How did the Dalits assert themselves?

The Dalits asserted themselves and sort the help of law to fight discrimination In the late 1970s and 1980s in parts of South India the Dalits asserted themselves by refusing to perform their so-called caste duties and insisted on being treated equally.Adivasi people successfully organised themselves and demanded equal rights, and for their land and resources to be returned to them.Dalit groups demanded new laws that would list the various sorts of violence against Dalits and prescribe stringent punishment for those who indulge in them.