Towards a Theoretical and Legal Framework for Dalit Massacre

Massacre studies have long been overshadowed by other disciplines, especially genocide studies (the Holocaust being a prominent one). The absence of an accepted definition of the term ‘massacre’ legally and theoretically makes it more difficult to differentiate and establish the field of massacre studies from other disciplines. The lack of consensus among scholars about the classifications and causalities of massacres in turn make understanding the phenomenon arduous. In this article, we attempt a literature review of the field of massacre studies by looking at the existing theoretical and legal frameworks internationally and nationally in India, to understand the gaps in the same. The findings are utilized to develop a working definition of massacre, especially Dalit massacres in India and to propose a legal and theoretical framework for the same. The latter is achieved by building upon the works and thoughts of the stalwarts in Dalit studies as well as the existing laws related to massacres.