ELSA MEET on Literature and Marginalized Communities: Indian Perspective

ELSA MEET 24 February Goverdhan Hotel, Agra

Literature and Marginalized Communities:

Indian Perspective

Stage

Waharu Sonavane

Translated by Bharat Patankar, Gail Omvedt, and Suhas Paranjape

We didn’t go to the stage,
nor were we called.
With a wave of the hand
we were shown our place.
There we sat
and were congratulated,
and “they”, standing on the stage,
kept on telling us of our sorrows.
Our sorrows remained ours,
they never became theirs.
When we whispered out doubts
they perked their ears to listen,
and sighing,
tweaking our ears,
told us to shut up,
apologize; or else…

The topic was introduced by Prof. Nibir Ghosh by apt reference to the poem Stage by Waharu Sonawane. The broad guidelines to discussion were thus defined by him. Dr Rajan Lal initiated the discussion by raising the question of non dalits trying to portray the pain of the community without actually experiencing or undergoing it. He mentioned the works of Mahasweta Devi who had lived in the tribal areas of central India. Dr S P Singh spoke about the ever prevalent dilemma of whose voice can be considered to be authentic and who are the original champions of the cause. He mentioned O. P Valmiki's 'Jhootan' in this regard. Neel Mukherjee's In the Free State which talks of the disillusionment of youth that takes up guns against establishment was also mentioned. Mr. Saurabh Agarwal discussed how works by non-Dalit writers like Mulk Raj Anand and Munshi Premchand provided true-to-life depiction of the Marginalized community experience. He used the following quotes from Mulk Raj Anand’s Untouchable to illustrate his point of the sufferings and oppression the marginalized have undergone for centuries:

“Get up, ohe you Bakhya, you son of a pig.” - Lakha

“'Keep to the side of the road, you low-caste vermin!’ he suddenly heard someone shouting at him. ‘Why don’t you call, you swine, and announce your approach! Do you know you have touched me and defiled me, you cockeyed son of a bow-legged scorpion ! Now I will have to go and take a bath to purify myself. And it was a new dhoti and shirt I put on this morning!” - High-caste man

“Posh keep away, posh, sweeper coming, posh, posh, sweeper coming, posh, posh, sweeper coming!” - Bakha

“It was a discord between person and circumstance by which a lion like him lay enmeshed in a net while many a common criminal wore a rajah’s crown.” - The Narrator

Miss Jessica talked about the two short stories of Mahasweta Devi. Her stories *Why Why Girl* and *Draupadi* were specifically mentioned by her which speak of doubly marginalized segment of the society ie. the tribal women. Dr D. K. Singh talked about Narendra Jadhav's Outcaste. He mentioned the role of migration of population from village to cities as talked about Dr B. R. Ambedkar as a way to escape the dalit tag in contrast to the preaching of Gandhi. Dr Anjali struck the right note by quoting the poem 'Different Drummers'. She talked about the works of Munshi Premchand, Shanta Rama Rao and Arundhati Roy. Dr. Santosh raised the question of definition of Marginalized as such. He read the quotes from poems of  Ram Dhari Singh Dinkar. Dr Sanjay Mishra mentioned the poems of Aga Shahid Ali. He also talked about 'Country without Post Office'. Works of Suvir Kaul were also mentioned by him. Mr. Shravan Kumar spoke of literary works that highlight the plight and predicament of poor children who remain Marginalized on account of extreme poverty.

Dr. Manju from Chandigarh University shared her views on Premchand's novel Kafan while Ms. Sharbani Roychoudhury dwelt on the various dimensions of the theme. According to Mr. Saurabh Agarwal, “A very special feature of the ELSA Meet on Literature and Marginalized Communities was the live telephonic conversation at the commencement of the Meet between Ghosh Sir and Sharan Kumar Limbale ji, the icon of contemporary Dalit writings and author of Akarmashi, the novel that changed the discourse of Dalit writing in India. We were fortunate to hear from Limbale ji himself how he appreciated ELSA deliberating on writings of marginalized people. A rare treat for sure.”

