The term Dalit – means “a broken people” – a term used by the people labelled “untouchable” for centuries.

Traditionally the Dalits were beyond the Hindu caste system – living in the outskirts of villages and performing a whole host of manual labour. Says the National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights:

At the top are the Brahmins, the priests and arbiters of what is right and wrong in matters of religion and society. Next come the Kshatriyas, who are soldiers and administrators. The Vaisyas are the artisan and commercial class, and finally, the Sudras are the farmers and the peasant class. These four castes are said to have come from Brahma’s mouth (Brahmin), arms (Kshatriyas), thighs (Vaisyas) and feet (Sudras).

Beneath the four main castes is a fifth group, the Scheduled Caste. They literally have no caste. They are the untouchables, the Dalits, which means oppressed, downtrodden and exploited social group.

Caste Hindu’s considred the Dalits’ to be impure, and did not mix with them. As such Dalit society grew independently and apart from caste based society.

Dalits traditionally worked in the fields as landless labour, were artisans – potters, cobblers, iron smiths, farmers, builders- essentially anyone who did any work.

Today, over 50 years after independence – the Dalits still live on the outskirts of villages. These are called the Dalit Bastis’. The conditions are poor. People are terribly poor. Average wage earning is Rs.25 per day and they don’t get to work every day of the month.

t is said that the “Dalit of the Dalit” are women from these communities – often combatting caste and sex based exploitation and discrimination.

Many women are widows – as young as 22. Their husbands die early of plethora of diseases brought on by life long malnutrition, alcoholism and working in unsafe conditions. Many women are abandoned by their husbands. A few have what can be termed a “normal” marriage. Most of these women are illiterate. A few have studied till the 4th standard, before dropping out to work in the fields. A few have finished their 10th standard schooling.
It is amongst these women, that TDSS does its work. It organises them into self help groups (SHG’s) or Budgetgaats – and gives them a helping hand to pick themselves up and walk.

That is the one thing that i did like most about the work of TDSS – it is not alms – it is simply a helping hand that enables people to empower themselves.