Contents: Foreword by Tanika Sarkar Introduction to the Revised Edition Part I: Theoretical Perspectives Shamsul Islam Dalits in the Theory and Practice of Hindutva Anand Teltumbde Hindutva, Dalits and the Neoliberal Order Sandeep Pendse The Dalits and Hindutva: Gainers and Losers Ram Puniyani Hindutva’s Social Engineering: Dalit’s Participation in the Anti-Muslim Pogrom, Gujarat 2002 Meena Kandasamy Between Her Legs: Hindutva and Dalit Women Prakash Louis Hindutva: Historicity of Dalit Connection Ramesh Kamble Dalit–Hindutva Alliance and the Dynamics of Dalit Politics Part II: Hindutva in Operation Subhash Gatade Subverting the Shudra-Ati-Shudra Revolution: The Uttar Pradesh Way Suhas Palshikar Maharashtra: Dalit Politics in the Hindutva Trap V Geetha No Exit? Dalits, Hindutva and the Dravidian Movement Navprit Kaur Contesting Exclusions: Dalits and Reconstructions of Religious Identities in Punjab K S Chalam Hindutva and Dalits in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Shivasundar Hindutva Influence on Dalits: The Case of Karnataka Anand Teltumbde and Subhash Gatade Gujarat: In Search of Answers T K Ramachandran and P T John The Sangh Parivar Initiatives in the Tribal Belt of Wyanad in Kerala Martin Macwan Dalits in the Hindutva Laboratory of Gujarat Bibliography Index Despite the teachings of Babasaheb Ambedkar against Hinduism and its pernicious caste system, which he forsook to become a Buddhist, many Dalits have turned to Hindutva. The RSS under Balasaheb Deoras began to appropriate Ambedkar, engaging with Dalits and Adivasis, Hinduizing their beliefs, providing social welfare and binding them in a political alliance. Hindutva and Dalits: Perspectives for Understanding Communal Praxis takes a comprehensive view of the birth and growth of the Hindutva movement and its specific impact on Dalits. Part I, Theoretical Perspectives, explores the attitude of Hindutva vis-à-vis Dalits in its various manifestations. Part II, Hindutva in Operation, covers empirical evidence of its impact on Dalits. The contributors, distinguished scholar-activists, offer a provocative analysis on why both Dalits and Adivasis are drawn to Hindutva. As analysed by Tanika Sarkar in her incisive Foreword, Hindutva’s hegemonic agenda lets ‘subalterns develop a stake in their own subordination, … not in resignation or despair but in eager self-identification with it’. The great strength of this collection is that it asks difficult questions that need to be asked and yet have no easy answers. The book, thus, makes an invaluable contribution to the debate and takes it forward.