Dalit Literature and Cultutre

Sita’s Curse, Shambuk’s Silence Understanding Caste by Gail Omvedt In this chapter, the author talks about the Hindu (brahminical) identity of India. She says this Hindu identity of India cannot be religious as there are other religions that reside in India and are distinct from Hinduism like Sikhism, Islam, Islam, etc. She says the other identity could that be of its population- The Hindu Civilization- the civilization living beyond Indus as Sindhu is the original pronunciation. She says this identity in itself is egalitarian and anti-Brahmanic as it encompasses diverse races, ethnicities and cultural groups. But today the identity of India is one that has been tailored by the Hindu Nationalist by conflating the pluralistic and territorial definition of Hindu with the religious one which gives dominance to a brahminic core. She says that the modern debate about the identity of India is much deeper than just the Hindu-Muslim debate. She is of the opinion that this debate is b...

Annihilation of Caste Annihilation of Caste was actually a speech written by Baba sahib as a speech that he was supposed to deliver at an anti-caste conference in Lahore. The reason why this speech was published as a booklet was that he was never able to deliver his speech at the conference because certain members of the conference thought that Baba sahib’s speech was very venomous and would mar the solidarity of the Hindus. The reason why this speech was never delivered and why and what Baba sahib wrote in his speech/book very closely concern each other. Baba sahib was of the opinion that Hinduism is plagued by the caste system. He was of the view that the caste system has lasted so long and suppressed one section of the society for so long because the vedas themselves sanction the caste system and justify the atrocities on the lower caste in the name of religion. Therefore, to end caste we need to annihilate Hinduism or “dynamite” the vedas. We all in our lifetime have heard ...

The Prisons We Broke by Baby Kamble. In this autobiography, Baby Kamble talks about her life and family as a Mahar. She starts off by talking about how her father was a contractor and at times there was a lot of money in the house and at times there was no money. This was because her father liked living on merit more than he liked living on money. This used to frustrate her mother a lot because there were times that they could not even eat one meal and lived in extreme poverty. Further, she also describes how people in the village would take a bath. they would chew up pieces of coconut and the mixture of the chewed up coconut and saliva was rubbed into the hair of the children and themselves. This mixture was washed off with extremely hot water which not only burned their scalps but also helped in killing off the lice on their heads. These procedures were extremely painful, especially for the young children and were a painful ordeal. Further, she also spoke about how the young girls...

Joothan- Omprakash Valmiki (Contd.) As Omprakash Valmiki goes on journaling his life in this autobiography, another incident in the book particularly stuck with me. this incident was when he and his 'chura' friend had gone to an upper caste man's house. Throughout their visit to his house, they were treated well by the upper caste man and his family and were even asked to eat in their house, using the same utensils. However, as soon as the upper caste man found out that they were 'churas' or 'chambers', he started beating them up. The author did not want to tell him that they were 'churas' or belonged to a lower caste but his friend went ahead and did so. This was because, for once in the author's life, he wanted to live without the burden of his caste and this incident just made him realise that he will never be able to escape that part of his identity. No matter how successful or educated e becomes, he will always be a 'chamaar' or a...

Abhinav Singh 20141297                                                                                UNTOUCHABLE TO DALIT In this week’s summary I would summarise  the chapter Dalit-New cultural context for an old Marathi word from the book Untouchable to Dalit, the most intriguing part of this chapter for me was how the writer drew similarities between the Black Literature and Dalit Literature. In the 1970s there were two major movements of the Dalit’s that gained prominence within the English press, which was named the Dalit Panthers and Dalit Literature, which were inspired by the American Black Panther and Black Literature. The Marathi word Dalit was chosen by the group itself and used proudly just like the word Black, this was their way ...

