Synopsis The abolition of untouchability set in motion the most profound reordering of social relations in India. Both the state and the society in the country were keen to take effective steps for freeing one-seventh of the Indian population from its age – old shackles and to bring them in decades of independence all moves in this regard were subsumed under the term Social Welfare. Later they become part of the development process. In the nineties of the last century the discourse on development of Dalits was taken over by the term Empowerment. This study tries to explore the change process among the Dalit women in Bihar. Efforts have been made to identify some of the prime movers of change in the context of women in the state. Throughout this work, the concept of empowerment has been used as the prime goal. Towards the end, the constraints in this process have been identified and some suggestions have been made as the agenda for future action. It is still a long way to go both the state and society have to alter their strategies to accelerate the whole process.