Describe the condition of the Chuhras as depicted in Valmiki’s Joothan
( answer in 1000 words)
Answers
Answer:
Abstract: The major focus of this piece of writing is to bring
to the light the voice of an empowered writer Omprakash
Valmiki.. “Joothan: A Dalit’s Life” is respectively chosen for the
research as it brings out the malicious veracity of Dalit’s life in
an authentic way. He took Dalit literature in his hand as a gizmo
to carry out his anguish as a communal trauma of his
community. Today his voice has been well recognized, and it
stands as a robust right for his society He describes “his”
experience as a Dalit, and the twinge that he underwent
throughout his lifetime. Being human one must have autonomy,
deference and sanctuary; but for Valmiki, it stood as a threat in
the midst of the dominant elements of society. His autobiography
emphasizes the significance of literature by endowing the
platform in spreading the knowledge about Dalit lives and their
individual experience in this civil society. In general, a Dalit tries
not to divulge his identity as Dalit in the midst of “others”, but
expresses his anger in clandestine space. This is due to an
“intimidate syndrome” a natural outcome that a Dalit is always
surrounded by. Dalit Studies are a rare glimpse that very few talk
about it and dare enough to write. Omprakash Valmiki takes the
smugness to bring out the marginalized issues into the world
where the mainstream writers seldom mentioned the kind of
turmoil in their works dealing with caste. Undeniably his writing
is not a stuff of potboiler but proves to be a better medium to
create consciousness in the society.
Keywords: Marginalized, Dalit, Intimidate Syndrome,
Indian Literature in English Translation.
I. INTRODUCTION
One of the favourite genres adopted by Dalit writers are
Autobiography. It was claimed as a literary genre by the
Dalit writers because their experience claims authenticity.
The mainstream writers suspect the literary work of Dalit
autobiographies, to them it is formless, archetypal and
outburst of Dalit experience which is recurring and
conventional. As an answer to this, Valmiki has quoted in
“Das‟s defense of the genre, that Dalit writers should write
autobiographies so that not only our history will stay alive,
but also our true portrayals of wrongdoers” (Valmiki:
xxviii).It acts as a motivation to the next generations.
After a long struggle Dalits are writing about their lives
themselves for the first time. Earlier their life style was
portrayed by others, by non- Dalits, dramatists, novelists and
historians.
Revised Manuscript Received on December 05, 2019.
Ms. P. Revathi, Assistant Professor of English at Vel Tech Dr.
Rangarajan Dr. Sagunthala R&D Institute of Science and Technology,
Chennai
Dr. Bindu, Associate Professor, Department of
English, School of Basic Sciences, Vel Tech Rangarajan
Dr.Sagunthala R&D Institute of Science and Technology
Their writing is not about an individual‟s life but it is all
about the narrative of a particular community, caste and
therefore it is a large collection. As it is in the fiction it does
not surround only by a “problematic hero”, instead it covers
“problematic collective situation For centuries they have
been fighting against the uncouth and moot injustice that has
been for decades and decades, Dalit writers have taken step
to give voice to their aspiration in order to achieve equality.
Dalit autobiography is written in a way of remembering
the past of the writer. In other words it helps the Dalit
readers to stimulate enthusiasm for change. Dalit writers
consider that their autobiography carries out the most
important character that is the authenticity of experience.
Valmiki‟s autobiography laid the groundwork for Dalit
literature in Hindi. Joothan has become a pioneer
autobiography in Hindi which has an outlook of personal -
condemn among the Dalits
“Joothan: A Dalit‟s Life” is said to be a voice of many
and multi-value text. The text contributes to Dalit history
and its narration acts as a healing texture to the oppressors.
The very opening line of it criticizes the place and the
people of Valmiki‟s caste. The Indian democratic system
has opened a way to educate Dalit to articulate their
experiences. On the contrary, he portrays the brutal realities
very strongly and emphasizes that
In Joothan, Omprakash Valmiki deals with the issue of humiliation meted out to the Dalits by Indian society, no matter where they lived. This humiliation stems from the fact that Dalit inferiority has gotten embedded in the psyche of the upper caste, the members of which have developed an extraordinary repertoire of idioms, symbols, and gestures of verbal and physical denigration of the Dalits over centuries. It is embedded in the literary and artistic imagination and sensibility of the upper caste. Even the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, are replete with examples of this denigration where the shudras and the chandalas are shown to be treated as less than human. Dalit writers feel that the mainstream literature in Sanskrit and many other Indian languages foster these built-in assumptions of Dalit inferiority and thus they need be critiqued, subverted, and deconstructed. In this context, one is reminded of other autobiographical works by Dalit writers, like Bama’s Karukku (2000) in Tamil and in Hindi Tiraskrit (vol. 1, 2002) by Suraj Paul Chauhan and Meri Safar aur Meri Manzi (2000) by B. R. Jatav. These books shocked the readers of mainstream literature into the realization of the inhuman and morally repugnant ways in which Indian people continued to treat segments of society. Before this body of literature came out, the Dalits were the proverbial invisible men and women of India who were compelled to live on the margins of society, never entering the vision of high-caste Hindus, the arbiters of art, literature, and good taste, in any significant or positive way.