Aastha Bhardwaj Reflection Paper 5 March 3 rd 2020 A Brief History of the Dalit Memoir The article begins with an introduction to the stark reality by stating out the names that Dalits are called by, names that are reduce them down to being the ‘others’, a class of unimportant dirty individuals who come from dirt and are considered to be nothing more. The article then talks about the autobiography ‘Balut’ which was written originally in Marathi by Maruti Pawar. The article explains how these autobiographies written by Dalit writers are not just accounts of their lives but a look into the injustice that has been and that still is to the day inflicted upon an entire section of the Indian society. While most of them being general observations, one of the main points that stands out is that even though the stories are harrowing, it is possible for these accounts to be positive as well, this positive aspect is not meant to however, take away from the ground reality of their ...

Aastha Bhardwaj Reflection Paper 4 Feb 28 th 2020 Joothan by Omprakash Valmiki The history of India has wiped out the pages it did not want to come face to face with and Joothan provides a look, even if it’s us looking from the outside, into that part of history of the Indian social and culture post-independence. Valmiki is born not only into a ‘lower’ caste but also a lower class of the society which excludes him even further from being a respectable part of the said society. We are introduced to the struggles he faces along the road to being an educated playwright. Valmiki’s account of his life puts us within the perspective of the ground realities of the Indian societal structures that have been internalized for generations. Valmiki puts forth accounts that remain unknown to the world because of the systematic marginalization as well as the wiping out of the cultural and social presence of the lower castes. The system is systematic because it deprives the lower caste...

Dalit - New Cultural Context for an Old Marathi Word Dalit Movement in India is most often compared with the American Black Panthers and Black literature to draw necessary comparisons in a global context. Much like the word Black, Dalit was also chosen by the group itself and this allows them to embrace the connotations of the word wholeheartedly and represent their pride.  The book also talks about experience of Dalit poets and how they draw from their own experiences and present a nuanced imagery which is often lacking from other poems and stories written on them. Example of Dhasal is presented who wrote about conventional Marathi poetry whereas many other deviated to present what was referred to as unsophisticated poetry of folk- poet. Poets like Pawar have written about their childhood experiences describing dalit cultural practices.    A lot of Dalit poets also exhibited huge amount of influence fro the Black culture in America. Daya Pawar's poem titled...

The Prisons We Broke The Prisons we broke is an English translation of the original Jina Amucha written by Baby Kamble in Marathi. Like most Dalit autobiographies, The Prisons We Broke is an expression of protest against the inhuman conditions of existence to which the Hindu caste system has subjected the Dalits for thousands of years. Her book has detailed descriptions of a life lived in the poverty of Maharwada. She ran a small provision shop and the only books she ever owned were the once used to wrap up groceries in. She had to hide it from her husband that she was writing a book, this says a lot about the kind of dual oppression women face within the patriarchal and caste driven society. Dalit women truly are the Dalit among the Dalits. In her book, she recounts how the society was before Dr Ambedkar and how social and self-awareness redeemed their self-respect and honour. This book is a window into the graphic realities of the Dalit women dealing with their caste stigm...

The Weave of My Life: A reflection on Urmila Pawar’s autobiography The pain of Dalit is usually assumed to be the pain of the Dalit man. The atrocities of caste fall heavily on his shoulders. He bears the brunt of capitalist exploitation and caste humiliation together. But, where is the Dalit woman? How has she grappled with being at the epicenter of caste, class, and patriarchy? A small glimpse into the life of Dalit women can be found in Urmila Pawar’s riveting autobiography, ‘The Weave of My Life’.  Pawar recounts the stories of three generations of women from her family starting from her grandmother, her mother, and herself. She recollects how her ‘housing’ was located in the middle of the village so that the Mahars could be called to service at the whim and fancy of the surrounding upper-caste village. Their lives seemed to be in constant threat of attack from all corners. Knowing that caste is rooted in the idea of purity and impurity, she was still subject to patri...

