Vol. 7, Issue 6, Part C (2021)

Abstract
This paper explores the concept of minor cosmopolitanism as a framework for understanding the efforts of Dalit-Ambedkarite movements to challenge the norms and boundaries of caste hierarchy and prejudice. Despite the absence of a feasible global cosmopolitan citizenship available to them, Dalit activists such as B.R. Ambedkar constantly sought international solidarity with other oppressed communities. The paper argues that minor cosmopolitanism is better suited to understanding the struggles of historically marginalized people, such as the Dalits, beyond the ambit of the cosmopolitan Enlightenment. The paper examines the efforts of global Dalit organizations, such as the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights and Equality Labs, to pressure the Indian State and global organizations to acknowledge Brahmanical caste complex and enforce anti-caste safeguards. Furthermore, the paper proposes a hypothesis that literary expressions produced under neoliberalism perpetuate the myth of individual merit to absolve institutions of their caste biases. Finally, the paper suggests studying literature written by both Dalit and upper-caste authors to understand their respective portrayals of Dalit subjects.