The author discusses the case of the Dalits, traditionally marginalized in the hierarchical caste system of India but who have made use of English to translate their literature and achieve ‘a sense of liberation’ as well as both a pan-Indian and an international readership. This is an interesting consequence of the function of English as an international language: more specifically, it is the internationalism of English as a language of translation and not as a language of colonialism that has served in away to disseminate Dalit literature that would have been impossible had the target language been another Indian language. However, as Kothari points out, there are still limitations on this ‘politics of representation’, since those Dalits who are educated in English ‘are … already a part of a middle-class bourgeoisie that has broken free of traditional caste constraints’; those from lower castes do not have this opportunity and remain voiceless. Nevertheless, this article allows an important revision of the role of English in postcolonial sites and will doubtless be taken up by those working in other linguistic traditions.