India, Nov. 1 -- In July 1982, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was set to visit the US. Triumphant after her return from the political wilderness following the debacle of the Emergency, Gandhi's meetings with US President Ronald Reagan were meant to project power - after all, her supporters argued, she had stared Richard Nixon down and helped liberate Bangladesh. And now that a crisis in Afghanistan was unfolding and her party was back in the saddle in Delhi, she held the cards.

But the visit didn't go fully to plan. Her trip was rocked by protests from groups that had requested to meet her and inform her of their concerns about growing Dalit atrocities in India. After receiving no positive response, members of VISION or Volunteers in Servi...