Marx postulated that “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles” (Marx and Engels, 1848). But many scholars engaged in dalit studies assert, “the history of hitherto existing society in India is the history of caste struggles” (Gait, 1913; Ghurye, 1961; Kancha Illaia, 1993; Omvedt, 2012). Though the debate about the root cause of such social setting in India remains inconclusive, there is little disagreement over the fact that, in Indian society, certain social groups and religious minorities such as Dalits, Adivasis and Muslims have been facing exclusion, discrimination and deprivation for generations. This phenomenon remains unabated even after the Indian constitution prohibited identity based discriminatory practices. Like other states, caste based discrimination is not uncommon in Maharashtra, as is evident from the recent violence against specific castes in the state (Khairilanji incident).

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