The vibrant discussion and debate concluded by members being in unanimity about the role and responsibilities of writers and activists of all communities in paving the way for those living on the margins of society to move to centre-stage by destroying stereotypes and mental blocks.

Literature and Marginalized Communities: Indian Perspectives

Sanjay Mishra

By quoting the oft-quoted poem ‘Stage’ by the indefatigable Indian adivasi activist and poet, Waharu Sonavane, Prof. Ghosh set the agenda of this discussion. It has given me a window to focus on the voice of a community which I think is a marginalized one: the Kashmiris. The State of Jammu and Kashmir has been a conflict zone for long and the spate of violence has been almost unabated in the last three decades. Terrorism, militarization, shut-downs, human rights violations, cries for justice and freedom etc. are routine things in Kashmir; which makes me think that there must be a lot of emotions in the hearts and minds of people there, emotions of love, loss, fellowship, separation, reconciliation, longing, nostalgia, etc. It would therefore be very interesting and edifying to read the poetries written by the locals.

I would like to mention three books of poems in the discussion today.

1. The Country Without a Post Office is one of the most famous volumes of poetry written by Agha Shahid Ali. It came out in 1997. He grew up in Kashmir and settled in America where he died in 2001 succumbing to blood cancer. His collected poems have been brought out in a single volume with the title A Veiled Suite. Let me quote from the poem titled “The Country without a Post Office” which attracted a lot of attention due to controversial gathering and protest of students in JNU a couple of years ago. A pamphlet pasted on the walls of JNU was titled ‘The Country without a Post Office’. It is another matter that almost nobody knew that it was the title of a poem by Agha Shahid Ali:

“Again I’ve returned to this country

where a minaret has been entombed.

Someone soaks the wicks of clay lamps

in mustard oil, each night climbs its steps

to read messages scratched on planets.

His fingerprints cancel blank stamps

in that archive for letters with doomed

addresses, each house buried or empty.”

2. Ranjit Hoskote is a distinguished Indian English poet and art curator. He has translated the poems of Lal Děd who was a 14^th century Kashmiri poet and popularly known as Lalla. The book titled I, Lalla was published by Penguin in 2011. In a long introduction to this book, Hoskote, writes: “Concertina wire is the most widespread form of vegetation in Kashmir today. It grows everywhere, including in the mind.”
3. Hoskote’s words have been quoted by Professor Suvir Kaul in his essay titled “The Witness of Poetry: Political Feeling in Kashmir Poems” in his book Of Gardens and Graves (2015). Professor Kaul teaches English in America, is a scholar of 18th century English literature and has translated poems written by Kashmiris in their mother tongue. Relying upon the idea that “poets are cultivators and curators of public memory,” Kaul has connected voices of local poets like Arshad Mushtaq, Ayesha ‘Mastoor’, Mohiuddin ‘Massarat’, Brij Nath ‘Betaab’, Kashi Nath ‘Baghwan’ and several other poets to the wider world through his English translations.

Dr. Sanjay Mishra is Associate Professor in English at R.B.S. College, Agra

Munshi Premchand’s “Shroud”:

