Bielefeld University, Germany Professor delivers Annual Shaheed Bhagat Singh Memorial Lecture at Panjab University
Prof Satendra Kumar, Visiting Mercator Professor at Bielefeld University, Germany today delivered the Annual Shaheed Bhagat Singh Memorial Lecture on “Dalit Assertion and Social Life of Inequality in Punjab” at the Department of Political Science, Panjab University(PU).
City Air News
Feb 12, 2026 10:47
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Chandigarh, February 12, 2026: Prof Satendra Kumar, Visiting Mercator Professor at Bielefeld University, Germany today delivered the Annual Shaheed Bhagat Singh Memorial Lecture on “Dalit Assertion and Social Life of Inequality in Punjab” at the Department of Political Science, Panjab University(PU).
Drawing on anthropological and sociological scholarship that has examined the “silent revolution” thesis, Prof Satendra questioned the view that political and cultural assertion among Dalits reflects a structural transformation. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Sangrur district, he analysed the Dalit struggle over access to village common land and participation in local governance.
Prof Satendra argued that while Dalit assertion has symbolic and at times material impact, it continues within a framework of entrenched caste dominance and institutional control. Dominant agrarian elites respond to challenges by altering their strategies, retaining influence over state mechanisms and adapting to shifting political regimes, he added.
Prof Satendra noted that direct action and protests have often led to limited and reversible gains due to persistent structural barriers. Referring to the rollback of certain pro-Dalit measures under the present government in Punjab, Prof Satendra highlighted the vulnerability of such gains amid policy shifts.
Prof Satendra maintained that resistance alone cannot be read as empowerment and stressed that meaningful change would require building countervailing political capacities to confront systemic inequality.
The lecture was chaired by Dr Santosh Singh, sociologist. Prof Ronki Ram, former Shaheed Bhagat Singh Professor of Political Science and currently Professor Emeritus at the Institute of Development and Communication, was the Guest of Honour.
Faculty members, research scholars and students from the University and other institutions attended the event.