DALIT AUTOBIOGRAPHIES Dalit autobiographies are referred to as narratives of pain. This is perhaps because while autobiographers usually take to praising themself in their own story, the Dalit autobiographer talks about his struggle owing to the harsh, discriminating and oppressive society. The educated Dalit writer uses her words as her form of resistance against society and its people who deny her basic rights. Manoranjan Byapari, for instance, discusses how he was lost, poverty-stricken and unemployed. However, he used his words to contribute to literature and made his story heard. These autobiographies serve two purposes, one towards the identity of the Dalit writer and secondly towards a memoir of literature. By writing about their experiences, Dalit writers claim title over their identity and validate their struggle and experience, simultaneously contributing to books and poetry that can be accessed by others, for awareness or otherwise. With more Dalit writers writing auto...

This week, my reflection is on the book, ‘Baluta’, written by Daya Pawar. The book’s title refers to the share received by people of the Mahar community, from the village produce, in return for various social ‘duties’ which may range from cleaning carcass to announcing events to playing music at weddings. There is a unique perspective provided in this book, that is both shocking and gut wrenching. The preface by writer and critic Shanta Gokhale sets the gritty mood for what awaits the reader in Baluta while the translator’s note by Jerry Pinto gives an accurate synopsis about the book and adds his own observations about Daya Pawar’s life and writing. Baluta is not written in a chronological structure but in fact, comes across as a conversation between the writer and reader and at times, a deep monologue by the author. There is utter honesty and self-deprecation when Daya examines his convictions about justice thanks to his education and political awareness and yet unable to take a ...

Aastha Bhardwaj Reflection Paper 3 February 18 th , 2020 Seeking Begumpura by Gail Omvedut Jyotiba Phule and Ramabai: Chapter 4 of the text delves into the life of Jyotiba Phule and his involvement in the struggle of education for women. He was on the first feminist figures that India saw, who empowered his wife to not only educate herself but also to teach other young women and girls around them, not just regional but English education. He broke societal norms and standards of acceptance of the time when he chose not to divorce his wife on the grounds of her not being able to bear children. Around a similar time-period came Ramabai who was also known as ‘pandita’ owing to her knowledge of the ancient Brahmin texts whose study was motivated by Keshab Chandra Sen. However, dissatisfied with the same, she moved towards Christianity in a time when Christianity was looked upon as something of English (British) association and non-traditional as per Indian norms. Owing to t...

Aastha Bhardwaj Reflection Paper 2 February 13 th , 2020 The Implications of CAA and NRC While looking at the two from afar, a general perspective of them being anti-Muslim can be formed fairly easily as the nature of the text itself, permits them to discriminate on the basis of one’s religion. However, when the two are clubbed and looked at from the ‘pov’ [1] of the Indian Societal structures it can be understood that they are against minorities in their essence. The reason behind that inference is that while CAA seems to be targeted at Muslim minorities in India and those from other countries what it coupled with NRC targets is all those who will not be able to prove their lineage, because for reasons of absurdities no proof of current citizenship will apparently be accepted by the government and one needs to be or one’s predecessors should have been ‘property owners’ for them to prove their belonging to the State.   In a country which inhabits around 33 slums p...

Aastha Bhardwaj Reflection Paper 1 February 10, 2020 The Annihilation of Caste by Dr. B.R.Ambedkar Ambedkar was and still is known for his approach towards ‘annihilation’ of the caste system in the Hindu religion and society, which he believed could come only through systematic social reform. His belief in the social reform system could stem from the fact that he saw and classified caste as a systematic social division in the society. While the concept of social reform as a measure of combating social division could be taken as a simple solution, the density can only be understood with the complexity of the caste system. The caste system is so deeply ingrained in the fabric that is the Indian society that the morality and values of an entire community are delegitimized based on their caste, they are forced to live on the outskirts of their homeland because the apparent “upper” caste has shunned them from being part of a dignified and humane society. Another focal point...

