Dalits: Bahishkrit (The Excluded)

According to historical sources Dr. Ambedkar was possibly the first person to have used the term ‘exclusion’ in India while defining the wretched condition of the marginalized section of Indian society. He was the first to use the term ‘Bahishkrit’, a Sanskrit / Hindi word, meaning excluded. He used this term for the first time in 1924, when he established the organization ‘Bahiskrit Hitkarini Sabha’ (Society for Serving the Interests of the Excluded). Dr. Ambedkar launched the fortnightly ‘Bahiskrit Bharat’ (Excluded India) in 1927. In this context Babasaheb Ambedkar used the term Bahishkrit for ex-untouchables known as Dalits now. Later Ambedkar used the exact term ‘Exclusion’ in 1930s while highlighting the exclusion of Dalits and Other Backward castes from Government Services in India.