The Dalit Soldiers and the Colonial Apparatus: Lived Experiences of the Paraiyans in the Madras Presidency Army, 1801–1895

Abstract

The article deals with the Paraiyans, one of the Dalit sub-caste of the Madras Presidency, and their transformation from a marginalized group to one which was believed to be one of the worthwhile recruits for the colonial army. The narrative delves on their exalted status as a military subaltern within the general set up of the army department and also traces their subsequent socio-political positions in the southern society under the colonial rule after the 1880s. Despite their primary dependence on agriculture for their survival, several of them preferred to be enlisted in the army under the colonial rule in India for better livelihood and social standing. The official/archival documents highlighted that the Madras Presidency army had given much benefit to them and became a source of their social occupational mobility. Thus, It has been given them a new sense of identity and power and their empowerment as a caste.