RESPONSE PAPER Reading Title: A brief history of the Dalit memoir Submission Number: 4/10 ‘A Brief History of the Dalit Memoir’ seems, on the face of it, to be a plain discussion of the emergence of Dalit Literature. But the piece makes several notable observations regarding the rupture brought about by Dalit memoirs. The first and most striking observation, as I personally believe it to be, is the assertion that Dalit self-stories can be positive as well. The ordinary anticipation of a sad and touching personal story is possibly challenged through the positive reclamation of the literary space through a Dalit autobiography. This assertion does not, in any sense, take away from the common thread of painful or harsh life narratives of the oppressed castes. In fact, it has to be conceded that most autobiographies of Dalit authors are narratives of pain. [1] The second most poignant observation is made by historian Gyanendra Pandey, when he says that Dalit poetry is the p...

This week, I will be reflecting on the genre of Dalit Auto-biographies. A critique of social hierarchy can be provided by better understanding the emergent Dalit movement and thought. Dalit autobiographies, are an integral part of this process and help provide a basis for understanding the contradictions involved in this endeavour. A Dalit autobiography, like any other text, occupies a dual position. It is both a discourse and a source. How a community so persecuted and ostracized never got an opportunity to even let others hear their story is appalling and gut wrenching. However, unlike many other literary texts, including autobiographies, it is positioned as an explicitly and self-consciously political text at the level of discourse. Dalit writers have never hidden the positioned nature of their writings which reveal the nature of their experience as labourers, as Dalits and as organic intellectuals. At the same time, they also provide crucial first-hand information about...

AAIDAN As she starts with talking about the terrain her family previously lived in while her mother cursed her forefathers who chose an unsteady terrain to live in you steadily start to think why was this a case and one reason a person can think of is because the upper class neglected and barred them from living with and possibly even near them which forced them to choose a route where you fight for your life every day in order to earn bread for your family. “Often while crossing boulders it would drip out, wetting her blouse” this shows that they never got a maternity leave while the upper class was always maintained and taken utmost care of, such was not the case here. While talking about the the drudgery of their daily lives, Urmila Pawar discusses the bond the women formed on the way, the markets were a place to decide the partners for their children or themselves, the support the women had for   each other. “Let me tell you, a Kulwadi woman I knew kept a dead snake in her...

DALIT LITERATURE READING SUMMARIES WEEK 6 “DALIT”- A NEW CONTEXT FOR AN OLD MARATHI WORD Sirgapoor Sahil Reddy 20161245 BA LLB Section A By the 1970s there were two major movements of the Dalit’s that gained prominence in the English language press, which was named the Dalit Panthers and Dalit Literature. Three specific phases of the Dalit movement can be identified in the present century; first, proto-Dalit activism (1900-1930), second, the emergence and consolidation of Ambedkarite paradigms (1930-1972); third, the birth of the Dalit movement, which begins with the birth of Dalit panther’s movement of Maharashtra in 1972.   Initially it was a “social movement”- a voice to express the concerns of the Dalits in the community.   Here the community in the question itself is partly newly invented and mobilized to influence the shape and course of the historical change. This process also involved the cultural politics of renaming several untouchable castes which...

Week 5 The articles “A brief history of Dalit Memoirs” and “Autobiographies of Dalit writers are narratives of pain” were interestingly contrasting. As pointed out in the articles about Dalit memoirs, there are authors who have written their narrative    positively (by eliminating the injustices) and authors who have honestly penned down their honest experiences, which are indeed painful. I believe authors of both these kinds are required to both agitate young Dalits to join the revolution and also, to give them the hope that they are the achievers too and not just victims by showing bravery and resilience. The article also addressed about the intersection of gender and caste when it comes of Dalit women autobiographies. It is indeed true that the narrative depicted in women autobiographies is more painful to read.  The article further addresses that the new media age and new writing mostly covers the Ambedkarite thought and leaves our the other ideologies. I be...