A Tale of Victimization, Deprivation and Endless Agony

Manju

India, a country known for its diversity celebrates this characteristic on the one hand but the same diversity causes numerous atrocities to the marginalized and outcastes. Writers like Munshi Premchand render these tragic experiences which arise out of physical, emotional and psychological abuse in their works. Despite being a caste Hindu, Munshi Premchand's pen broaches the wounds inflicted by the atrocities perpetrated on Dalits. It is, therefore, palpable that in his writings he attempted social reform.  ‘Shroud’ is one of his stories which articulate the pain of two Dalits Ghisu and Madhav, the father and the son who are treated in so inhumane manner by caste Hindus that they even lose values like dignity being a human. It seems as if they have accepted that they don't deserve a better life than that. This dehumanization is the worst type of exploitation. Ghisu and Madhav do nothing to make their life better. When Budhiya, Madhav's wife, who is pregnant, is dying of severe pain, they make no effort to save her as if death is a better reality than life to face. Ghisu consoles Madav when Budhiya dies: "Why do you weep, son? Be happy that she's been liberated from this net of illusion. She's escaped from the snare; she was very fortunate that she was able to break the bonds of worldly illusion so quickly." They revolt against the society by spending the money for drinking and eating which they get for the shroud for the dead body and say, “What a bad custom it is that someone who didn't even get a rag to cover her body when she was alive, needs a new shroud when she's dead." Such kind of treatment has dehumanized them in such a manner that they live like savages without any aspiration. It is a kind of sin that they carry in their identity. They lead the life of savages and it seems that by being object of hatred, as they do nothing and spend their time recklessly, they are taking revenge upon the society.

                                                                                                                                                          

Dr. Manju is Associate Professor in English at Chandigarh University, Chandigarh.

“My Words are my Weapons”

Conversation with Sharan Kumar Limbale

Nibir K. Ghosh & Sunita Rani

Excerpts from the Interview Published in Re-Markings, March 2014

My mother is an untouchable, while my father is a high caste from one of the privileged classes of India. Mother lives in a hut, father lives in a mansion. Father is a landlord; mother, landless. I am akarmashi (half-caste). I am condemned, branded illegitimate. – Sharan Kumar Limbale

Our chance to meet Professor Sharan Kumar Limbale –  the inimitable icon of Dalit writing who shook the complacent Indian literary sensibility with his magnum opus Akarmashi  – came our way when he graciously accepted our invitation to be the Guest of Honour at the recent International Conference on “Negotiating Margins: African American and Dalit Writings” organized by the Osmania University Centre for International Programmes (OUCIP), Hyderabad and ICSSR, New Delhi. After being held spellbound by his powerful address, we were keen to engage him in a veritable face-to-face on issues of import concerning both Indian society and literature. The following conversation brings to the fore his uninhibited role both as activist and literary genius.

Interviewers: Your gracious presence at this international conference has decisively enriched the practical dimension of subaltern discourse. During the span of the three-day event you have listened to numerous deliberations on both African American and Dalit voices. What are your impressions?

Limbale: This conference has been a kind of revelation for me in many ways. I had always thought in terms of discrimination and exploitation with respect to Hindu society. It has been a rewarding experience to listen to enthusiastic young scholars who have come here with progressive ideas to talk about changing perspectives with respect to the subaltern predicament everywhere in the world. The comparison between African American literature and Dalit writings has been very enlightening. Here, I have become aware of the fact that the existence of Dalits is not confined merely to regions of India but has pervaded the sensitivity of people across regional and national boundaries. It is literally a global issue. Also, I had not known until now that W.E.B. Dubois had written a letter to Dr. Ambedkar lauding his leadership in the Dalit cause. Of course, I had known that Dr. Ambedkar had inspired and encouraged several Dalit scholars to go to the U.S. to study African American literature and to interact with activists in the field.

Interviewers: In what way did Dr. Ambedkar’s initiative help the Dalit cause?

Limbale: Prior to this shared experience, we had begun to write but we were not aware of how the Dalit voice should be represented in writing. African American literature, therefore, served as a model for Dalits in India who wanted to give expression to their suffering and agony on account of centuries of exploitation and discrimination. Time and again, Dr. Ambedkar pointed out to his devout followers that they could learn from their African American counterparts how to articulate their emotions with boldness and daring. Using the activist model provided by the Black Panther movement, we created the Dalit Panther movement in Maharashtra. We have many things in common with the African Americans in terms of discontent and the modes of protest but, even as a celebrity Dalit writer, I was not aware of various nuances and shades of African American experience that the deliberations focused on.

Interviewers: You are one of the major voices in the Dalit pantheon in India today. You have written in several genres to awaken Dalit awareness. What impact do you think your writings have had on raising Dalit consciousness?

