The Doubly Marginalized Self in 20th Century Dalit Autobiographies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7798515Keywords:
Marginalization, Dalit writing, Dalit women’s writing, autobiography, caste, Indian literatureAbstract
This paper situates the genre of autobiography in the context of Indian society, which is divided on the basis of caste, lowest among them being Dalits. The two Dalit autobiographies discussed in the paper are Surajpal Chauhan’s Tiraskrit and Kausalya Baisantri’s Dohra Abhishaap. The idea of a divided Dalit community is explored through a reading of these narratives as both of them represent the margin within the marginal Dalit community. Chauhan’s narrative explores the caste divide within the socially discriminated Dalit community, and Baisantri explores the issue of obliteration of Dalit women’s voice in Indian society, even within the Dalit community. Both the narratives are voicing issues pertinent to the Dalit community, thus emerging as a socially and politically informed self that is no longer marginal.
References
Ambedkar, Bhim Rao. Annihilation of Caste. Delhi: Navayana, 2014.
Ambedkar, Bhim Rao. “Speech at Mahad.” In Poisoned Bread, edited by Arjun Dangle. Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2009.
Baisantri, Kaushalya. Dohra Abhishaap. Delhi: Parmeshwari Prakashan, 1999.
Chauhan, Surajpal. Tiraskrit. Delhi: Anubhav Prakashan, 2002.
Dangle, Arjun, ed. Poisoned Bread. Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2009.
Deshpande, Satish, ed. The Problem of Caste: Reading on the Economy, Polity and Society. Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2014.
Gajarawala, Toral Jatin. Untouchable Fictions: Literary Realism and the Crisis of Caste. New York: Fordham University Press, 2013.
Guru, Gopal. “Dalit Women Talk Differently.” In Gender and Caste: Issues in Contemporary Indian Feminism, edited by Anupama Rao. Delhi: Women Unlimited, 2003.
Hunt, Sarah Beth. Hindi Dalit Literature and the Politics of Representation. Delhi: Routledge, 2014.
Kumar, Raj. Dalit Personal Narratives: Reading Caste, Nation and Identity. Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2010.
Limbale, Sharankumar. Towards an Aesthetic of Dalit Literature: History, Controversies and Considerations. Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2004.
Mukherjee, Alok. “Reading Sharankumar Limbale’s Towards an Aesthetic of Dalit Literature: From Erasure to Assertion.” In Towards an Aesthetic of Dalit Literature: History, Controversies and Considerations. Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2004.
Mukherjee, Arun Prabha. “Introduction.” In Joothan. Delhi: Samya, 2010.
Olney, James. Autobiography: Essays Theoretical and Critical. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014.
Omvedt, Gail. “Preface.” In Poisoned Bread, edited by Arjun Dangle. India: Orient Blackswan, 2009.
Ram, Kanshi. The Chamcha Age. Delhi, 1982.
Sathe, Putul. “Ethnography of True Marginalised Self: Reading of Dalit Women’s Autobiographies.” Women’s Link. 19, no. 4 (2013): 25-32.
Singh, Shweta. “Representation of Dalit Women in Dalit Men’s and Women’s Autobiographies.” The Delhi University Journal of the Humanities and the Social Sciences. Vol. 1 (2014): 39-47.
Smith, Sidonie, and Julia Watson, eds. Women, Autobiography, Theory: A Reader. USA: University of Wisconsin Press, 1998.
Tiwari, Bajrang Bihari. “Concept of Dalit Feminism.” Journal of Literature and Aesthetics. 8, no. 1 (2008): 70-73.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Nesir: Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
