will not allow or accept him to teach their students, and even worse they would not
let him inside their village. There are many problems in the school even today, students are not eating food that is cooked by the scheduled
caste people. Recently in Tamil Nadu, Karur, and Thuthukudi districts and many places around Tamil Nadu, school students have refused
the food without eating, because that was cooked by the scheduled caste people. Students are treated in the same way, how the society was
constructed and preserved. The education institutions have the main role and responsibility to annihilate the caste-based practices but in
reality, the institutions are playing the main role in saving the caste. Dalit students have a separate place to have their food and food is served
on different plates. In reality, One of the Dalit students asked to dispose of a dead dog from the school by the principal himself in Uttar
Pradesh. Dalit students clean the flour and even clean the toilets. School students are treated in the same way, as the casteists society treats
Dalits in common. Dalits are seldom considered human by the casteist society. In the novel Karuku, Bama shares her experience at college
where she faced discrimination in her classroom. She cannot wear a good dress and she will not be able to interact with her friends and the
teachers. It was a big stress for her. The academic journey was hard and bitter for her even though she loved learning. She became a teacher
in the future, she succeeded in the places where she was avoided and disrespected. Jonathan also speaks the same thing. So, education is the
only goal to achieve and succeed in life and break inequality. Through education, much of things have changed in their lifestyle like their
attire, way of conversing, and behavior everything looked like upper-caste people. No differences are found in communal identity between
upper and lower classes because they have been identified by good education. By the way, inter-caste marriage was happening in families.
Getting an education and marrying another caste girl is not a simple thing nowadays but in the 18th century, it was a great revolution.
Sathyanarayana became the youngest college principal in India, and four of them had become graduates and even doctorates, they have
succeeded in life. Caste is the creation of man to suppress another man, the Yellukatti family proved this by having education as a weapon to
destroy caste identification.
7. Conclusion
Education will be a key component in achieving Dalit emancipation. First of all, education teaches humans are not slaves to anyone. It
gives economic growth but economic growth will not give liberty in everything. Education creates self-identification and
self-determination, unlike caste, religion, or language identity. It makes a man wise. It breaks all types of slavery, inhumane, segregation,
oppression, suppression, etc. It makes sense regarding sociology, humanity, respect, and responsibility. Dalits when they are supposed to
get an education, have much gratification to learn and they use that to uproot the caste illness which would keep them downhearted and
isolated in society. They are challenged in their studies and can easily integrate into mainstream culture. When a person has an education,
he will be a supreme societal figure. He will be able to change everything like behavior, activities, economics, language, knowledge, etc.,
and also be a role model to upcoming generations in his community. Education is one of the basic human rights. The rights were
specifically restricted for Dalits for two thousand years by using the name of Sanatana Dharma. Also, that is believed to be a culture of
Hinduism and strictly followed by Indian society. Dalit life had not seen a renaissance before the Britishers arrived in India. There might be
some opportunities for Dalits to study and do some common jobs. When Dalits had societal figure prospects, they could be treated like
common people in society. It benefits not only economic growth but also supports breaking discrimination. They are empowered through
education. Education is not a simple thing that can be accessed easily by Dalits. It is prohibited for them. They were not allowed in the
schools before the Britishers arrived in India. There is a Gurukulam system for the higher caste people who belong to the same caste and
higher class to get an education. For Dalits,‟ education is not a simple thing, likely compared to others. In Dalits‟ lives, education played a
major role in getting freedom for two thousand years. In common education assures knowledge and economic value. But for Dalits, it
teaches them about themselves, the reality of the world, and how they are treated in society. When Dalits get an education, they are aware
and empowered in the political aspect. Also, they can easily survive everything and ubiquitously with self-respect and they would not be
slaves to so-called higher caste people. Still, caste plays a prominent role in the education sector. Systematically discrimination is still
happening. As a result, Dalits will mobilize internal and external properties to acquire modern human dignity and, eventually, political
power. Dalits were allowed to get an education through the influence of Mahatma Jyoti Rao Phule and Savitribai Phule who started schools
and taught Dalits and women who had faced numerous problems by caste Hindus. Savitribai Phule was the first women teacher in India
when she went to school to teach Dalits and girls, caste Hindus threw shit and mud on her because of that her husband give her an extra saree
to her wear when she reached school. When Dalits learned to read and write, they gained a renewed critical understanding of their social,
economic, and cultural contexts and identities. They then applied what they had learned to change society. As such, Dalits‟ critical
anti-caste pedagogy of “educate, agitate, organize”, democratization, humanization, and critical inquiry offer significant lessons for our
epochs as we continue to shape our present and build robust futures. Critical Dalit pedagogy, developed in response to social achievement
and transformation necessity, is more than just a training method. When Dalits began reading and writing, they formed a new critical
knowledge of their cultural, economic, and social surroundings and personhood, and they used their understanding to effect social change.
Ambedkar said Dalits want to become bold people with independent thoughts and temperaments. They simply did not fight solely to
attend school or go to work; their goals were much broader. The Dalits have open-night schools in several villages. They have been taught
by village local leaders and educators about basic education and received an awareness of politics. Around India, many social reformers
have risen and created awareness to get an education. Dr. Ambedkar has influenced those reformers. Ambedkar was the first person to get
a doctorate abroad as a Dalit and Indian. He is the lighthouse for Dalits who are struggling to get ashore. He has shown the way to
freedom, that is education. He has protested a lot for education and created separate articles in the constitution. Dalit leaders have taught
to take education as a weapon. Dalit education is not only important for Dalits it is also equally important for the nation. After all the ages
of darkness, education rises as a Sun to shine in Dalits' life.
Acknowledgments
We express our gratitude to the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and critical evaluation of the work, which
significantly enhanced the paper‟s readability.
Authors contributions
Pavithran A drafted the manuscript and was responsible for the study design. Dr. Thenmozhi M revised the manuscript.
All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Funding
Not Applicable
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Informed consent
Obtained.
Ethics approval
The Publication Ethics Committee of the Sciedu Press.
The journal‟s policies adhere to the Core Practices established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Provenance and peer review
Tamil Nadu students refuse to eat breakfast prepared by Dalit cook. (2023, September). https://www.indiatoday.in/ Retrieved September 6,
2023, from
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/parents-boycott-school-breakfast-scheme-over-food-cooked-by-dalit-woman-2431554-2023-09
-06