In the 1970s, subaltern began to denote the colonized peoples of the Indian subcontinent and described a new perspective of the history of an imperial colony as told from the point of view of the colonized rather than that of the colonizers.
Pada tahun 1970-an, subaltern mulai mengacu pada masyarakat terkolonisasi di anak benua India dan memberi perspektif baru mengenai sejarah koloni imperial dari sudut pandang pihak yang terkolonisasi, bukan pelaku kolonisasi.