Limbale: This is an important question. My writings have not only influenced the Dalit community but also people from the upper castes. Readers from the upper castes have appreciated Akarmashi and have admitted that my autobiography has brought to the fore the rotten society we inhabit. Many of them have emphasized the need to change a system that perpetuates caste discrimination. On reading my writings, especially Akarmashi, the Dalits have become aware of centuries of oppression and discrimination that they had been subjected to by caste Hindus. Dalit literature simultaneously makes the Dalits as well as the upper castes conscious of the gulf that exists even in a democratic nation like ours. I must not hesitate to say that many felt guilty for being a part of society that endorses and encourages discrimination. Another important function of Dalit literature has been to highlight the contributions of icons like Ambedkar and Phule who have inspired the Dalits to be united in their struggle against discrimination and exploitation. In a way, Dalit literature has worked consistently to bring Dr. Ambekar’s ideas for Dalit empowerment to the lowest rungs of society.

Interviewers:  Why do you think Dalit literature can be of interest to non-Dalits?

Limbale: Dalit writings highlight narratives of exploitation by bringing from the periphery to the centre issues that have been deliberately avoided or consciously evaded. Every new book seeks to describe or create a new society. Again, it is significant to note that exploitation of man by man cannot be limited to those who live in the margins of society. It can be seen to exist even among upper castes where the conflict between haves and have-nots is very common. Cutting across caste barriers, such writings tend to unite people against injustice and enslavement. I strongly believe that anyone who patiently undergoes suffering and insult without retaliating against injustice commits a crime against humanity. To fight against oppression, I firmly believe, amounts to worship of humanity in every sense of the term. Apart from my autobiography, I have written in every possible format and genre. I have written novels, essays, short stories, poems and criticism because I felt the urge to write and prove that we are capable of powerful creative renderings that can bring about a social revolution rather than merely forwarding the notion of creating art for pleasure.

Interviewers: That means you do not subscribe to the idea of art for the sake of art or entertainment.

Limbale: I never have and never will write for entertainment. I am a writer of people. How can I forget problems of my people? How can I neglect the cry of my people? The unrest of my people charges me – to think and to write. Dalit literature is not the literature of imagination. It is a literature of atrocities inflicted on the Dalits by high caste Hindus. Dalit writers must work continuously with their focus on social transformation.

Interviewers: Do you see Akarmashi  from this standpoint?

Limbale: Akarmashi is my autobiography. But I don’t consider Akarmashi as a mere autobiography. I see it as a tale that narrates how a downtrodden and exploited individual stands up and fights against a discriminatory society. Akarmashi documents the terrible atrocities that have been committed against the marginalized in Indian society down the centuries in our civilization. Akarmashi projects my protest against a grossly discriminatory society. I have narrated my own agony and pain as a “half-caste” to dispel the myth that all is well with Indian society. People normally assume that in view of rapid legal and social changes the stories of atrocities and insults are fiction and that they are not grounded in reality. People would read my poems and conclude that they were mere assumptions not supported by facts. When I wrote stories people said the happenings I narrated were imaginative and not based on facts. So, I had to take to the writing of this autobiography to narrate the life I actually lived and the countless sufferings and humiliations I had myself experienced in my own life. Through the story of my own life I wanted to convince everyone that it is not simply an imaginative tale but a socio-political document that could not be ignored or refuted. The roots of an autobiography lie embedded in truth and not in imaginary ruminations. It is an emphatic projection of life lived firsthand. The autobiographical mode allows an author to project truth and ground reality as actually lived by him.

Interviewers: As a tool of protest, would you prefer the autobiographical mode over fictional stories and poems?

Limbale: Stories and poems do help in creating awareness for a cause. What is significant in choosing the autobiographical mode is that you cannot challenge the facts mentioned in the autobiography nor dismiss it as fiction or lies. In my autobiography I am a living, breathing character who categorically says, “This is my father, this is my mother, this is the social system, this is how I have been treated by fellow-human beings.” The autobiographies by various Dalit writers are simultaneously stories of their own lives as much as socio-political documents.

