Debate the issue of whether and how contemporary movements for assertion of Dalit identity work towards annihilation of caste. (UPSC 2015)

Contemporary Dalit identity movements are not mere identity politics; they are assertive struggles against graded inequality, untouchability and exclusion, aligning with Ambedkar’s call to annihilate caste.

• How they help: They use constitutional rights, legal action, elections and protest to demand enforcement of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, challenge caste violence, expand education and jobs, and create new public spheres through Ambedkarite culture, social media and organisations like Bhim Army.
• Economic dimension: Dalit entrepreneurship and affirmative schemes such as Stand-Up India weaken hereditary occupation and dependence, cutting the caste–work link.
• Limits: When reduced to sub-caste competition or vote-bank politics, identity assertion can harden boundaries; persistent endogamy, segregation and landlessness show that identity alone cannot dismantle caste.

Thus, Dalit movements advance annihilation of caste when identity is tied to rights, redistribution and social reform, but risk only reshaping hierarchy if detached from structural change.