I. Introduction:
These words sum up the position of Dalit Women in present day society as being a class of individuals who cannot be classified independently and separately as Dalits or Women. The composite whole of Dalit Woman faces more oppression than separately as a Dalit or a Woman. The position of Dalit Women at the bottom of the caste, class and gender hierarchies exposes them to severe discrimination and violence as the result of heinously imbalanced social, economic and power equations. Despite the presence of Constitutional guarantees to safeguard their rights, the Dalit Women burn, regularly, in the flame of oppression from upper caste males. The complete understanding of the plight of these unfortunate women necessitates the understanding of the dynamics of caste and gender along with the study of the cultural and material dimensions of the intersection of caste-gender discrimination and violence. Many instances of this discrimination or violence never reach the media; the ones that do are horrifying enough to reveal aculture of violence, silence and impunity. This further exacerbates the denial of their rights to security of life and basic human dignity.
