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‘Dalit’ is a term popularised as an assertion of social anger and self-respect by Ambedkar, it is now a political category encompassing all lower casters, particularly the ‘untouchables’.
~ Ashwaq Masoodi
There is no such thing as Dalit cuisine, at least in the past. It is only in time that certain food has been associated with the Dalit diet. Diet, here, does not mean procuring and eating food that aids the body’s growth; instead, in this context, it is that food which the Dalits could lay their hands on, or something that the ‘upper’ caste did not include in their food routine.
The caste discrimination has pushed the ‘lower’ caste people to the margins, and they are left with empty vessels and growling stomachs. Scarcity of food was one of the main reasons that made the Dalits eat whatever was available in their own marginal vicinity. This included heavy portions of meat that would stabilise their bodies and provide the required nutrients. The Dalits’ approach to food heavily relies on ‘storage’; so, they had to come up with different food items that they could store for about a period of more than sixty to ninety days and utilise it in case of emergencies or during any other calamity that befell on them.
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