Dalits have held India’s highest offices and built powerful parties

Evidence

A lot has changed. India has had a Dalit President and even a Dalit Chief Justice. The rise of political parties dominated by Dalits and other subordinated castes is a remarkable, and in some ways a revolutionary, development. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 54

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Dalit political rise coexists with structural democratic erosion — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 54; Dalit-led political parties advanced dignity despite structural limits on democracy — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 54; Dalit electoral success needed the peculiar demography of Uttar Pradesh — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 569 (+6 more)
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Dalit political rise coexists with structural democratic erosion — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 54; Dalit-led political parties advanced dignity despite structural limits on democracy — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 54; Dalit electoral success needed the peculiar demography of Uttar Pradesh — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 569 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Reserved seats without separate electorates left Dalits politically impotent for decades #complicates (0.88) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 569
• Dalit political success via open seats remained nearly impossible for decades #complicates (0.83)
• Dalit candidates rarely win unreserved seats even with high party support #complicates (0.80) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1340
• Parliament abolished double-member constituencies in 1961 after a Dalit win worried Congress #complicates (0.76)
• The Congress deliberately fielded underqualified Dalit candidates while reserving the best for Brahmins #complicates (0.72) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1328