Outsider-Within: The Sociological Significance of Dalit Women’s Life Narratives

Abstract

The article elucidates the doubly marginalized position of dalit women in the marginal community of dalits and highlights how these women make the creative use of their marginality and learning from their “outsider-within” status to articulate their lived experience and perspectives. The article analyses the novels of two dalit women writers from Tamil Nadu (India) – Bama’s Sangati Events (2005) and Palanimuthu Sivakami’s The Grip of Change (2006) – to discuss and explore the sociological significance of the two characteristic issues in these narratives: the interlocking nature of dalit women’s oppression, and their endurance and resilience. The perspectives of dalit women writers create new knowledge about their lives, families, and community, which provide a preparatory point for the development of a dalit feminist standpoint. Further, the exploration may help other marginalized sections or sociologists by putting greater trust in the creative potential of their narratives and cultural biographies.

Keywords:

• Caste
• dalit feminist standpoint
• dalits
• gender
• interlocking oppressions
• outsider-within
• substituted knowledge

Notes

1 The Hindu social order consists of a four-fold Varna division in society. ‘The highest is that of the Brahmans or priests, below them the Kshatriyas or warriors, then the Vaishyas, in modern usage mainly merchants, and finally the Shudras, the servants or have-nots … There is in actual fact a fifth category, the untouchables, who are left outside the classification’ (Dumont 1999, 66–67). The latter were ‘outcasts’ who were described as impure and relegated to the rank of those who should not be touched. They performed menial and impure jobs.

2 Pariyar is the largest scheduled caste subgroup in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

3 A sport originally from South Asia for teams of seven players. A player from one team runs around and tries to catch players from the other team, and must hold his or her breath while doing so.