--- title: Mayawati: Indian Dalit Leader Resigns From Parliament description: One of India's most prominent female politicians and a top representative of the country's Dalit people has resigned from parliament canonical: https://time.com/4863883/mayawati-dalit-quits-india-parliament/ author: Joseph Hincks article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-07-19T08:02:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T16:36:46.449Z article:section: World og:title: Lawmaker Representing India's Poor Quits After Being Quieted og:description: Her abrupt departure could mark the end of a long and distinguished career og:url: https://time.com/4863883/mayawati-dalit-quits-india-parliament/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5333f12ba103ba64/6988d63b096a9414bb69ecf9/gettyimages-144782669.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Mayawati Press Conference og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Lawmaker Representing India's Poor Quits After Being Quieted twitter:description: Her abrupt departure could mark the end of a long and distinguished career twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5333f12ba103ba64/6988d63b096a9414bb69ecf9/gettyimages-144782669.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Iconic Indian Lawmaker Representing the Poor Quits After Being Quieted by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Jul 19, 2017 8:02 AM CUT  Mayawati addresses a press conference in New Delhi, India, on May 19, 2012. Mayawati addresses a press conference in New Delhi, India, on May 19, 2012.Ajay Aggarwal—Hindustan Times/Getty Images by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Jul 19, 2017 8:02 AM CUT One of India’s most prominent female politicians and a top representative of the country’s Dalit, or lower caste, people has resigned from her parliamentary seat in protest after being told to cut short a speech to upper house lawmakers. Mayawati Kumari alleged that she was muzzled Tuesday while speaking out about alleged abuses committed against Dalits in the northern province of Uttar Pradesh, where she formerly served as chief minister, _The Hindu_ [reports](http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/mayawati-quits-hours-after-her-speech-was-cut-short-in-rajya-sabha/article19301445.ece "undefined"). She was addressing lawmakers on recent clashes in the town of Saharanpur, where two people were reportedly killed in caste-related violence. The deputy chairperson of the Indian parliament, P.J. Kurien, reportedly told Mayawati not to “monopolize” the discussion after she exceeded a three-minute allotment for impromptu speeches. _The Hindu_ reports that she then warned of abandoning her seat if she was “not allowed to speak on atrocities against Dalits.” Some members of opposition parties showed support by walking out of the parliament with her as she left, reports the BBC. Shortly after walking out, she tendered her resignation. Her abrupt departure could mark the end of her long political career, according to the BBC, as her popularity among voters is floundering and polls will not be held again for almost year. **Read more:** [_Mayawati Kumari, Queen of the Dalits_](http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1727514,00.html "undefined") Many members of India’s mostly poor lower castes self-identify as “Dalit,” a term that is not officially recognized by the Indian government. They are also sometimes referred to as “untouchables,” and are ostracized by much of society. Mayawati is one of few politicians to represent the group on the national stage, and as such has earned the status of icon among millions of Dalits. \[[_The Hindu_](http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/mayawati-quits-hours-after-her-speech-was-cut-short-in-rajya-sabha/article19301445.ece "undefined"), [BBC](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-40640954 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4863883/mayawati-dalit-quits-india-parliament/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4863883/mayawati-dalit-quits-india-parliament/"},"headline":"Iconic Indian Lawmaker Representing the Poor Quits After Being Quieted","datePublished":"2017-07-19T08:02:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:36:46.449Z","description":"Her abrupt departure could mark the end of a long and distinguished career","url":"https://time.com/4863883/mayawati-dalit-quits-india-parliament/","keywords":["India","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5333f12ba103ba64/6988d63b096a9414bb69ecf9/gettyimages-144782669.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joseph Hincks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joseph-hincks/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5333f12ba103ba64/6988d63b096a9414bb69ecf9/gettyimages-144782669.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Mayawati Press Conference","caption":"Mayawati Press Conference","creditText":"Ajay Aggarwal—Hindustan Times/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/india/","name":"India"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4863883/mayawati-dalit-quits-india-parliament/","name":"Iconic Indian Lawmaker Representing the Poor Quits After Being Quieted"}}]}] ```