Anti-caste Print and Vernacular Publics: The Case of Panchama

Originating as Shoshita (the oppressed) in 1975 in the aftermath of the Boosa incident, the periodical Panchama was produced by a collective of Dalit activists and students. It functioned as a counter-public, a site of intellectual and technical labour, and a community archive documenting caste-based violence and everyday marginalisation. By situating it within the trajectory of anti-caste print culture, the article highlights how vernacular print enabled marginalised communities to produce knowledge while remaining structurally excluded from institutional archives.