The Quiet Revolution: How Dalit Women Are Leading India’s Most Radical Grassroots Change
In 1942, B.R. Ambedkar addressed a gathering of Dalit women with a powerful conviction—that the upliftment of the Dalit community was intrinsically tied to the empowerment of its women. More than eighty years later, that vision is quietly taking shape—not in policy rooms or prime-time news—but in village meetings, self-organised federations, and local classrooms.
Dalit women are redefining what leadership looks like. They are running organisations, holding institutional power, confronting caste and gender injustice, and reshaping the very systems that were built to exclude them. These aren’t isolated achievements; they are the foundation of a deeper movement—one that has often gone unrecognised, but never without impact.
Let’s step into their world.
Manohari Doss: The Architect of Collective Power
In a Tamil Nadu village, a young girl defied convention just by staying in school. That girl—Manohari Doss—grew up to co-found the Institute for Self Management (ISM) in 1982. With her late husband, Edward Doss, she helped create an organisation that would go on to transform lives across the state.
Over the next forty years, ISM, the Women Development Resource Centre, and the Tamil Nadu Labour Union worked at the intersection of livelihoods, rights, and education. At the heart of this work lies the Federation for Dalit Women Empowerment—a state-wide collective of 65 Dalit women-led NGOs across 20 districts.
This federation, formally registered in 2024, focuses on building leadership, creating dignified employment, increasing access to education, and enabling women to step into positions of authority. The goal is ambitious: to impact 100 grassroots organisations across Tamil Nadu, with an approach that is deeply intersectional, feminist, and community-rooted.
Under Manohari’s leadership, the federation has become a platform for solidarity and systemic accountability. It trains women leaders, forges alliances with broader movements, and shapes a space where Dalit women set the agenda, rather than waiting for a seat at someone else’s table.
Her work has also extended beyond borders, influencing international policy and advocacy, and earning her recognition at the global level. But her proudest legacy is the growing ecosystem of women who are empowered to lead—and who are bringing others with them.
Prabha Yadav: Reclaiming Education in Migrant Lands
In Solapur’s sugarcane belt, where droughts are frequent and poverty entrenched, Dalit families often migrate seasonally for survival. This constant displacement tears children, especially girls, from school and into cycles of unpaid labour, domestic work, and early marriage.
In 1987, a group of young returnees from Mumbai, frustrated by the lack of opportunity in their hometown, founded the Dr. Ambedkar Agriculture Development & Research Institute (ASVSS). Among them emerged Prabha Yadav—a woman who would later lead the organisation into its next chapter.
Under Prabha’s stewardship, ASVSS has become a lifeline for hundreds of children and families. The organisation runs after-school centres, provides tuition support, and operates crèches for working mothers. It has introduced foster care for children of migrant labourers and provided counselling support for caregivers.
These efforts have helped children stay in their communities, continue their education, and experience stability in otherwise unstable lives. ASVSS has also tackled the root economic drivers of migration, introducing organic farming experiments and improving local agricultural practices.
In a bold step, the organisation restructured its leadership to reflect the people it serves. Prabha’s elevation to leadership, alongside a new women-led board, marked a paradigm shift. Decision-making now rests with those who have lived the struggle, ensuring more relevant, lasting solutions.
Kalavapalli Lavannya: Dismantling Discrimination, One System at a Time
In Andhra Pradesh, Kalavapalli Lavannya had every opportunity to take a different path. A successful career in the IT sector, a comfortable life—but she chose something else. She returned to the grassroots, taking over the leadership of Navajeevan, an organisation founded by her father and dedicated to sanitation workers.
Sanitation work in India remains one of the most dangerous and socially stigmatised jobs—often inherited by Dalit families and sustained through systemic neglect. Though manual scavenging is legally banned, it persists in many areas, denying workers safety, dignity, and rights.
Under Lavannya’s leadership, Navajeevan became the implementing partner of a national initiative promoting mechanised sanitation. Through this partnership, sanitation workers now receive guaranteed annual incomes and access to safer, more dignified employment.
Lavannya also turned her attention to the next generation. She identified and supported 200 children of sanitation workers, offering foundational education and enrolling them in government schools. The impact has been profound—helping break the cycle of caste-based labour through education and opportunity.
Her leadership matured during the COVID-19 crisis, when she spearheaded relief efforts for sanitation workers. She has since reoriented the organisation’s focus, blending technical solutions with an unapologetically rights-based approach. The result is a model that places the tools of change in the hands of those who need them most.
Reimagining Power from the Ground Up
The women leading these movements are not distant voices speaking on behalf of someone else’s suffering. They are living the realities they seek to transform. Their leadership is shaped by direct experience, sharpened by resilience, and grounded in the everyday needs of their communities.
And yet, in the institutions and movements that speak of inclusion and social justice, grassroots leaders—particularly Dalit women—remain the last to be recognised, the last to be funded, and the last to hold real decision-making power.
True inclusion goes beyond visibility. It’s about shifting where power resides, who is trusted to lead, and whose wisdom is considered legitimate.
That’s where initiatives like the Rebuild India Fund come in. With support extended to over 500 grassroots organisations—many led by women—it is creating a network that trusts proximity to the problem as a strength, not a liability. It’s investing in long-term capacity, not just momentary visibility.
A Growing Movement, A Shared Future
What Manohari, Prabha, and Lavannya are building is not just change—it’s infrastructure. It’s the scaffolding of a new India, one that doesn’t merely include Dalit women, but is shaped by their leadership.
Their stories are not exceptions. They are blueprints.
As we reflect on Dalit History Month, the question is no longer whether Dalit women are leading—it’s whether society is ready to recognise, support, and follow them.
The revolution is already underway. It’s unfolding quietly, steadily, and with immense purpose.
And it’s not waiting for permission.