New leaders like Kanhaiya Kumar subscribe to this definition of "dalits", thus a Brahmin marginal farmer trying to eke out a living, but unable to do so also falls in the "dalit" category. Ambedkar himself was a Mahar, and in the 1970s the use of the word "dalit" was invigorated when it was adopted by the Dalit Panthers activist group. Gradually, political parties used it to gain mileage.