The essays in this volume provide an incisive analysis of the identity of the Dalits in history , literature and society. They focus on Dalit assertion and agency in postcolonial India, their quest to break free from poverty and social exclusion after centuries of oppression, and also the dynamics of a pervasive caste system which is inimical to the growth of a collective consciousness among the backward classes. Author Bio: Imtiaz Ahmad was a Professor of Political Sociology at JNU. His Caste and Social Stratification among Muslims in India is a pioneering work. He has written research articles for national and international magazines on the politics of communalism, and electoral democracy. Shashi Bhushan Upadhyay is an Associate Professor at IGNOU. His areas of interest include Labour History, Dalit Studies and Literary Studies. He authored Existence, Identity and Mobilization: The Cotton Millworkers of Bombay, 1890-1919, besides articles on historiography and Premchand.