Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.
The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nepal assures equality of all Nepalese citizens regardless of gender, ethnicity and religion. There is a stringent law which recognizes all form of caste-based discrimination as a serious criminal offense. However, caste-based hate crimes including physical assaults and cold-blooded homicides are frequently the headlines of national dailies.

Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.
Participatory democracy has gained special attention in India in recent years as it leads to transparent governance by means of decentralization and participation of citizens. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 provided a new space for democratic participation at the village level called Gram Sabha. In Odisha, it is called Palli Sabha (PS). The 73rd Amendment aims at providing better governance and promotes democratic participation of the downtrodden people, especially women and people belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST). This study examines women’s participation in PS and their general perceptions about it in rural Odisha. In-depth interviews were conducted with 60 women respondents in six villages under the panchayat of Remuna Block in Balasore District of Odisha for that purpose. The findings of the study revealed that participation of women in PS is not satisfactory. Women have great apathy for participation and many of them are unaware of the usefulness of PS meetings and the flow of funds from government. Patriarchal society and low level of education lead to low interest among women members in panchayats.

Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.

Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.
Social exclusion of Dalits in India is often understood in terms of discriminatory social structures embedded in oppressive cultural domains of pure versus polluted. Territorial demarcation of Dalits from upper/dominant castes is yet another way of perpetuating and sustaining social exclusion while segregating them in separate neighbourhoods built on the Varna principle of graded social inequality. However, over the last few years, Dalits have gathered some strength to say no to social exclusion while re-territorializing their segregated living spaces into radical sites of social contestation. Dalit counterculture and alternative Dalit heritage are what provided the necessary material for the re-territorialization of Dalit segregated neighbourhoods. The central concern of this study is to unravel what led to transformation of separate Dalit neighbourhoods into social territoriality of contestation.

Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Volume 15, Issue 1_suppl, Page S45-S55, August 2023.
Dr B. R. Ambedkar adopted the policy of ‘religious conversion’ to provide social justice to the Mahars—an untouchable community in the state of Maharashtra. Nearly, three and a half million people accepted Navayana Buddhism on a single day under his leadership, denouncing Hindu gods and goddesses and vowed not to accept untouchable status imposed by the caste-Hindu population. Contrary to such a radical departure from Hinduism, there is evidence that a substantial chunk of the people still follows Hindu traditions and beliefs and practices, exhibiting a culture of religious pluralism. Based on a primary field study conducted among the Navayana Buddhist women in Mumbai Metropolitan Region, the article examines and explains the causes of such manifestation in the studied population’s religious life.

Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.