Representations of Dalit Protagonists: Indian English Fiction and Marathi Dalit Literature

This book interrogates canonical Indian English fiction which has Dalit characters as protagonists or major characters, and argues that the representation of such characters, although well-meant, is regulated and made unremarkable. It examines how the normative discourse of the Anglophone novel portrays Dalits from an upper-caste point of view, devoid of Ambedkarite or Dalit consciousness, and thus implicitly reinscribes the upper caste power by restricting the narrative to merely represent Dalit submission and victimhood. The arguments then are substantiated by setting up a comparative framework through contrastive analysis of selected narratives by Dalit writers from Marathi Dalit literature to highlight the differential representational paradigms that mark the absence or presence of Ambedkarite consciousness and perspective. Foreword Acknowledgements Contents Part I ENTERING THE CASTE 1 Introduction 1.1 Introducing Arguments 1.2 Dalits as Fillers in Indian English Fiction 1.3 Analytical Method of the Book 1.4 Structure of the Book 1.5 About the Terms 1.6 Review on the Literature Notes 2 Representations and Discursive Formations of Caste: A Theoretical Framework 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Ideological Structure of Caste System 2.3 Strategies of Counter-Discourse by Jotirao Phule and B. R. Ambedkar 2.3.1 Jotirao Phule (1827–90) 2.3.2 B. R. Ambedkar (1891–1956) 2.4 Ambedkar’s Method for Literary Analysis 2.5 Dalit Janiv (Ambedkarite Consciousness) Notes Part II ACCENTUATING CASTE PREJUDICES: PROGRESSIVE DISCOURSE 3 Contesting Voices of Gandhi and Ambedkar in Dalit Representations: Mulk Raj Anand’s Untouchable and Amitabh’s “Harijan Mastar” 3.1 Introduction and Conceptual Tools 3.2 Bakha’s Regulated Representation 3.3 Destitution of the Dalit Teacher in “Harijan Mastar” 3.4 Conclusion Notes 4 Discourse of Sympathy, Violence, and Victimhood—I: Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance and Murlidhar Jadhav's Karyakarta 4.1 Introduction and Conceptual Tools 4.2 Sufferings and Victimhood of the Dalits in A Fine Balance 4.3 Political Activism of a Dalit Protagonist in Karyakarta 4.4 Conclusion Notes 5 Discourse of Sympathy, Violence, and Victimhood—II: Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things and Laxman Mane's Upara 5.1 Introduction and Conceptual Tools 5.2 Sufferings and Victimhood of Velutha 5.3 Inter-Caste Love and Dalit Subjecthood in Upara 5.4 Conclusion Notes Part III ACCENTUATING CASTE PREJUDICES: PEJORATIVE DISCOURSE 6 Discourse of Difference and Merit: Manu Joseph’s Serious Men and Amitabh’s “Janmakhoon!” 6.1 Introduction and Conceptual Tools 6.2 Notions of Difference and Merit in Serious Men 6.3 Notions of Difference and Merit in “Janmakhoon!” 6.4 Conclusion Notes 7 Re-Writing Violence and Victimhood: Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger and Meena Kandasamy’s The Gypsy Goddess 7.1 Introduction and Conceptual Tools 7.2 Violence and Counter-Violence in Namdeo Dhasal’s Poetry 7.3 Violence and Victimhood in The Gypsy Goddess 7.4 Violence in The White Tiger 7.5 Re-Writing Violence and Victimhood in The Gypsy Goddess 7.6 The Agency of the Reader and the Ethics of Witnessing 7.7 Conclusion Notes Part IV COMPARING REPRESENTATIONAL PARADIGMS 8 Conclusion Notes References Index