Dalit Writing: A Struggle for Identity

Abstract

Dalit consciousness is truly humane consciousness.  This consciousness looks at all the past and present exploitation that has occurred in the many realms of Dalit life.  When we study Dalit writing we must see how the impact of this Dalit consciousness has shaped their literature. This makes a Dalit person/writer raise his or her voice against the unwritten rules of the dominant society, which denies them the life of a human being like others.  Therefore, Dalit consciousness is in a sense the strength of Dalits, which took them towards the dawn of a dignified living. The word “Dalit” has been defined by different writers and social thinkers based on their own personalized opinions, yet all these thinkers, including the stalwart leader Dr. Ambedkar, agree that Dalit is someone who has been oppressed and depressed throughout the centuries. The word “Dalit” is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Dala’, which means crushed, split, ground, and so on.  Later, the word was applied to that part of the society, which was crushed by, and split from the mainstream society. These people were barred from participating in the social life of the so-called upper castes.  Therefore, Dalit is the one who is labelled as untouchable or outcast.  He or she does the work that a touchable will not engage in.  In Indian society, there has been an oppressive caste system, which divides people as superior and inferior according to their birth.  This division is often reinforced by the changing cultural politics in modern times, although there have been some major interventions and resistances against this hierarchical division.