DALIT Definition & Meaning

Dalit

[ dah-lit ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Sometimes Offensive.

plural Dalits, (especially collectively) Dalit.

a member of the Scheduled Castes in India, sometimes also considered to include a member of the Scheduled Tribes.
a member of any of India’s oppressed peoples.

Dalit

/ ˈ��ɑː��ɪ�� /

noun

offensive.
a member of the lowest class in India, whom those of the four main castes were formerly forbidden to touch Formerly calleduntouchable

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Usage Note

The term Dalit, which has replaced untouchable, can have negative connotations: its literal meaning is “oppressed; broken.” The Indian courts and government instead use the terms Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe. But Dalit is used in the media and has been adopted by politically active group members as a positive term of self-reference. It generally represents a sense of solidarity and identity and holds political significance for members of this community.

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of Dalit¹

First recorded in 1945–50; from Hindi dalit, from Neo-Sanskrit dalita, specific use of Sanskrit dalita “broken,” from root dal- “to break, burst, split”

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of Dalit¹

from Hindi, from Sanskrit dalita , literally: oppressed

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The woman had accused Smitha - a Dalit woman from the most discriminated against caste in Hinduism's entrenched social hierarchy - of stealing her daughter's earrings and then refused to pay her.

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The Dalit community in particular relied on the alcohol trade before the ban, and the lack of opportunities in one of India’s poorest states has left many resorting to bootlegging.

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An 18-year-old Dalit woman from the southern India state of Kerala has accused 64 men of sexually abusing her since she was 13 years old.

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Today, she stands as one of this year's 22 recipients of the prestigious MacArthur "genius" fellowship, a testament to a career dedicated to researching the complex lives of Dalit women - those born into the caste considered “untouchable” in South Asia's hierarchical society.

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As Paik delved more into the subject, she noticed not much work had been done on the education of Dalit women.

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