Interviewers: When one observes the focus of Dalit writings, one cannot miss the dominant tone of antagonism, conflict and anger against the higher castes. It is true that the Dalit feels like a natural underdog in the Indian caste society. But can we ignore the fact that Dr. Ambedkar, despite the mountain of discrimination he had to contend with, was encouraged and patronized by upper caste Hindus? His very name “Ambedkar” came to him from a Brahmin teacher who loved him.

Limbale: A Dalit on his own cannot counter the powerful forces of oppression. Though discrimination and exploitation practised by caste Hindus is a fact, it may be a mistake to ignore that there have always been people in every society from the dominant race or caste who, endowed with progressive ideas and outlook, have patronised and inspired those in the margins to register their protest. A true transformation of society is not possible without such patronage. Gandhiji said that untouchability is a stain on the face of Hinduism. The onus of removing the stain is not on Dalits alone but on each and every one who constitutes such a society.

Interviewers: Dalit writers have always claimed that only a Dalit can understand the predicament of a Dalit. As a result, non-Dalit writers are always viewed with suspicion when they try to give expression to their sensitivity through the creation of Dalit characters in their novels and stories, be it Munshi Premchand or anyone else. Do you accept such notions?

Limbale: It should not be difficult to understand this ambivalence. I consider Premchand as a friend of Dalits and not their enemy. However, you may see that the caste society respects Premchand when he portrays Dalit characters in his works. The same society refuses to accept a Dalit writer when he portrays Dalit characters with equal power. This is the result of the prejudice that has prevailed in Hindu society for centuries. In order to awaken the Dalit consciousness it is primarily necessary to bring together people who have suffered exploitation and humiliation rather than make them see the liberal attitude of few exceptions in the dominant community. As a part of this awakening it is natural to deride and refute anything that comes from the biased caste society. If it glorifies Manusmriti it is imperative that we condemn it for all it contains. That’s the reason Dr. Ambedkar chose to burn the book. If our entry into temples is forbidden, we shall voice our right to enter them. It is only though such common bonding against a discriminatory society that the attention of people with progressive outlook can be motivated.

Interviewers: U.R. Ananthamurthy, the author of the controversial novel, Samskara, categorically points out in a statement that a non-Dalit writer may be free to project his own view and perception of Dalits in his writings but it would be wrong to say that he can truly represent the Dalits. Do you agree?

Limbale: I think he is right in a way. I appreciate the works of writers like Ananthamurthy, Premchand, Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay and Mahashweta Devi in boldly projecting the subaltern perspective in their writings. However, it is my belief that in this nation it is near impossible for an upper-caste writer or intellectual to shed away his prejudices against Dalits. I have written a book titled Brahman Ne (Non-Dalit) wherein I have discussed the writings of Mahashweta Devi, Premchand, U.R. Ananthamurthy, Shivram Karanth, Shiv Shankar Pillai, Arundhati Roy, Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Vijay Tendulkar and others. They are all progressive writers with compassion and humaneness for those who live on the margins of society. Yet, I find it difficult to agree that they fully represent the Dalit perspective. By highlighting and talking about Dalit perspective and predicament, they are perhaps warning caste Hindus to mend their ways or be prepared for the backlash in the form of a cultural revolution that is bound to come.

Interviewers: In this context, I would like to draw your attention to the Dalit Panther movement. Inspired by the Black Panther movement in America, the Dalit Panthers began in right earnest in Bombay with numerous Dalit writers and activists coming together. However, the movement quickly frittered away due to internal dissensions.

Limbale: This too may be attributed to the caste-ridden Hindu society which was careful to create hierarchies within the lower castes to generate conflict within themselves. In democracy contradictions are bound to emerge. Only a few decades ago, the Dalits were not even aware of their right to life, liberty and speech. Aware of such rights now, they have begun to articulate their passion and anger. With increasing education and expansion of the democratic principle such conflicts may get resolved or diluted. We have to work ceaselessly and wait for such a time to arrive.