Reflections on Articles on Dalit Autobigraphies and Memoirs Pain is a recurring constant in almost all Dalit stories and narratives. Pain, humiliation, anger, and to a certain degree helplessness seem to some of the key features of Dalit autobiographies. There is always a degree of separation when someone else tells your story. It is unable to capture the vivid details of turmoil and feelings. Hence, Dalit autobiographies become an important medium of self-expression; to understand the degree of pain embedded in their lives. Dalit literacy is new. It is only in the 1970s and 80s that Dalit stories began to be told. The historical inaccess to literature and knowledge denied Dalits the tools to record their lives of injustice.  Unlike other autobiographies that are quite self-glorifying, there are hardly elements of victory or pride. They are recounted stories of discrimination, both subtle and discernable. From these stories, it also becomes evident how social positioning...

Dalit Autobiographies- Why are they important? Professor Sumit Baudh in his piece on caste- intersectionality highlights the importance of “personal narratives” as a means of conveying lived experiences, in order to provide a lens into life as an oppressed person. They go on to examine the presence of emotion in personal narratives, and how, unlike academic writing, it is a herculean task to divorce emotion from experience, alluding to themes of anger and anguish in lower-caste autobiographies. Dalit autobiographies act as a symbol of resistance against the conception of literature and art being domains of the upper-caste. Their themes often include pain and hunger, as they delve into experiences in childhood. That isn’t to say that all Dalit autobiographies are memoirs of their victimization at the hands of the oppressors. Prolific Dalit authors like Loknath Yashwant and Kumar Anil have shifted the narrative from “I was a victim of…” to “I succeeded in spite of.” Dalit...

                                                            Dalit Autobiographies Dalit Autobiographies make for an interesting read for they introduce us to the world that our past experiences have conveniently 'other-ed'. These stories show us the other-side of the world that our privileged families have hidden from us. Moreover, they speak of atrocities that our fore-fathers have committed. These autobiographies  started as a way to bring to life a Dalit Hero and provide validity. Additionally it also helped in giving an in-dept characterization of a Dalit Character who would otherwise feature as a side- character in a very stereotypical manner. In 1970s Dalit writing turned into a socio-political tool. This genre developed to shatter caste- hierarchies that continued to plague India much after Independence. These Dalit biogr...

WEEK 5 Summary 5/10 The article begins by shedding light on different names the Dalits are called by the society, from a negligible and dirty object to an adjective on their status, that is from a dirt to a beggar. The article then goes on to talk about an autobiography of Maruti Pawar who was a Dalit and a Marathi writer and published his autobiography in 1978. The title of the biography was Baluta which meant the share thrown by the upper castes to the lower castes.  The article sheds light on how the autobiographies from these times were not mere narratives of the writers but they used it as their stages to present to the world the standpoint of Dalits and to elaborate the injustices the community faced. From the culture of autobiography the culture then shifted to poems and it made a huge impact on socio political culture during those times. Majority of these writers and poets got their inspiration from B. R. Ambedkar when he said “educate, organise and agitate”....

Week 5 Parnika Jain Vaibhav Singh points out the use of autobiography as a tool to stir emotions amongst people, incite them and make them understand the author’s lived body experience. One common critique that Dalit writers talk against is the Varn Vyastha, that has forced their group to live in such dire conditions. Something that is still used as a sanction to deny them of their basic rights. They bring forth the difficulties their group has lived through. The cruel instances of untouchability they have faced since their childhood. Even if they are given the opportunity of education they are treated differently than the other students. Forced to do menial jobs. He reiterates Om Prakash Valmiki’s incident in school where he was forced to climb the tree, pluck the branches and forced to clean the grounds of the school. For years they have done labour, like manual scavenging, pick up dead animal carcasses. They talk about how your name decides your profession. Other names like ...

Abhinav Singh 20141297                                                                                  DALIT AUTOBIOGRAPHIES Autobiographies are  a part of  a literature that brings personal accounts of life  on public  domain. They incite others too to relate with their human emotions and circumstances with the actual reality experienced by the autobiography-writer. Autobiographies serve different purpose  in several  times and if autobiographies of Dalit writers are called as narrative of pain, it carries certain historical truth. In an autobiography, its  a traditional  trend to glorify the self and boast about the extra-ordinary quality of oneself. But that changes at the hands of a Dalit writer. When he/she...