Volume : 3 | Issue : 4 | April 2014 ISSN - 2250-1991

Research Paper Social Science

Dalit Literature in India

K. Kavitha Research Scholar, S.V.University, Tirupati.

Indian Dalit literature, which can be traced back to a corpus of writings from Maharashtra in the 1960s, refers to literature
of the oppressed, usually associated with a diverse group of people historically considered the lowest among the Indian
population and known as “untouchables.” While Dalit literature developed in response to concerns specific to Indian social
and cultural history, over the last 20 years Dalit literature has got itself a spot in the World Republic of Letters through
translations into English. In an era when issues relating to human rights have been under critical focus, literary depictions
of the experiences of marginalized groups have acquired great significance. The recent spurt in Dalit literature in India is an
ABSTRACT

attempt to bring to the forefront the experiences of discrimination, violence and poverty of the Dalit. Expression of these
experiences have long been silenced, often with religious and social sanction and relegated to the margins as non-literary.
More recent is the trend to deny their existence altogether.
They also have a number of political organizations supporting them. The most prominent of these is the Dalit panthers
(begun in the 19705), which has borrowed much of it’s ideology from America’s Black panthers. The future of Dalit literature
is embarked on the present status of Dalit and their sensibility. And certainly new reforming waves are blowing for the
radical development in Dalit literature as literature of protest. Thus Dalit literature is a new dimension in the day today
and used up literature. With great amaze, people fascinate towards this new charismatic dimension in literature i.e. Dalit
literature.

KEYWORDS
INTRODUCTION: 1. To study the Dalit literature as a new dimension in literature
In an era when issues relating to human rights have been as something newer than used up. 2. To study the rise,
under critical focus, literary depictions of the experiences of growthand development of Dalit literature with its conse-
marginalized groups have acquired great significance. The re- quences on society. 3. To evaluate the Dalit literature with
cent spurt in Dalit literature in India is an attempt to bring to other kinds of literature such as African - American litera-
the forefront the experiences of discrimination, violence and ture, British literature.
poverty of the Dalit. Expression of these experiences have 4. To analyze the Social condition of Dalit in India and point
long been silenced, often with religious and social sanction out the present status.
and relegated to the margins as non-literary. More recent 5. To create awareness of the torments faced by Dalit to non-
is the trend to deny their existence altogether. The growing Dalit in India.
corpus of Dalit texts, poems, novels and autobiographies, 6. To study the heart rendering tortures faced by Dalit with his
however, seek to rectify this phenomenon by examining the experiences.
nuances of Dalit culture. Dalit literature is one of the most 7. To study the different genres of literature of Dalit literature
important literary movements to emerge in post-independ- with Marxist oriented approach.
ence India. The transformation of the stigmatized identity 8. To compare the status of Dalit women with African-Amer-
of these so called ‘untouchables’ to a self chosen identity as ican women by citing examples of their literary creations.
Dalit is a story of collective struggle waged over centuries.
Mahatma Jyotirao phule and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, two tow- The present research study is based upon few hypotheses such
ering figures in the pantheon of Dalit history, were the first as
to appropriate the word, Dalit as a noun and an adjective,
in the early decades of the 20th century to describe the ex- 1) Dalit is an important part of society. But right from ancient
treme oppression of untouchables. period, he has been subjugated under the pretext of subordi-
nate, inferior cog of this prestigious Hindu society. Dalit liter-
The term ‘Dalit literature’ was first used in 1958, at the first ature is an outburst of the burning flame of exploited people
ever Dalit conference held in Bombay. However as an identity from many centuries the Suppressed anger erupts through self
marker, the term ‘Dalit’ came into prominence in 1972, when narratives of Dali literature.
a group of young Marathi writers-activists founded an organ-
ization called Dalit panthers. The name expressed their feel- 2) Dalits are no more remained to be Dalit (helpless) they are
ings of kinship and solidarity with Black Panthers who were equally stronger with other people of the society. Their crea-
engaged in a militant struggle for African - American rights in tivity shapes themselves into the pinnacle of the so called rich
the U.S.A. Arjun Dangle, a writer and leader of the Dalit pan- society.3) ‘ Four varna’ System was based on caste and it is
ther movement, writes: “Dalit is not a caste but a realization restricted people to their occupation, without changing. But
and is related to the experiences, joys and sorrows and strug- class structure - upper class - lower class emerged in this mod-
gles of those in the lowest strata of society. It matures with a ern era where money decides the status of people.
sociological point of view and is related to the principles of
negativity, rebellion and loyalty to science, thus finally ending 4) ‘Dalit movement’ is a powerful action in the present liter-
as revolutionary.” ature which changes the face of the society and it eliminates
the subjugation of so called depressed class of the society. The
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY: present research undertakes a close study of Dalit literature
This research paper aims at fulfilling following aims and ob- and Dalit literary works by taking a glimpsical review of Mara-
jectives- thi Dalit poets, writers and dramatists. .The present study also

