Dr. Dhananjay Pralhad Patil
Vidya Vikas Mandal’s S. G. Patil Arts, Science & Commerce College, Sakri, Dhule (MS)
Email: dhananjaypatil983@gmail.com
Abstract:
The grief and suffering of those who have been downtrodden and who have become brutal victims of caste prejudice have been captured in works of writing known as downtrodden literature. It is also a potent vehicle for uprising and opposition to untouchability. Instilling a strong resolve to transform society by seizing these marginalized people’s hopes and aspirations, the exploitation of Downtrodden in all spheres of life gives them a strong motivation to do so. Through the analysis of Sharankumar Limbale’s well-known life story The Outcaste, this essay aims to illustrate the picture of suffering and resistance of the oppressed. This essay will also help readers to understand how a Dalit autobiography has developed into a crucial tool for expressing oneself and reclaiming a suppressed sense of selfhood in order to get over the inferiority complex associated with “being a Scheduled Caste.” Through the telling of their stories, downtrodden authors hope to forge a new sense of cultural identity and belonging as well as a place all their own. This literature also demonstrates Sharankumar’s autobiography, “The Outcaste,” as a historical and social narrative that illustrates caste prejudice in society, the deceit of higher caste Hindus, devastating poverty, downtrodden women’s exploitation, and the search for identity.
Keywords: Caste, Gender, Identity and Marginalization
Introduction:
India has advanced greatly in all spheres of life, but the caste system has persisted there for centuries despite this progress. Despite the fact that oppressed people have existed for generations, they continue to face hostility and are even forbidden from being near Hindus from higher castes. The oppressed are taken advantage of, butchered, kicked, raped, slain, denied minimum pay, and thought to be cursed. Gurram Jashuva accurately captures the plight of the oppressed in Indian culture in his poem “Gabbilam,” in which he expresses his outrage at the crimes committed against the untouchables. According to him, an owl is thought to bring bad luck. However, a downtrodden is not allowed entry inside a temple, while a stray dog can.
The caste system, which is based on birth rather than ability in India, is totally to blame for the formation of the oppressed in this social arena. The Rigveda’s Purusukta, which explicitly mentions the caste system, is where the word “Dalit” originates. Hindu legend holds that Lord Brahma gave birth to the Brahmans from his mouth, the Kshatriyas from his shoulders, the Vaishyas from his thighs, and the Sudras from his feet. Therefore, Sudras are viewed as the lowest caste—a group of oppressed and marginalized people—while Brahmans are seen as the superior caste. Even Muslims and Christians in India could not avoid the effects of the caste system.
The Marathi dictionary defines the term “Dalit” as having a number of meanings. They are crushed, reduced to pieces, ground, etc. Different regions of India insult Dalits by calling them names like Dasa, Raksasa, Asura, Avarna, Chandala, and etc. The term “untouchable” for members of the lower caste was created by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar,. Hindus were referred as the dejected class by the British in 1909. In 1933–1934, Mahatma Gandhi gave them the new name “Harijan”means a child of God, whereas Rabindranath Tagore suggested Hindu upper caste people to call untouchable as an outcaste people. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar has given the term Scheduled caste to suppressed downtrodden (untouchable) in our constitution Therefore, entire underprivileged population has been referred as “Scheduled caste” since India became a republic. The oppressed majority often rebels against the rulers’ oppression. Similar to black literature, dalit writings emerged as a protest genre to call attention to all manners of inhumanity. To realize their ambitions and aspirations, to instill a new cultural and social consciousness, to overcome the treatment, humiliation, and caste prejudices in society, to create their own distinct identity.
