Representation and resistance: Strategies in Bama’s Karukku and Raj Gautaman’s Siluvai Raj Sarithiram

Abstract

The social structure of caste in India has assigned Brahmins to the apex and Dalits to the bottom of the caste system and, importantly, has also attained religious sanction, since the sacred Vedic texts served to perpetuate such stratifications among Hindus. The social institutions of religion, law, politics, art and literature thus reflected the dominant ideology of the Caste Hindus. But, after centuries of suppression, Dalits are now finding their voice, in literature as well as through political activism. In many ways an “arm” of Dalit politics, such literature has become an effective tool in expressing the protest of this community against the domination of Caste Hindus. Dalit literature as a genre was established in the 1960s and 1970s when a body of Dalit writing was published in Marathi and Gujarati, followed, nearly two decades later, by Tamil Dalit writing. Although caste oppression and discrimination are common elements in most Tamil Dalit literary works, their widely differing contexts range from Srilankan Tamil Dalit to Tamil Dalit-Christian communities. Bama’s Karukku (1992) and Raj Gautaman’s Siluvai Raj Sarithiram (2002) bring to light the discriminations prevalent within Tamil Christian communities. The protagonists of these novels take the radical step of rejecting Christianity and identifying themselves primarily as Dalits. Through an analysis of these two texts, the article discusses the caste hierarchy prevalent in Tamil Christian communities, while also exploring larger ambiguities in the construction of pan-Indian Dalit identity.

Keywords:

• life narratives
• caste system
• Dalit-Christians
• Tamil Dalit literature
• marginalization
• resistance

Notes

1. Manusmriti is one of the oldest works on Hindu law and ancient Indian society. Written by Sage Manu, Manusmriti gives an account of the norms and principles of the caste system.

2. Hindus who are not Dalits or Shudras have been referred to as Caste Hindus in recent times. They are also referred to as upper castes. In this paper, the terms Caste Hindus and upper castes are used interchangeably.

3. The Self-Respect movement started by Periyar in 1932 strongly denounced Brahmin ideology and interrogated the established notions of caste and religion. The Self-Respect movement scathingly attacked the existing social systems of religion, caste and gender and articulated a rationalistic worldview which would pave the way for a radical change in the social order.

4. In the early years of the 20th century, Iyothee Thass Pandithar, who worked for the emancipation of the untouchable communities, insisted that the untouchable communities should be referred to as Panchamar (meaning Fifth caste). They were then referred to in Tamil as Thazhtapattor or Odukkapattor and in English as Depressed classes by the colonial government

5. Dalit Panthers is a militant organization formed in Maharashtra in 1972 by young poets and writers.