MODERN INDIAN LITERATURES

BACKGROUND
UNIT I
DALIT LITERATURE
Dalit literature emerged in the 1960s in the Marathi language, and soon appeared
in Bangla, Hindi, Kannada, Punjabi, Sindhi, and Tamil languages, through narratives such as
poems, short stories, and autobiographies, which stood out due to their stark portrayal of
reality. India’s caste system assigns individuals a certain hierarchical status. Traditionally,
there are four principal castes- Brahmins (Intellectuals), Kshatriyas (Soldiers), Vishayas
(Entrepreneurs), Sudras (Work Force); whereas the Dalits are the untouchables. The word
Dalit – literally translating to ‘oppressed’ or ‘broken’ – is generally used to refer to people
who were once known as ‘untouchables’, to those belonging to castes outside the fourfold
Hindu Varna system. A Dalit is a victim of poverty, slavery, illiteracy, ignorance and
atrocities. Therefore, Waman Nimbalker writes in his book “Dalit literature Nature and
Role”, - Dalit is a sole heir of darkness. One, who is harassed, oppressed and afflicted. It was
Ambedkar’s dedication, mission and vision of educating Dalits by building schools and
colleges that paved the way for the great literary revolution in literature and on the
consequent rise and development of Dalit literature. Therefore, Dalit literature is literature
produced by Dalits about the Dalit consciousness. Dalit is not a new word, as apparently it
was used in the 1930’s as a Hindi and Marathi translation of ‘depressed classes’ a term the
British used for what are now called the scheduled castes. In 1970s the ‘Dalit Panthers’ (a
social organisation that seeks to combat caste discrimination) revived the term and expanded
its reference to include scheduled tribes, poor peasants, women and all those being exploited
politically, economically and in the name of religion. So Dalit is not caste, rather it became a
symbol of change and revolution. Dalit literature is basically that literature which artistically
delineates the trials and tribulations humiliation, exploitation, sorrows and sufferings,
degradation, ridicule, and poverty experienced by Dalits for an age old time.

The first generation of educated Dalits who drew inspiration from Ambedkar have started
writing in an organised way about their sufferings and their struggle to live and get educated.
Dalit literature is thereby an account of the struggle for existence, freedom, and dignity. The
style, form and content is totally different from mainstream literature as it prepares to present
the lives of India’s social divisions being completely controlled by the society around them.
One of the first Dalit writers was Madara Chennaiah, an 11th-century cobbler-saint who is
also regarded by some scholars as the "father of Vachana poetry". Another poet who finds
mention is Dohara Kakkaiah, a Dalit by birth, whose six confessional poems survives
commenting on the position of Dalits in society. The origins of Dalit writing can also be
traced back to Buddhist literature, or to mainly Marathi Dalit Bhakti poets like Gora, Chokha
Mela and Karmamela, and to the Tamil Siddhas, or Chittars. Modern Dalit writing only
emerged as a distinct genre after the democratic and egalitarian thinkers such as Sree
Narayana Guru, Jyotiba Phule, B.R. Ambedkar, Iyothee Thass, Sahodaran
Ayyappan, Ayyankali, Poykayil Appachan, and others began to articulate the sources and
modes of caste oppression.
Mulk Raj Anand’s, “Untouchable” is a 1935 novel that revolves around the story of a
teenager named Bakha who worked as a toilet cleaner. The novel established Anand as one of
India’s leading English authors. The book was inspired by his aunt’s experience when she
had a meal with a Muslim woman and was treated as an outcast by her family. He detailed
the abuse of people and their reaction towards how even Dalits’ shadows were horrible. Their
touch was considered impure and indicate bad luck. This novel too highlighted the sexual
abuse with the Dalit girl by the Brahmin men which defined how sexual abuse was relevant
before independence too. One of the striking things about this novel is that this was written
during pre-independence but the mentality has hardly changed towards the Dalit community
in the present scenario.

In the text “The Annihilation of Caste” by B.R Ambedkar formerly an undelivered speech by
Dr. Ambedkar, which was published in 1936, Ambedkar probably for the first time, raised
many profound questions with respect to caste. Among the numerous writings and speeches
“The Annihilation of Caste” is indeed his magnum opus. He only gave illustrations of how
they were deprived of education and freedom of occupation and were subjected to
stigmatised manual labour, all resulting in their virtual economic slavery, and how they were
segregated and deprived of basic rights such as drinking water even from public wells, and
above all how they were made victims of social persecutions. According to Ambedkar, worse
and unparalleled was, the Hindu ‘Dharmashastras’ that gave legitimacy to the doctrine of
caste system. Most importantly, he argues that caste destroyed the spirit of public good as
people thought only in terms of their caste, and not for humanity.

Another of the most important text “Joothan-An Untouchable′s Life” by Om Prakash

Valmiki’s gives insights into the Dalits’ daily fight for survival, with failed attempts to
preserve dignity. It is one of the autobiographies full of emotional encounters narrating a
painful unimaginable childhood full of abuse, harshness, and caste-based violence. ‘Joothan’,
which literally means leftover food questions the life of a Dalit in newly independent India of
the 1950s. It tells the stories of living in the untouchable caste of Chuhra and the cruel
obstacle he overcame to become the first high school graduate of his neighbourhood and his
coming to consciousness under the influence of the great Dalit political leader B.R.
Ambedkar. Overall, it discusses that the practice of untouchability was legally abolished in
1950 but not from people’s mind sets.

Among the contemporary Dalit writers, Bama born in 1958 is a Tamil Dalit feminist and
novelist known for exposing the joys and sorrows experienced by Dalit Christian women in
Tamil Nadu. She rose to fame with her autobiographical novel “Karukku” published in 1992.
The first autobiography of a Dalit woman writer, the book is a classic of subaltern writing,
and a bold and poignant tale of life outside mainstream Indian thought and function.
“Karukku” is an autobiography that chronicles Bama’s life, from her childhood to her early
adult life as a nun, and beyond. Revolving around the main theme of caste oppression within
the Catholic Church, “Karukku” portrays the tension between the self and the community,
and presents Bama’s life as a process of self-reflection and recovery from social and
institutional betrayal.
Asserting the importance of Dalit literature, Arundhati Roy has observed: "I do believe that in
India we practice a form of apartheid that goes unnoticed by the rest of the world. And it is as
important for Dalits to tell their stories as it has been for colonized peoples to write their own
histories…". Jaydeep Sarangi, a bilingual writer, poet, and critic in his 2018 introduction to
"Dalit Voice," writes that Dalit literature is a culture-specific upheaval in India giving
importance to Dalit realization, aesthetics and resistance. Thus, Dalit literature is literature
written by Dalits about their lives. The term Dalit is synonymous with poor, exploited,
oppressed and needy people. There is no universally acclaimed concept about the origin of
Indian caste system. In every civilized society, there are some types of inequalities that lead
to social discrimination. In India it comes in the grab of ‘Casteism’. The Dalits are deprived
of their fundamental rights of education, possession of assets and right to equality. Thus Dalit
Literature emerges to voice for all those oppressed and exploited. Dalit literature is basically
that literature which artistically delineates the trials and tribulations humiliation, exploitation,
sorrows and sufferings, degradation, ridicule, and poverty experienced by Dalits for an age
old time. The writers are therefore engaged in achieving self-respect and identify the rejection
of traditions and religious norms. It is a new and different stream of Indian literature and has
now reached a stage where Dalit literature is obviously moving beyond anger and resentment
and is not just conjoined to castigating the ‘other’ but exploring and emboldening to attain
empowerment.