Which is Violence? Reflections on Collective Violence and Dalit Movements in South India1.

Movement rhetoric invites us to consider: ‘Which is violence?’ But it is clear that the lines between violent acts are indeterminate. When is ‘self-defence’ ‘retaliation’? When does revenge become an offence to be avenged and when does liberatory violence become oppressive? This paper tries to provide an understanding of the issues and discourses that label the Dalit Panthers as violent. Dalit movements in Tamilnadu operate in a social sphere coloured by acts of violence. Such groups understandably talk about ‘hitting back’ and ‘asserting their rights’, yet violence is never an isolated act. By viewing violence as processual, I draw on various theorists to argue that the ‘will to violence’ is bound up with cultural expectations, meanings and identities. This allows us to grasp the relational character of violence and its centrality to the construction of social identities. Furthermore, shifting the emphasis of analysis from the act of harm to incorporate the wider implications reveals the spatial and social patterns that ensue. The concept of a ‘repertoire of protest’ is useful here in highlighting how violent protest may be complementary to (or feed into) ‘normal’ politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]