Transforming Margins Through Resistance, Articulation and Politics

Abstract The processes of democracy in India have inter alia increased the political awareness of those who are violated to be and to remain at the margins of the body politics. The unmet aspirations are countered in multiple ways—Resistance: spontaneous violent outburst among the marginalised; Articulation: action mediated by an outside agency committed to increasing democratic space and life chances of those at the margin; Politics: Increased participation of those at the margin in the institutionalised democratic processes. Focusing on the case of a marginal Dalit community of Eastern Uttar Pradesh the paper documents the form resistances emerging from margins of society. The research charts the evolution of political aspiration amongst the Musahar community in the last two decades with its interface with development and modern politics.