Title: Mobilizing for a Hindu Homeland: Dalits, Adivasis and the Hindu Mahasabha in Bengal, 1924-47Submitted by: Dr Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, Department of History, Victoria University of Wellington, New ZealandTaking empirical evidence from Bengal, this paper would show how from around 1924 the Hindu Mahasabha had been trying to mobilize the dalits (untouchables) and the adivasis (tribals) against its projected 'Other', the Muslims. Its strategies began to produce results during the days of polarised communalism, starting from the Dacca riot of 1941, reaching its height in the Calcutta riot of 1946 and its aftermath, in which particularly dalit participation was significant. The Bengal dalits also participated enthusiastically in the partition campaign of 1947, which the Hindu Mahasabha had launched to create a Hindu homeland in West Bengal. This dalit involvement in Mahasabha politics raises important questions about their identity as well as the ideology and strategies of Hindu nationalism, which this paper proposes to focus on. Return to Abstracts menuCarol Burnett Phone: 61 - 3 - 9349 1899 Email: c.burnett@asialink.unimelb.edu.au
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