The murder of George Floyd has invited many comparisons once again with the condition, the situation, the resistance and the political organizations of Dalits and the African-Americans. When people like economist Swaminathan Aiyar make a pitch for Dalit Lives Matter and point to the Hindu society’s silence in matters of atrocities towards Dalits – there certainly seems to be some sort of churn in certain quarters, at least on the surface.

The engagements, conversations and interactions between Dalits and African-Americans have been fairly well documented in several pieces, especially one titled Ambedkar and Du Bois: In Common Pursuit of Equality and Justice on Roundtable India. A fairly comprehensive account of Dr. Ambedkar’s engagement with Black historians is Daniel Immewahr’s paper titled On B. R. Ambedkar and Black–Dalit Connections, written in response to a contributor on this site!

Other excellent summaries have appeared, again on this very site, such as African Americans and Dalits and the more recent piece #DalitLivesMatter – What Can We Learn From #BlackLivesMatter.

The questions raised by the latter, especially about learnings from the Movement for Black Lives (or the #BLM) for Dalit movements in India, are pertinent and will remain instructional in times to come.

While the African-Americans have their hands full with battling their own injustices and the full-weight of what one can call a white-supremacist nation, they have always been keenly aware of various kinds of solidarities, both national and international.

Various Ambedkarite organizations in the United States have, over the years, made efforts to build solidarity between the Dalit and African-American struggles. The late Raju Kamble of the Ambedkar International Mission was a pioneering force in bringing on a common platform several Black activists and academics and Ambedkarite forces. That legacy continues and through various other means, such as Ambedkar Jayanti gatherings and other academic conferences, those supporters of the Dalit struggle have become regular contributors.

Read also – #DalitLivesMatter; What Can We Learn From #BlackLivesMatter

Yet, the awareness of the condition of Dalits is still not a widespread notion among the larger public, and forming greater connections will need continued efforts – on the ground. Certainly, academic engagements, formulations and dissemination is important. But nothing beats connections between movements, between struggles being fought on the ground and an exchange of ideas at that level. This will hopefully also help in providing some inputs for the other question raised in the #Dalit Lives Matter piece above, about organizing Dalit forces in India.

Just as we in India seek to learn freely from struggles and protests around the world, especially from African-Americans, it is important to know that they too have sought out different methods of fighting discrimination and oppression from around the world. This includes looking to Dalit struggles and leaders.

Isabel Wilkerson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Warmth of Other Suns, a book about the out-migration of African-Americans from the American South to the north and west of the country, is a serious student of the Indian system of caste.

In fact, her forthcoming book, titled Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents deals with the category of caste which, in her opinion, preceded notions of race. “Race is what we can see, the physical traits that have been given arbitrary meaning and become shorthand for who a person is. Caste is the powerful infrastructure that holds each group in its place,” the publisher’s note has her observing.

Ken Cooper, a journalist currently with newspapers like the Boston Globe and the Bay State Banner, was the India correspondent with The Washington Post in the 1990s when he wrote a piece titled India’s majority lower castes are the minor voice in newspapers. His expose, as it were, of the dismal representation of Dalits in India’s newsrooms added a significant perspective to a fact that few before had thought to pay attention to.

Cooper has continued his interest in the Dalit struggle and recently been involved in a special series titled “Caste in America,” on a public broadcasting TV station, WGBH.

Unlike Cooper, there are other in the US, who’ve never had a direct India connection but still, in their self-education about struggles for emancipation around the world, have come to appreciate the Dalit story.

Neil Callendar teaches African-American literature at a local community college in the Boston area, while also involved in several other projects to present African-American history in schools. He is also someone deeply interested in the Dalit struggle, especially the political positioning of the various Dalit parties in respect to the nationalistic parties.

Another heartwarming story of the African-American engagement with Dalit issues is of an activist, Joel Mackall who leads a “Hidden History of Black Boston Tour,” through which he tries to educate the participants about the local history of Black presence and resistance.

It was on one such tour, in between walking to different sites related to black history, that Mackall turned to the writer of this piece and said, “I have never read anyone as sharp and as profound in his critique of discrimination as Dr. Ambedkar in his book Annihilation of Caste.” It was a moment that can move anyone who cares about the Ambedkarite movement, to hear such an assessment in a foreign land – and quite out of the blue at that.

Read also – Solidarity With Minneapolis Protesters and Black Lives Matter Campaign – Statement From Pan India Ambedkarite Law Students’ Forum (India)

Mackall continues his interest in Dalit issues. During a recent communication, he said he was following a Facebook channel called “Dr. Ambedkar’s Caravan.” Do you know about it, he asked? A smile was in order.

After the 2014 protests in the city of Ferguson, Dalit poet Chandramohan S penned a poem titled Ferguson poem which read as: “The anger of the pronoun / sandwiched/smothered / between / “Acting white” / and / the blackness of the round silver bullets.”

The linkages, even though they might be few in number, are in place. There are mutual feelings of understanding and solidarity from both sides. Greater engagement with common black folk, community leaders and activists can build a much larger body of support for the Dalit cause among African-Americans. Even something as simple as distributing copies of Annihilation of Caste in public libraries in predominantly African-American areas will be a start. Similarly, one can hope George Floyd’s tragic end can provide the occasion among the Dalit movement to further familiarise itself with the history of the African-American struggle. One day, soon, hopefully, we will see the energies of the two movements coming together.

Author – Umang Kumar
Umang Kumar is a writer based in Delhi NCR