Interviewers: The process of democratization gave rise to the creation of the reservation policy for Dalits. How has it helped the Dalit movement?

Limbale: The reservation policy has benefited both individuals and the community in various ways. But it is wrong to presume that it has totally bridged the gulf of the caste divide. Oppression and humiliation of the Dalits have not ceased. They exist still in subtler variations in many segments of society and polity despite sweeping changes in legislations and legal sanctions.

Interviewers: Do you think the situation that prevails today is no different from the one that existed before?

Limbale: Well, no. Changes have been there. New ways of thinking, the outlook of the new generation, scientific and technological advancement, the IT revolution etc. have affected a paradigm shift in peoples’ consciousness. The discriminatory modes too have undergone changes. Earlier a Dalit was offered tea in a separate cup. Today disposable cups and glasses have done away with such humiliating behavior. We travel in shared taxis without enquiring about the caste of co-passengers. The social media and the internet have given us the opportunity to connect with everyone on earth without the prejudice of caste, creed, colour, religion or nationality.

Interviewers: Don’t you think it is the responsibility of Dalit intellectuals, activists and writers to motivate their communities to excel in various fields?

Limbale: We do understand that the young generation in our community must come forward and excel in sports, music, theatre and other areas. The effort is on. In Marathi theatre we find that Dalit plays have created the ground for realistic portrayals as against the usual run of the mill hit and hot commercials.

Interviewers: To instill the spirit of entrepreneurship among Dalit youth to develop business leadership, Dalit entrepreneurs came together to form the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DICCI) on the lines of FICCI in 2005. If interest in trade and commerce could bring together entrepreneurs why can’t it be done in the arena of sports, music and culture?

Limbale: It’s again a matter of opportunities. Famous singers never encouraged singers from the Dalit community. Now, Reality shows like the “Indian Idol” have opened avenues for talent with no preventive caste bars. Many Dalit singers have won prizes and recognition in such shows. Events like the reality shows have provided the stage to youngsters without restricting any one on the basis of societal barriers.

Interviewers: Since the outcome of the Reality shows are determined through sms sent by viewers, it is quite obvious that a particular singer enjoys the patronage of admirers from all castes and communities. Isn’t that a progressive and healthy trend to undo the actions of the past?

Limbale: Yes, of course. It is a welcome trend that progressive outlook is fast replacing outdated attitudes. In a recent poll for the greatest Indians, it was heartening to see the name of Dr. Ambedkar come immediately after Mahatma Gandhi ahead of personalities like Jawahar Lal Nehru, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and others. This also shows that gradually considerations of objectivity are getting precedence over existing prejudices and bias.

Interviewers: How do you respond to Gandhi’s idea of nonviolence in relation to the Dalit struggle?

Limbale: The Dalit movement is essentially rooted in nonviolence as a means of protest. I cannot recall of any advocacy of violent means to resolve Dalit issues. We have never resorted to the use of violent means. We have fought with conviction but without guns. We have always believed in “Buddh” and not in “Yuddh” (war). We believe in the tenets of Gautam Buddha. I feel Gandhi imbibed the creed of nonviolence from Buddha. As such, we do respect Gandhi as one who propagated peace and nonviolence in our own times.

Interviewers: In the light of the dynamics of social change that seems to have narrowed the gulf between “ours” and “theirs,” what is your message to upcoming young writers in India and elsewhere?

Limbale: This is a very complex age. Everything is not simple. We are living in new, dynamic, very uncertain, very insecure and very changing circumstances. We should not think only of our caste or nation but of the world at large. The space has been widened. We should keep in our mind the predicament of deprived people in India, of atrocities, inequality, injustice, terrorism, and rampant corruption in every field of life. We have to think, read and write to create a new democratic social fabric, a very beautiful and strong India and a harmonious world without borders.

Interviewers: Many thanks for the preciously memorable time we have spent with you.

