The Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti, abbreviated as DS4 or DSSSS (lit. "Dalit and other Exploited Groups Struggle Committee") was founded in 1981 by Kanshi Ram to organise Dalits and other marginalised groups of India.
Origins
Kanshi Ram started the Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti (DS4 or DSSSS) on 6 December 1981[1] by Kanshi Ram to organise Dalits and other oppressed groups of India.[2][3] The sociocultural organisation's slogan was "Brahmin, Thakur, Bania chhor, baaki sab hain DS4".[4] ("Leaving Brahmins, Thakurs and Banias, everyone else is DS-4.")
Works
A large number of singers from north India joined as volunteers in the organisation. Its cultural wing composed songs of resistance and created anti-caste consciousness.[5]
In Punjab, siblings Ashok Kumar and Saroj Kumari were singers whose popularity extended to the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh. The brother-sister duo's songs of resistance versed the inhumane condition of Dalits and their aspirations, as well as critiqued the incumbent Indian National Congress party. Their songs channelised a constant shift from pain to resistance.[5]