The editorial ‘A Dream Come True’ from Vol. 1, Issue No. 1, 01/06/1981, of the magazine marked the birth of Dalit Voice, a radical and independent publication founded to articulate the concerns of Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs, Muslims, Christians, and other oppressed groups. Emerging from the Karnataka Dalit Action Committee, it arose in a political climate marked by anti-reservation violence, rising Hindu-Muslim tensions, and systemic silencing of marginalized voices in the press, judiciary, and political institutions. What stands out in this piece is its refusal to beg for legitimacy. It challenges the economic, caste, and media structures that render Dalits invisible or misrepresented. It asserts a collective identity of the “persecuted minorities” and identifies a ruling class composed of upper-caste, economically powerful elites — a class-caste nexus still central to structural inequality in India. While rejecting alignment with any political party, Dalit Voice expresses conditional support for Marxist movements — not uncritically, but with the insistence that caste, as a uniquely Indian axis of oppression, must be central to any revolutionary politics. This critique remains relevant today, as both mainstream parties and sections of the Left continue to inadequately address caste beyond rhetoric or electoral arithmetic. Nonetheless, it is clear from the trajectory of anti-caste politics that such relation with the party Marxist Left has remained thin, at best. The editorial’s gender insight — “the woman is Dalit among Dalits” — is ahead of its time, prefiguring later Dalit feminist articulations. Its declaration of solidarity with working-class students, Muslim and Christian minorities, and the commitment to nurturing Dalit writers, still resonates in a landscape where dominant narratives continue to erase subaltern experiences. Reading this today, we find echoes of its warnings: the consolidation of Hindu majoritarianism, the shrinking space for dissent, and the corporate-caste capture of media and institutions. At the same time, its audacious hope — that even a modest first step matters — speaks directly to current generations of organisers, students, writers, and human rights defenders. It reminds us that independent, movement-rooted media is not a luxury but a necessity. Included here as one of the archival texts, this editorial serves as both a historical marker and a political provocation. It asks us not to commemorate, but to re-inherit its spirit — to sustain spaces where oppressed voices speak not through gatekeepers, but in their own radical, fearless, and collective voice.
V. T. Rajshekar
To bring out a journal of our own has been our long-cherished dream. Persecuted minorities all over India in general, and members of the Karnataka Dalit Action Committee in particular, have been urging us to start a publication.
No doubt we had all the talents and enthusiasm. But what we lacked was funds. Funds will pour if we swim with the current. But the Dalit cause means swimming against the current. There is a chance of getting drowned also. Who will give us funds?
So for quite some time, we were handicapped for want of funds. But funds alone should not stand in the way. When good wishes are there in plenty, funds will prove to be no problem. This has been our experience.
We could not withstand the mounting pressure of our Dalit comrades—representatives of the persecuted minorities: Untouchables, Tribals, Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Muslims, and Christians.
Oppression is increasing day by day. Caste riots have spread from Marathwada to Gujarat. Anti-reservation agitations are threatening to engulf the whole country. Hindu–Muslim clashes are becoming a daily feature. Muslims and Christians are feeling that they are second-rate citizens. Even the very guardians of law and order are joining the forces of oppression.
The persecuted minorities hardly have any friends in political parties, the government, judiciary, police, administration, or professions. Intellectuals are turning dishonest. When there is no friend in these, how can they get a friend in the press? And the press in India is owned by corrupt capitalists and manned by high-caste journalists, with some minor exceptions.
The milk of kindness is getting dried up. The rich are getting richer, the poor poorer. Perhaps these are signs of revolution. Therefore, we thought we better not delay.
About ten percent of the Indian population is ruling us. This “ruling class” is composed of those rich who mostly come from the high castes. It is a class–caste dictatorship. A naked dance of Hindu communalism.
We dedicate this journal to fight this “ruling class” as the Dalit Voice—the voice of all the persecuted minorities of India.
We have a long way to go. Even a million-mile march begins with a first step. And ours is a modest step. We fully know our limitations. But we will try to improve in days to come.
We suffer from no prejudice, no rancour, no ill will. To us, no single individual is our enemy. We are concerned more with issues— primarily social and cultural, and then economic.
We therefore attack the existing corrupt system. We assure that we will mercilessly attack the corrupt system.
Politics is not our playfield. While we may comment, we consider every political party as no friend of the Dalits—persecuted minorities. And the woman is Dalit among Dalits, a slave of the slave.
For all those reasons, therefore, ours will be a unique experiment. Bangalore City has a vast working-class and student population, and they can consider us their trusted friend—a friend of all the poor, struggling people. Dalit writers will be encouraged.
We will support the Left movement as we have the greatest respect for [it]. Our only suggestion is that while adopting Marxism to Indian conditions, it has to be Indianised by taking into consideration the havoc played by the caste system.
We will do our best to propagate the philosophy of Ambedkar, Periyar, and Lohia, and all other progressive thinkers. Genuine Marxists and Rationalists, and all those working for social change, shall count on our support in their struggles.
It is the Dalit Voice.