Dr. Nibir K. Ghosh is UGC Emeritus Professor, Department of English, Agra College, Agra & Senior Fulbright Fellow 2003-04, University of Washington, Seattle, U.S.A.

Dr. Sunita Rani is Associate Professor, Department of Hindi, Agra College, Agra. She was Visiting Scholar in the Department of South Asian Languages at the University of Washington, Seattle, U.S.A. during 2003-04.

Copyright: Nibir K. Ghosh, 2014.           

Literature and Marginalized Communities: Indian Perspective

Shrabani Roy Chowdhury

Literature is the life history of a society,  they are  closely  related. Marginalized  communities’ literature portrays the hopes and aspirations of the exploited masses, their fight for survival, their daily problems and the insults which they face in everyday life. The writers of marginalized communities of India SC’s, OBC’s and Dalits like Mangs, Dhors, Holars, Bhils, Nomadic tribes look at the scorching social reality and respond to it in an aggressive, bitter manner.

Literature pertaining to marginalized communities is one which acquaints people with caste system and untouchability in India, its appalling nature and its system of exploitation. These communities talk about the experiences, joys, sorrows and struggles of those in the lowest stratum of society.

There are numerous theories about the origin of Dalit literature. Buddha (6^th Century BC), Chokhamela (14^th  Century AD), Mahatma Phule (1828-90) and Prof S.M. Mate (1886-1957) are held to be its originators. History shows that is was Dr. Ambedkar who was the pioneer of Dalit literature. This literature is nothing but the literary expression of this awareness. Marginalized communities’ poetry is a flourishing form, the entire universe of these communities’ feelings seem to have descended into poetic form.  Poems like “To be or Not to be Born” by L.S. Rokade, “Send my boy to School” by Waman Karadak  are few soul stirring poems.

In an autobiographical account,  “We too are Human Beings,” the writer Bama describes how Indian Society is ridden with the evil of untouchability The writer gets upset by the inhuman attitude of the people belonging to the `higher castes’ towards ‘ lower caste’!

Short stories like “Poisoned Bread” by Bandhu Madhav well portrays the pain, agony, helplessness of Grandpa Yatalja Aja, where he outpours his frustrations to his grandson, Bandhu Madhav: “What a humiliating lifetime we live? Do you think I feel happy about being oppressed by the landlords and the rest of the village. I too want to retaliate and have a good fight for the humiliation and justice they have been piling upon us. But my boy I am helpless ! I see no end to this suffering.” These lines depict the humiliation and injustice piling upon the wounded birds like the characters of poisoned bread.

While considering the future of Marginalized communities’ literature, we should not restrict ourselves only to a discussion on how many forms have been handled. This type of literature  is not simply literature. It is associated with a movement to bring about change. It represents the hopes and ambitions of a new society and new people. It is a movement.

The participation of Dalit writers is unavoidable and inevitable. The point is to see to what extent will the writers and literature, which is moving towards establishment, participate in it. Even if they don’t, the new generation of Dalit writers will join the movement in full strength, as the struggle and Dalit literature cannot be separated. The creation of Dalit literature is inevitable, until the structure of society changes and as long as exploitation exists. To remain close to the struggles and the masses the new generation writers will have to handle various forms of literature and one can see signs of these changes. The future of literature related to marginalized communities may not be glamorous, but it is certainly dazzling.

Mrs. Shrabani Roy Chowdhury is PGT English at Colonel’s Brightland Public school Agra. She is Editor of the magazine Kaleidosope.,

Literature and Marginalized Communities:

Some Reflections on the Stories of Mahasweta Devi

Jessica Joel

Sculpting intricately the marginalized in the rural middle India and breathing life into them is the expertise of Mahasweta Devi. This proficient Bengali writer deftly questions the democracy and the civilization of India through her works for the marginalized. Amongst the marginalized, there are beings more ostracized even by the marginalized community on a level which is socially distraught. These beings, the women are slapped twice by destiny, first for being marginalized and then for being women.  Mahasweta Devi on the other hand clothes such marginalized women and girls with robes of identity and dignity in her stories.

