This paper examines racism within Dalit communities in India by theorizing caste-based oppression as a racialized system rather than a purely intra-religious hierarchy. Drawing on Critical Race Theory (CRT), subaltern studies, and anti-caste epistemology, the study argues that anti-Dalit discrimination operates through racial logics shaped by colonial anthropology, phenotypic stereotyping, and historical eugenic discourses. British colonial racial classifications that positioned Dalits as "Dravidian" or "negroid" outsiders contributed to the biologicalization of caste, reinforcing endogamy and untouchability as racial markers analogous to segregationist regimes elsewhere.
Empirically, the study is based on qualitative research conducted in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, employing purposive sampling to engage Dalit participants across gender, class, and sub-caste locations. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, allowing participants to articulate lived experiences of intra-Dalit discrimination, colorism, and microaggressions. The findings reveal how lighter-skinned or relatively privileged Dalit sub-groups reproduce internal hierarchies, while movements asserting Dalit indigeneity simultaneously resist Aryan invasion narratives yet at times internalize anti-Black tropes against marginalized sub-castes such as Madiga and Valmiki communities.
An intersectional analysis demonstrates how caste, race, gender, and region co-constitute structures of domination, with Dalit women subjected to intensified racialized and gendered violence. While Ambedkarite anti-caste politics has been pivotal to resistance, its limitations in confronting intra-Dalit racisms are critically examined. Integrating Critical Race Theory with anti-caste praxis, the study advances decolonial, practice-oriented social work frameworks, advocating policy and community-level interventions to dismantle internalized racism and cultivate Dalit–Black solidarities.

Authors:
Sandeep Chopra, University of Delhi, India

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Sandeep Chopra is currently working as a Research Assistant in the Department of Social Work, University of Delhi, His areas of interests are Social Policy, Human Rights, Caste, Social Action and Governance.

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-sandeep-chopra-3b898a166

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