‘Purify the Deval and Devi’: Dalits and Politics of Hindu Social Reform in Hyderabad, 1920–28

Abstract

This paper compares the efforts and vision of Dalit and Hindu social reformers in princely Hyderabad during the 1920s, focusing on three critical aspects of Brahmanical Hinduism: space, practice, and ideology. It examines the satvik puja campaign as a case study. It highlights how Brahmanical reformers reimagined their ritual relationship with Dalit spaces and deities ostensibly to eradicate caste-based distinctions while politically infiltrating these spaces. They aimed to homogenise forms of worship and colonise subaltern cultural spaces. In contrast, Dalit reformers who participated in the campaign were motivated by a quest to break the stigma of untouchability and ferment the internal regeneration of the community. Their reinterpretation of the discourse of compassion as freedom aimed to dismantle barriers between religious and non-religious spheres and laid the foundation for civic nationalism. This paper offers a nuanced perspective on social reform, challenging the notion that Dalit reformers were ‘integrationist’ or embraced a Hindu identity.