Write the character sketch of omprakash valmiki in english literature
Answers
Omprakash Valmiki (30 June 1950 – 17 November 2013) was an Indian Dalit writer and poet. well known for his autobiography, Joothan, considered a milestone in Dalit literature. He was born at the village of Barla in the Muzzafarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. After retirement from Government Ordnance Factory he lived in Dehradun where he died of complications arising out of stomach cancer on 17 November 2013.
Being a Dalit child, he was tortured and abused everywhere in society. He was fortunate enough to be born in a household where everyone loved and cared for him. The support and encouragement he gained from the family enabled him to face the dangers of being a Dalit. Right from the early stages of his life, Valmiki was conscious of the importance of studies and hence he was always a bright student. Reading and writing made him an enlightened human being. Valmiki married Chanda; despite the protestations his father accepted her as his daughter-in-law. He was not allotted a house in the government colony. They had to struggle a lot during the initial days of marriage. But he soon settled and both Valmiki and Chanda started a happy married life.[citation needed]
In his novel Joothan he talked about the discrimination they had to face in the school at different points. He says: “During the examinations we could not drink water from the glass when thirsty. To drink water, we had to cup our hands. The peon would pour water from way high up, lest our hands touch the glass”. Omprakash Valmiki describes his life as an untouchable, or Dalit, in the newly independent India of the 1950s. Joothan refers to scraps of food left on a plate, destined for the garbage or animals. Dalits have been forced to accept and eat joothan for centuries, and the word encapsulates the pain, humiliation, and poverty of a community forced to live at the bottom of India's social pyramid. Although untouchability was outlawed in 1949, Dalits continued to face discrimination, economic deprivation, violence, and ridicule. Valmiki shares his struggle to survive a preordained life of perpetual physical and mental persecution and his transformation into a speaking subject under the influence of the Dalit political leader, B. R. Ambedkar.[citation needed]
Besides Joothan (1997) Valmiki published three collections of poetry: Sadiyon Ka Santaap (1989), Bas! Bahut Ho Chuka (1997), and Ab Aur Nahin (2009). He also wrote two collections of short stories, Salaam (2000), and Ghuspethiye (2004). In addition, he wrote Dalit Saahity Ka Saundaryshaastr (2001) and a history of the Valmiki community, Safai Devata (2009), Do Chera' (a play).
Answer:
Omprakash Valmiki : (30 June 1950 – 17 November 2013) was an Indian writer and poet. Well known for his autobiography, Joothan, considered a milestone in Dalit literature.He was born at the village of Barla in the Muzzafarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. After retirement from Government Ordnance Factory he lived in Dehradun where he died of complications arising out of stomach cancer on 17 November 2013.
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Write the character sketch of omprakash valmiki in english literature
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Write the character sketch of omprakash valmiki in english literature
Explanation:
As a fiction writer, Om Prakash Valmiki delves deep into the caste system, exploring it minutely and analyzing the factors sustaining it. His short stories underline that the elite in society have failed to break free from the shackles of caste even in this 21st century. Caste and Varna have not only divided people but have also pushed a substantial section and women in general, to the lowest rungs of the societal pyramid, depriving them of their basic rights and even denying them the status of human beings. Salam explores the collusion of casteism and feudalism. While the caste system is responsible for Dalits being denied their basic rights, feudalism is behind their oppression and exploitation. The dominant class has crafted norms and traditions that enable them to humiliate Dalits publicly. The feudal forces have been interfering with the social and cultural space of the Dalits and controlling them.
Salam bares the inhumanity and brutality that casteism spawns. Kamal Upadhaya travels from a city to a village to attend the wedding of his friend Harish, who happens to be a Bhangi. Harish’s wedding contingent (barat) travels to a village where casteism and feudal arrogance are the norm. Early in the morning, Kamal goes to a shop for a cup of tea. His attire catches the attention of the tea seller, an old man, who asks him whether he is an outsider. Kamal replies that he is part of the wedding contingent that has come from Dehradun the previous day. “But that ‘barat’ has come to a Chuhad home. You must also be Chuhda or Bhangi, we don’t serve tea to them,” the tea seller says. Kamal tells him that he is a Brahmin but the old man is not convinced. The tea seller exemplifies what the poison of casteism spread by Hindutva forces has done to the people.
But Salam does not stop at exposing the inhuman face of casteism. It also militates against the traditions and taboos born of the caste system. Tradition says that before leaving the village with his bride, the Dalit groom has to go to the Savarna homes to offer his salutations. The protagonist, Harish, refuses to adhere to this humiliating tradition called “Salam”. The savarnas mount pressure on the bride’s father to make Harish fall in line. They want no threat to their dominance. But Harish, who is enlightened, doesn’t budge.
Valmiki’s short stories spring from the real-life experiences of various sections of society and that is why they are miles away from clichéd formulae. His short stories focus on aspects of Dalit life that are overlooked by the big names of Hindi literature. By and large, Hindi fiction has made light of the caste question. Dalit authors, however, have dealt with caste in all seriousness and built a discourse against it. The short story Brahmastra has its fingers on the pulse of the caste system and its sustaining force – Brahmanism.
Arvind Naithani, a Brahmin, and Kanwal Kumar, a Dalit, are friends. Arvind invites Kanwal Kumar to join his barat. No sooner has Kanwal set his foot in the bus Madhav Prasad Bhatt than the village priest objects to his presence. “Who has invited you? This is a barat of the Brahmins. Chuhar-Chamars cannot be part of it. This isn’t the barat of some Dom or Chamar. This is the barat of Naithanis and it is going to the place of highborn Brahmins of Tihri. Doms have no place in it. Go back to your home,” he tells Kanwal. Pandit Madhav Prasad Bhatt represents the forces that block societal change. Such people only deepen the chasm between the high and the low instead of diminishing it. Arvind’s father tries to placate Pandit Madhav Prasad, saying that Kanwal is a very close friend of Arvind and he should be allowed in the barat.
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