Many Idioms of Caste and Untouchability

Cracow Indological Studies, 2013

Kausalya Baisantri authored a Dalit woman autobiography in Hindithe first to my knowledge-in 1999. The article draws on the 'narrative self' concept as the theoretical apparatus for the analysis of the text's content and context. The history of the autobiography genre in Hindi overlaps with the beginnings and advancement of prose in premodern and modern literature in these languages, which developed at the end of the 19 th and the beginning of the 20 th century. Autobio graphical motifs predominate Dalit writings, due mostly to the fact that Dalit literature per se is viewed both by the authors as well as by the readers as a strong manifesto of an exploited people's struggle, voiced by the oppressed themselves with the purpose of enforcing social change, it is perceived as a weapon to fight oppression of the upper castes.

My mind is crowded with many anecdotes: stories not only about the sorrows and tears of Dalit women, but also about their lively and rebellious culture, their eagerness not to let life crush or shatter them . . . about their passion to live life with vitality, truth, and enjoyment; about their hard labour. I wanted to shout out these stories.

Dalits are considered as people of discrete set of low castes, who have been marginalized and oppressed in every possible way. Dalits have recently started showing resistance against oppression through their writings. Many Dalit writers like Bama, Baby Kamble and Arjun Danglay, came up with their own stories of pain and suffering, narrating the agony of Dalit life in its true fashion. Dalit men writers were the first to write their ordeals but of late Dalit women have also come into the literary scene by expressing themselves through their autobiographies. These Dalit women autobiographies are generally written in Indian regional languages like Marathi and Tamil. Dalit writings became a matter of great interest after movements led by Jotiba Phule and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. In my paper I shall deal with the necessity and impact of some famous translated Dalit women autobiographies.

2015

This research paper highlights the need of Dalit feminist writings as these writings provide a platform to the marginalized women of this community. Referring to Bama's two major works we can easily trace the atrocities that dalit women undergo in professional and personal sphere. The best part about both these works is that it ends with self realization that empowers the author and in turn the readers for the better tomorrow. Noida It is not so much that subaltern women did not speak, but rather that others did not know how to listen, how to enter into a transaction between speaker and listener. The subaltern cannot because their words cannot be properly interpreted. Hence, the silence of the female as subaltern is the result of failure of interpretation and not a failure of articulation. (195) Gayatri Spivak's argument that the voice of the subalterns is not heard properly clearly highlights the need of dalit feminist writings. Dalit women writing protests the established ...

Artha - Journal of Social Sciences, 2014

Literature about Dalits and by Dalits is a huge body of writing today. Autobiographical accounts as well as testimonies by Dalit writers from all over India have already been looked at as genres that locate personal as well as the suffering of a mass of people within the larger discourse of human rights. The present paper attempts to examine literary narratives by Dalits and place them as evidence of atrocities committed against them. The paper will also look closely at Dalit stories as typifying the Dalit lived experience. The stories also throw light on the rich and varied culture of these subaltern castes. It is worth noting that there seems to be a hierarchy even among the various kinds of Dalits. The literature analysed will cover stories that show the range of experiences and the cultural identity of the Dalits. The Dalit literary narrative will be looked at as a document that records the suffering of the marginalised and, therefore, as something that is different from a socio...

Acta Scientiarum. Language and Culture, 2015

Jacques Ranciere (2011, p. 53) observes that rather than create works of art, contemporary artists want to get out of the museum "[...] and induce alterations in the space of everyday life, generating new forms of relations". In this context, the aim of this paper is to discuss the power of literature to turn experience into life-narratives that will eventually give rise to a differentiated kind of social experience (SMITH; WATSON, 2010), through the reading of the novel Sangati (1994) by the Indian Dalit writer Bama. In order to make visible the experiences of the Dalit women, Bama rewrites the genre autobiography, as understood in the West, since in her narrative the voice of the community imposes itself upon the voice of the individual. In so doing, she changes the quality and style of canonical narratives considered as literary so that they will accommodate the stories of silenced people articulated through a differentiated kind of aesthetics.

