Question

Discuss the character and role of Headmaster Kaliram in Valmiki’s Joothan.​

Answer 1

Answer:

Omprakash Valmiki is a great poet and short story writer in Hindi Dalit Literature. “Joothan” is an autobiographical account of his miserable birth and life.

Omprakash traces his lineage to Valmiki, the great author of ‘Ramayana’ and proves that even Valmiki belongs to the sweeper caste. Joothan literally means scraps of food left on a plate.

It is related to the word jootha which means polluted. The sweeper caste (untouchables) has been forced to eat jootha for centuries. The word shows the pain, hurt, humiliation and poverty of the untouchables.