An in-depth study of the issue of Dalit human rights and the caste system from varying perspectives including those of the victims, the book is divided into two seciions. The first section is a comprehensive account of a two-day national workshop at Chennai, the first of its kind, on "Human Rights and Societal changes with reference to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes" jointly organized by NHRC and DELT. The four sub-themes for discussion were carefully selected to ensure a structured consideration of the main topic: (1) Social policy and Societal changes with reference to Dalits, (2) Appraisal of legislative measures for the uplift of Dalits, (3) Religious and Social Practices and I luman Rights of Dalits, (4) The Concept of a National Human Rights Movement and Dalit uplift. Section II of the volume includes writings by (i.S. Bhargava. R.M. Pal. Henry Thiagaraj :md Air Commodore G.N. Baindur (Retd.) on aspects relevant to the central theme of the exercise. Many of the writings included in the second section have appeared in newspapers and periodicals. These have been included for an understanding of the state of Dalit human rights.