With Mahatma Phule’s thought, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar called for a political movement to bring about balance and offered the untouchables all the rights they had been denied for so long. Writing is a powerful tool for protesting against all types of repression and tyranny. Veteran non-Dalit writers like Rabindranath Tagore, Sarat Chandra Chatterjee, Taru Dutt, Daya Pawar, and others grasp their pens with an egalitarian attitude to speak out against injustice within the servile caste and to raise societal consciousness. Many Dalit authors have written autobiographies to express their traumatic experiences of being oppressed as well as their damaged psyches, including Bama, Sharmila Rege, Narengra Kumar, Jagadhar, Namade Dhanshal, and Sharankumar Limbale. of the Dalit community. Sharankumar Limbale is a writer, editor, critic, Dalit activist, and the creator of 24 books. The essence of Dalit literature is shaped by the life story he tells in his groundbreaking work “Akkarmashi,” which was first published in Marathi in 1984.
In 2003, Santosh Bhoomkar translated his autobiography into English as “The Outcaste.” The fundamental theme of Sharankumar’s work is to establish his mother’s innocence, and he has expertly depicted the misery of his workplace’s irresponsibility. Sharankumar brings up a number of serious points in this book about the caste system and what it means to be a Dalit, but most of his concerns go unanswered.
Sharankamar Limbale demonstrates in his memoirs how caste prejudice and the associated social stigmatization follow the oppressed everywhere. For them, the moniker “Dalit” turns into a curse. An oppressed person is unable to mingle with Hindu upper castes or move about freely. Sharankumar introduces his readers to the Wani and Brahmin students from the upper castes who used to play their sports apart from the untouchables. The boys from Mahar and Mang have their own games they play among themselves. Caste distinctions were made in the school’s seating layout. The Brahmin and Wani pupils had the front row to themselves in the temple. Seats were set aside lower down in the temple hall for the students from the cobbler community. Hindus from the castes have compassion for the downtrodden students.
In addition to receiving an education, the downtrodden were assigned the task of collecting dung to cover the walls and floors. The irony is that while the upper castes avoided all contact with the oppressed, they continued to sit on the “baseborn soiled “‘ floor. A disadvantaged person was not allowed within the temple, and there were separate water reservoirs for the various communities. The privilege of using the upstream river to wash their clothes and fill their water containers was reserved for the upper caste. For residential use, the downtrodden gathered water from the river downstream. In the same reservoir, they also used to wash their animals, their clothes, and themselves.
“We are the garbage the village throws out. There were so many caste factions in our school. The umbilical cord between our locality and the village had snapped, as if the village, torn asunder, had thrown us out of it. We had grown up like aliens since our infancy. This sense of alienation increased over the years and to this day my awful childhood haunts me.”(05)
The above cited words suggest the smearing of the hall with dung paste, lighting of the village street lamps, sweeping of the village street, skinning of dead animals, and selling of dead skin are all low-level chores given to untouchables by higher authorities. The upper Caste Hindus in the community pay the Mahar a set amount of grain to carry the dead animal away after it dies. Even while it may seem ironic, it is true that the very animal these people love (in this case, a cow), they detest even touching it after it has passed away.
A person who is oppressed in all facets of life is freed by the caste system. Even the village barber who trims the buffaloes won’t shave a downtrodden head. To get his head shaved, a downtrodden must make a difficult decision. The strap of a Mahar cannot be fixed by the cobblers. The downtrodden have their own sets of cups and saucers that are stored in a tea shop. Latur is a large city in the state of Maharashtra with tall buildings and bungalows, but not a single room is available for rent to a Mahar or a Muslim. The idea of untouchability in Hindu society is contested by Limbale as given below. He says:
“I used clean clothes, bathed every day and washed myself clean with soap, and brushed my teeth with toothpaste. There was nothing unclean about me. Then in what sense was I untouchable? A high caste who is dirty was still considered touchable! This city was made of herds of castes. Even localities were identified by castes.”(107)
As per Limbale, caste prejudice and poverty coexist in a struggling household. Here, Sharankumar Limbale also illustrates two different types of hunger: the need for food and the want for passion. A dejected person typically has to choose between going without food and becoming underfed. A downtrodden is supposedly destined to starve, according to popular belief.
