The communist leader Jyoti Basu was once asked by a visiting American academic ? “Who represents the Dalits in your party?” The veteran looked at the visitor icily and replied, “I do.” The communists belief in class and not caste and are above identity politics. Dalit, upper caste, Muslim, all are the same, as long as they belong to the working classes and want to shed off their chains.
That was of course way back in the past. Since then Indian communists have come to fully appreciate the harsh realities of India.