In the “Why Why Girl,” she lays bare the severe oppression of girls in the rural India, but not ending with a massive display of problems and cruelty, she balms up the whole disparity with a solution forever in the form of Moyna the protagonist in the “WHY WHY GIRL.” This is a heartwarming tale of Moyna, a 10-year old girl from the Shabar tribe of the hilly region, an exploited and marginalized group of people. Growing up in a feudal village of West Bengal, Moyna is a slave to the local landlords and is struck with the triple handicap of being a child, a female and a tribal. Unable to walk in this handicapped condition with meager pays and no opportunities, Moyna roused with avid curiosity takes giant leaps with her questions, “Why do I have to walk so far to the river to fetch water? Why do we live in a leaf hut? Why can’t we eat rice twice a day?”

Moyna so full of questions is not crushed by her circumstances; her constantly bubbling questions make their postmaster call her the ‘WHY WHY GIRL’. Moyna’s mother is burdened with umpteen chores round the clock and hence unable to answer her questions, but thankfully she has Mahasweta (the writer) who answers her questions; Moyna is impelled with Mahasweta’s reading habits to ask her, “Why do you read books before you go to sleep?” “Because books have the answers to your whys,” comes Mahasweta’s calm reply. “Why shouldn’t I study too?” asks Moyna, and thus her journey starts. The introduction to the world of books and learning is the turning point in Moyna’s life when she learns from the author that the answers to all her ‘WHY’S’ is in the books. She stands strong and fights with the Samiti school teacher for the clash in the school timings because the marginalized children like her are unable to study because they have to tend the goats while the other privileged can learn peacefully. “If you don’t teach me, how will I learn? I will tell the old lady (Mahasweta Devi) that none of us, goatherds and cowherds can study if the hours aren’t changed.” When the village primary school opens, no doubts on who is the first person to be granted admission. And Moyna later becomes the only marginalized school teacher and a member of her Samiti. Her constant streaks of Whys and disapproval to all the injustices which she faces for being a marginalized girl give her wings to learn and break free from the bondage of socially imposed handicaps. Her’s is a lesson of breaking boundaries to discover, even if being marginalized has clipped your wings, the glorification of asking questions right from the childhood follows next. It is a challenge to not silence the Moynas of the world, but to give them a voice and a space to live.

The other very contrasting story of  Dopdi Mejhen is set under the background of Naxalites, who along with her husband is the chief instigator of an upper class murder. Forging their own death the couple is on a run when her husband dies leaving Dopdi no second for grief but the expertise to hide for her life. Dopdi is later caught and “made to do the needful” and is raped by men in uniform. But Dopdi doesn’t surrender to the mutilation and violent abuse of her body, and refuses to be clothed after the sexual exploitation and prefers to be naked. In defiance of her tortures and torments she refuses to give them the satisfaction of seeing her begging and instead of satisfying her thirst, pours the water provided to her on the ground. She instead throws a challenge on Senayak the chief and transcends her gender limitations by saying “you strip me, but how can you clothe me again? Are you a man?” She can only be clothed by herself, or her God.

This story is considered an integral part of the breast stories; here breast is transformed from a vulnerable erotic object into a fierce and gritty object of revenge and torture. Dopdi hammers the very foundation of male leadership by deciding to remain naked in public, and thus, like chaff blown away by the wind, her storm vanishes the husk of patriarchal cruelty into the thin air, just like a cotton seed which flies off to an unknown distant nowhere. Dopdi, a marginalized tribal woman not only challenges them, but the very ground on which they stand, the very uniform which they wear and above all their very gender. They could only strip her clothes to expose her mortal flesh; she stripped their immortal souls of serenity, dignity to expose the deep dark murk of atrocious inhumanity. 

Here two brave contrasts; Dopdi and Moyna break free from their chains of being marginalized women, and challenge the society in two grave manners.  

Ms. Jessica Joel is pursuing her M.A. in English at St. John’s College, Agra