In his child hood Limbale could not control his appetite, so his grandmother ‘Santamai’ would go to the village to ask for some “bhakaris.” His sisters never complained about being hungry, and they go to bed without eating anything. Thus, poor downtrodden were compelled to steal food to fill “the cave of hunger” because they were starving; even they were subject to physical punishment if they caught stealing the food. Consequently, the following quote from Limbale about this topic perfectly sums up his outburst in following given words, he says:
“Black-marketeers become leaders, whereas those who are driven to steal by hunger are considered criminals.” (Limbale, 21)
The upper castes provided leftover food for the downtrodden. Leftover food is like nectar to downtrodeen. (03) Sharankumar related the story of a school picnic where the Hindus were eating a wide range of dishes while the downtrodden were able to eat only a few dry “bhakaris.” Later, when the caste Hindus’ leftover food was distributed to the Mahar youngsters, they dove in like ravenous vultures. Due of starvation, they consumed rotting, old, and filthy food. Limbale’s grandmother created “bhakaris” out of the grains she salvaged from the animal excrement. These “bhakaris” were difficult to swallow and had an offensive manure odour. The stomach makes you clean crap, and it even makes you eat shit, Limbale declares with justification. (08)
Anyone would be moved to tears by the dreadful poverty in a depressed household. Absolute poverty forced Sharankumar’s family into the vile alcohol industry. Sharankumar and his grandparents used to reside under the bus stand’s squalid surroundings because the bus ridership was their only source of income. The way a prostitute waits for her clients is how they awaited the bus. Under the bus stand’s tin roof, they passed their days and nights. The difficulties they frequently encountered during the wet season are depicted by Sharankumar as given below the words. He claims:
“The village bus stand had large windows, the front almost open. Its roof was made of tin. The rain dripped in through the holes in the roof and drenched us. The chill wind made us shiver. The rain dripped on us throughout the night. Thunder roared and lightening flashed through the wet village…The water becomes streams. In the morning we saw water all over, our village looked as if it had had a bath. Whenever it rained I slept under the bench. Santamai sat shivering in a corner, wrapped in rags. She suffered from rigors. She felt something churn in her stomach.” (Limbale, 51)
Sharankumar Limbale suffers from two social disadvantages as a result of his identity: first, he was born into the Mahar community, and second, he was born out of wedlock. His second identity as an illegitimate kid isolates him from his own community while his Dalit identification distances him from the top classes of society. He is mistreated as a result of being a “keeper’s” child. He considers it inconvenient to enroll oneself in the
school. His illegitimate status prevented him from marrying the woman he loved. He eventually succeeds in marrying a girl, but only after great difficulty. A child inherits both the surname and the identity of his father in a patriarchal society like that of India and the subcontinent. However, an unborn kid. He stated in given line:
“Why did my mother say yes to the rape which brought me into the world? Why did she put up with the fruit of this illegitimate intercourse for nine months and nine days and allow me to grow in the foetus? Why did she allow this bitter embryo to grow? How many eyes must have humiliated her because they considered her a whore? Did anyone distribute sweets to celebrate my birth? Did anyone admire me affectionately? Did anyone celebrate my naming ceremony? Which family would claim me as its descendant? Whose son am I, really?” (37)
The persona of Sharankumar Limabale is complicated. He criticizes the high caste individuals who cower at the least touch of the oppressed but continue to prey on Dalit women to sate their lustful appetites. Additionally, because of the “unbridgeable divide” between the father and the son, the child born from such an unlawful relationship is denied paternal affection and affiliation. For a parent to give his son his name and standing in this culture, his honor would be on the line.
“My father lives in a mansion, my mother in a shack, and I on the street,” he says, feeling mentally agitated by his sense of estrangement and rootlessness. Where shall I perish? “Exactly where are my roots?” (62)
Limbale was only 25 years old when he penned this novel. His desire for Identity is stronger when he is younger. He forges a bond with Karna, the fabled son of Kunti. He understands that in this society, a guy can only be identified by his caste, religion, or parent.
He doesn’t really belong anywhere because he lacks both of them. Because his father was from another village, Balsegaon, other boys in Maharwada used to call him “akkarmashi,” which meaning an orphan or a pariah, and he was expelled from the community hall. He could only manage to have the identify of a “akkarmashi” (an unclean or an illegitimate child).