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takes a review of journals, articles, magazines about Dalit liter- condition before Dalit and non- dalit readers. Mulk Raj Anand
ature published by national and international editors. was the first to insulate Dalit literature through his novels like
‘Untouchable’, ‘Coolie’ in English and there are simultane-
CONCEPT OF DALIT: ously translated in English and different languages. The style
The term ‘dalit’ literally means “oppressed” and is used to re- of Dalit literature covers a wide range of literary genres. This
fer to the “untouchable” casteless sects of India. Dalit, also Dalit literature is made popular in Marathi by Maharashtra
called outcaste, is a self designation for a group of people tra- Dalit poets, writers. It solely aims at generating awareness of
ditionally regarded as untouchables. Dalits are a mixed popu- dalits about their social situation in the society, to all conscious
lation of numerous caste groups all over India, South Asia and readers.
all over the world. There are many different names proposed
for defining this group of people like ‘Ashprosh’ (Untoucha- A) Dalit poetry:
ble), ‘Harijans’ (Children of God) ‘Dalits, (Broken People) etc. There is a plenty of Dalit poetry expressing the violent lashing
experiences of poet’s life effectively. Narayan survey was one
Etymology of the word ‘Dalit’ The word ‘Dalit ‘ comes from of the prominent poets in the early Dalit literature. His famous
the Sanskrit and it means “downtrodden”, ‘suppressed,’ poem was ‘vidhyapith’. The other poets like keshav Meshram-
‘crushed’ or ‘broken to pieces’. It was first used by Jyotirao “Utkhanan” (Excavation), Daya pawar- ‘Kondwada’ (suffocat-
phule in the nineteenth century in the context of the op- ing Enclosure), Namedeo Dhasal - ‘Golpitha’ (The Red Light
pression faced by the erstwhile “Untouchable” castes of the zone), Triyambak sapkal - ‘Surung’ (dynamite) and so on. The
twice-born Hindus.Mahatma Gandhi coined the word ‘Hari- new generation of Dalit poetry emerged in the contemporary
jan’, translated roughly as “children of God” to identify the period as a revolt or protest against the oppressive traditional
former untouchables. shackles.

MYTHOLOGY: B) Dalit folk poetry:

The religious scripture ‘Manu smriti’ de scribed ‘Varna system’ Unlike the tremendous Dalit poetry as a powerful mean of
of the society based upon the occupation. It is a four storey dalit expressions, folk poetry too practiced for propoganding
varna system comprising four kinds of people of the society Dalit sensibility. Vaman dada kardak, Bhimrao kardak, Vitthal
borne out of the body of Lord Vishnu. According to this my- Umap, and so on are the prominent Dalit folk poets.The folk
thology, Brahmin was born out of head, Kshatriya was born poetry includes Ballads which enthralled the common people
out of arms, Vaishya was born out of abdomen and shudra of Dalit community. It too creates awareness about Dalit re-
was born out of feet. It emphasized on shudra as a slave, form movements.
servant because he was born out of feet so that he was des-
tined to serve the rest of the society. Thereby, shudra (Dalit) c) Dalit short stories :
was recognized as an inferior part of the society, rather an Short stories and novels are important genre of literature that
outcaste of society. exploited by dalit writers for expressing Dalit sensibility aptly.
The short stories like ‘Fakira’- Anna Bhau sathe, ‘Davandi’-
SOCIAL STATUS OF DALIT: Shankarrao kharat, ‘Jevah Mi Jaat Chorli Hoti (When I robbed
Dalits have been destined for inferior activities such as leather a caste) - 1963 Maran Swast Hot Aahe-1969 (Death is becom-
work, butchering or removal of rubbish, animal carcasses and ing cheap)- Baburao Bagul, Red stone - N. G. Shende are the
waste; by this so called civilized Hindu society. Dalits work as best examples of Dalit short stories by Dalit writers.
manual laborers cleaning street, latrines and sewers. Engag-
ing in these activities was considered to be polluting to the d) Dalit Auto narratives:
individual and this pollution was considered contagious. As a Dalit writers mostly interpreted their own experiences regard-
result, Dalits were commonly segregated and banned from full ing social injustice in their own autobiographies. It is called
participation in Hindu social life. Dalit Auto-narrative. This form of literature is best suited to
Dalit writer.
DALIT MOVEMENTS IN INDIA:
The earliest known Dalit reformer was Lord Gautam Budha, CONCLUSION:
who preached the abolishing of untouchability. The earliest On the whole, Dalit literature gives a message about their
known reformation within Hinduism happened during the me- community not individuality, about revolt not passivity, about
dieval period when the Bhakti movements actively engaged progress not backwardness. This message is to the entire
in the participation and inclusion of dalits. In the 19th century, world about their status in society by portraying the exploitive,
the Brahmo samaj, Arya samaj and the Ramakrishna mission helpless, and engrossed with grief, suppressed and enslaved
actively participated in the emancipation of Dalits. Saint kabir, and a subaltern state. To some extent, Dalit in India can be
mahanubhava sect, varkari sect in Maharashtra rejected the compared with African American regarding the mutilation.
term untouchability and embraced Dalits as brothers. Mahar- The shared political position of these authors is against the
ashtra state was the key state in the reformation of Dalit or on hegemony of upper and middle class Hindu beliefs and for the
the transformation of untouchable to touchable. power of the human beings against oppressive social rules.
Dalit author questioned religion and Identity throughout their
Mahatma Jyotiba Phule,Rajashri Shahu Maharaj, V. R. Shin- literature. It could be said that Dalit literature achieved a firm
de and the pinnacle towering figure Dr. Babasaheb Ambed- foundation in the mid-20th century; but its framework was
kar were the prominent social reformers in Maharashtra. In established in the early 19th century. Today Dalit writers have
the 1950, Ambedkar turned his attention to Buddhism and their literary foundation with ideology and publish numerous
converted thousands of untouchable people in Buddhism journals.
with himself. In west Bengal chaitanya prabhu initiated a
movement called ‘Namo shudras movement’ (bow to Dalit) They also have a number of political organizations supporting
which changed an attitude towards untouchable commu- them. The most prominent of these is the Dalit panthers (be-
nity. Overall, Dalit reform movements had been in India gun in the 19705), which has borrowed much of it’s ideology
since ancient period right from Gautama Buddha. Still it is from America’s Black panthers. The future of Dalit literature is
in course of reforming state by creative efforts of social re- embarked on the present status of Dalit and their sensibility.
formers. And certainly new reforming waves are blowing for the radi-
cal development in Dalit literature as literature of protest. Thus
REVIEW OF DALIT LITERATURE: Dalit literature is a new dimension in the day today and used
Dalit literature is a new phenomenon in the modern era of lit- up literature. With great amaze, people fascinate towards this
erature where the tormenting experiences of Dalit, Untouch- new charismatic dimension in literature i.e. Dalit literature.
able writers are exposed to present the contemporary social,
mental

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Volume : 3 | Issue : 4 | April 2014 ISSN - 2250-1991

REFERENCES

1. Dalit - The Black Untouchables of India, V.T. Rajshekara. 2003 - 2nd print, Clarity Press, Inc. ISBN 0932863-05-1. | 2. Untouchable: Voices of the dalit Liberation Movement,
by Barbara R. Joshi, Zed Books, 1986. ISBN 0862324602, 97808622324605. | 3. An Anthology of Dalit Literature, by Mulk Raj Anand. 1992 Gyan Books. ISBN 8121204194,
ISBN 9788121204194. | 4.Dalits and the Democratic Revolution -Dr. Ambedkar and the Dalit Movement is Colonial India, by Gail Omvedt. 1994, Sage Publications. | 5. Dalit
Identity and Politics, by Ranabira Samaddara, Ghanshyam Shah, Sage Publications, 2001. | 6. Towards an Aesthetic of Dalit Literature, by Sharankumar Limbale. 2004 Orient
longman. | 7. Dalit Politics and Literature, by Pradeep K. Sharma. Shipra Publications, 2006. | 8. “From Erasure to Assertion”- an article by Dr. Shobha Shinde published in
the journal ‘Critical Practice’ (Vol.XIV 2007). |

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