THE PLACE AND PRESENCE OF DALIT ART, AS ESTABLISHED BY SAVINDRA SAVARKAR, WITHIN THE MAINSTREAM OF CONTEMPORARY INDIAN ART

The revolutionary work of prominent Dalit artist Savindra Sawarkar (born in Nagpur, Maharashtra, in 1961), who challenged the upper-caste paradigm that has historically ruled mainstream contemporary Indian art, is examined in this article. Class-centric narratives and Brahmanical esthetic standards continued to exclude caste-based oppression, Dalit lived experiences, and Ambedkarite consciousness despite notable groups like the Progressive Artists' Group, the Calcutta Group, and other revolutionary groups. Sawarkar draws extensively from his own experiences of institutional exclusion, economic hardship, and caste-based humiliation. He was born into a Mahar Dalit family that converted to Navayana Buddhism following Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's conversion in 1956. His artistic output represents a radical intervention by emphasizing Dalit individuality, resistance, and dignity. In order to challenge caste systems and advance Bahujan awareness, Sawarkar developed a distinctive "sub-Brahminical" esthetic framework. Ambedkarite philosophy, the equality and compassion of Navayana Buddhism, Jyotirao Phule's criticism of Brahmanism, and the expressive capacity of Expressionism all had an effect on this framework. His tremendous symbolic lexicon involves the broom, spittoon (pot), black sun, dead cow, lantern, and reinterpreted sacred symbols like Om and Swastika—drawn from Dalit lived realities, folklore, and Ambedkarite ideology. Prominent works that strongly condemn caste violence while advancing concepts of equality, fraternity, and freedom include the Dalit with Dead Cow series, Three Untouchables under the Black Sun, the Devadasi Series, and Foundation of India (1986), which destroys the Vedic Purusha Sukta as a model of structural oppression. Sawarkar was consistently shunned by galleries, reviewers, and art institutions despite his solid academic background (B.F.A., Nagpur; M.F.A., Baroda) and connections with prominent artists. In addition to exposing the cruelty ingrained in Brahmanical modernity, this thesis contends that Sawarkar's expressionist Dalit iconography reorients contemporary Indian art toward social justice, inclusivity, and transformative politics. Through his work, Dalit art is established as an independent and essential force in the development of contemporary Indian visual culture.