Authorspress , 2016

Every writing is a political act with a clear purpose, objective and agenda. therefore several questions arise in one's mind- who writes, what, for whom and why? Writings in India are built around the caste system. The Dalits in India have remained merely the object of the writings by the upper caste Hindus. This book is a critique of the history of literature which is primarily written and interpreted from a view point of the upper caste Hindus. It attempts to reread and revisit the writings on Dalits in India in general and Dalits in Odisha in particular and rewrite their history and their literature from their perspective. This book is an endeavor to provide a monograph of Dalit writings and writers in Odisha. For the first time one sees a host of Dalit writers and their writings brought to the limelight. They not only contest the Brahmanical hegemony but also strive towards creating an egalitarian society.

ABSTRACT. Jacques Ranciere (2011, p. 53) observes that rather than create works of art, contemporary artists want to get out of the museum “[...] and induce alterations in the space of everyday life, generating new forms of relations”. In this context, the aim of this paper is to discuss the power of literature to turn experience into life-narratives that will eventually give rise to a differentiated kind of social experience (SMITH; WATSON, 2010), through the reading of the novel Sangati (1994) by the Indian Dalit writer Bama. In order to make visible the experiences of the Dalit women, Bama rewrites the genre autobiography, as understood in the West, since in her narrative the voice of the community imposes itself upon the voice of the individual. In so doing, she changes the quality and style of canonical narratives considered as literary so that they will accommodate the stories of silenced people articulated through a differentiated kind of aesthetics. Keywords: Dalit, life-narratives, aesthetics. As Narrativas de vida das mulheres

Abstract Dalit literature has emerged as an important area in the post-colonial India. The major focus of Dalit literature is on the community. Dalit writings are based on the sufferings of the oppressed class. They emphasize on the struggle that they undergo due to oppression and suppression by the upper class people. A dalit woman undergoes two types of suffering, one that she is a women and the other that she belongs to a lowest community. It is these sufferings that Bama focuses in Sangati. Sangati is a series of events that narrates the lives of Dalit women who face the double disadvantage of caste and gender discrimination. Dalit women are marginalised, discriminated, humiliated and harassed both by their men folk and by the society. Bama through meticulous narration, voices out how the way patriarchy works with Dalit women. Men in their community are free from all sorts of responsibilities whereas women are over-burdened with endless toil throughout the day. Bama portrays the realistic picture of dalit women who hardly retards irrespective of her being treated violently by their fathers, brothers or husbands. Key Words: Dalit, Patriarchy, Oppression, Paraiyas, Pey, Christianity

Sage Publishers, 2020

The term Dalit carries, within itself, a structural negativity since its inception in every sphere of life be it political, social or economic. It encapsulates the trials and tribulations of a crushed and suppressed community, which is known as the 'Dalit community'. Dalit literature is a manifestation of the life of Dalit community, which is nothing but a painful saga of an endless suffering. Initially, it was viewed as an all-male affair, but in recent times we have seen the emergence of very powerful narratives by Dalit females. Thus, paving the way for Dalit feminist literature with a new perspective and new ideology which can be termed as 'Dalit female standpoint'. It unravels some hidden territories of Dalit females' lives and talks about their situation, location and experiences. Sangati, a very powerful novel written by Bama, a Dalit female writer, stands testimony to the things mentioned above as it presents the agency and audacity of the Dalit women who question their subjugation and raise a step against the biased society. Their knowledge towards the outer world gives them a new outlook and fresh perspective on life as they reexamine gender relations as fundamental to the broader ideologies of caste. The present article seeks to explore the life conditions of Dalit females as they are caught in the vortex of caste, gender and class and their grit and resolve to survive despite all odds by harping on their oppositional consciousness.