In March 2017, the village of Thottiyapati in Tamil Nadu saw Dalit homes being damaged and the members of the community being abused (Vinita 2017). It was the battle for water that led to a fight between the Dalit community of Arunthathiyar and the upper caste Thottinayaykars. In the conflict, it was unclear who the victim and the perpetrator were, with cases filed against members of both the groups for inciting violence and harassment. The Dalit community’s participation in communal violence as a solution to a basic problem like water supply raises questions about the relevance of Ambedkar’s ideas in the context of socio-political empowerment.