The Kaivarta Revolt: Caste Mobility and Buddhism in Medieval India

History has been a contested domain for knowledge and claims regarding diverse interpretations of the past. Who governed whom, whose contributions were recognized, and who’s not? Indian History has been viewed from a positivist lens as ascertain and universal. However, Ambedkar critiques the Brahmanical positivist interpretation of Indian history and provided alternative methods to engage with the social history of caste. He highlighted the epistemological violence done by Brahminical scholars who used “politics of appropriation” to mis-represent the Dalit-Bahujan resistance. In similar capacity, Kaivarta revolt against the Pala King Mahipala ll and Rampala ll (Buddhist regime) in Bengal is testament to this paradoxical relation between the caste, Buddhism and political appropriation by Brahminism. By using Ambedkar’s historical method, critical caste studies framework and archival resources, this paper aims to understand the political-economy of socio-political mobility of Nishad caste in the context of Pala regimes' policy of non-violence and heavy taxation.