Representations of Dalit Protagonists

This book interrogates canonical Indian English fiction which has Dalit characters as protagonists or major characters, and argues that the representation of such characters, although well-meant, is regulated and made unremarkable. It examines how the normative discourse of the Anglophone novel portrays Dalits from an upper-caste point of view, devoid of Ambedkarite or Dalit consciousness, and thus implicitly reinscribes the upper caste power by restricting the narrative to merely represent Dalit submission and victimhood. The arguments then are substantiated by setting up a comparative framework through contrastive analysis of selected narratives by Dalit writers from Marathi Dalit literature to highlight the differential representational paradigms that mark the absence or presence of Ambedkarite consciousness and perspective.

Examines practices of representation of Dalit protagonists in Indian English fiction Compares the difference in representational approach by Dalit and non-Dalit writers enumerating the concept of Dalitude Shows the failure of Indian English novelists to speak for the Dalit identity and deal properly with the issue of caste

Autorentext

Hanumant Ajinath Lokhande is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at Nowrosjee Wadia College (Autonomous), Pune, India. His research interests are in the fields of Indian and comparative literatures, Dalit and Postcolonial studies, and Indian films.

Inhalt

Part I: Entering the Caste.- Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Representations and Discursive Formations of Caste: A Theoretical Framework.- Part II: Accentuating Caste Prejudices: Progressive Discourse.- Chapter 3: Contesting Voices of Gandhi and Ambedkar in Dalit Representations: Mulk Raj Anand's Untouchable and Amitabh's "Harijan Mastar".- Chapter 4: Discourse of Sympathy, Violence, and Victimhood - I: Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance and Murlidhar Jadhav's Karyakarta.- Chapter 5: Discourse of Sympathy, Violence, and Victimhood - II: Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things and Laxman Mane's Upara.- Part III: Accentuating Caste Prejudices: Pejorative Discourse.- Chapter 6: Discourse of Difference and Merit: Manu Joseph's Serious Men and Amitabh's "Janmakhoon!".- Chapter 7: Re-writing Violence and Victimhood: Aravind Adiga's The White Re-writing Violence and Victimhood: Aravind Adiga's The White.- Part IV: Comparing Representational Paradigms.- Chapter 8: Conclusion.