Sharankumar portrays his grandmother, Santamai, as an elderly woman whose skin ages and becomes dry from exposure to the sun on a regular basis. Her teeth become darker as a result of the usage of herbal powder, and Santamai, who was perspiring, had a blacksmith’s appearance in the light of the stove’s fire. (11)
In their autobiographies, numerous oppressed women writers have expressed their deep emotions in literature. In his memoirs, Sharankumar Limbale conveys his sincere compassion for oppressed women. He also discusses how oppressed women are victimized and marginalized, citing his grandmother and mother as two egregious examples. His Masamai and Santamai are independent women who work outside the home to support themselves. Santamai gets up early in the morning to sweep the village street. And Masamai establishes a home-based liquor business and serves alcohol to the clients.
It’s a curse to be gorgeous in a community of Scheduled Cast people. The high caste Patils has a tradition of creating whores from the Dalit population and having children out of wedlock with oppressed women. He has been forced to choose between the lust and hunger games, and His Masamai is a victim of such persecution. Her home is destroyed by a Patil named Hanmanta Limbale, who also takes her away from her adoring husband and nursing children and keeps her as a “keep” in order to satiate his lust. Later, he abandons her after she gives birth to a child.
She later becomes the concubine of Yeshwantrao Sidramappa, a different Patil from a different village, with whom she had eight children not through marriage. Masamai degrades herself from the status of a wife to that of a whore after getting divorced in order to have a family and provide for them, as a divorced downtrodden
Woman is not permitted to remarry but her divorced husband is permitted to do so numerous times. Limbale very skillfully explains this gender politics in the lines that follow:
“A man can eat paan and spit as many times as he likes, but the same is not possible for a woman. It is considered wrong if a woman does that. Once her chastity is lost it can never be restored.” (36)
Hindus from the upper castes sexually objectify the body of oppressed women. In his writing, Limbale exposes the corruption and hypocrisy of the so-called high caste population as well as the lustful wrongdoings committed by landowners and clergy under the guise of caste and religion. Even to the point of offering his wife to the gloomy darkness of the Patil mansions, a downtrodden man will go. A few Dalit communities have a custom of dedicating a girl child to the gods. These young women spend a significant portion of their lives engaging in ritualistic worship. These women are referred to as “devadasis” (a dancer-prostitute dedicated to the deity and the patrons of a temple). The priest and the kids later have them inked on their thighs.
The downtrodden women frequently experience “rape,” whether the women are victimized by high caste landowners or by their own males. Sharankumar cites the case of Dhanavva, a destitute widow whose father raped her on purpose after her husband’s passing. This arrogant man proudly admits his deed rather than feeling any remorse:
“I have sown the seed from which she has grown as a plant.” Now why shouldn’t I eat the fruits of this plant? (67)
Black people experience the same cruel torture that Toni Morrison depicts in her well-known book “The Bluest Eye,” in which Pecola is sexually assaulted by her own father:
“We had dropped our seeds in our own little plot of black dirt just as Pecola’s father had dropped his seeds in his own plot of black dirt. Our innocence and faith were no more productive than his lust or despair” (5).
Conclusion
As per the above cited words of Author it concludes that the main goal of downtrodden literature is to raise social consciousness among the underprivileged in order to spark a revolution. In fact, Sharankumar Limbale’s autobiography serves as an outlet for his suppressed opposition to the caste system. He paints a negative image of caste prejudice in this book, including its impact on poverty, the search for identity, and the misery of oppressed women. In the same way that black literature addresses the agony and suffering of the Negros, Downtrodden writing carves out a distinct niche for itself by examining the issues and struggles of the oppressed people in their own native tongues.
Sharankumar is a symbol of the community’s overall resilience, which overcomes challenges head-on and emerges with grace at each step. His autobiography’s release has enabled him to successfully revolt against the debased Hindu establishment and its persistent caste stereotypes as well as to forge a depressed sense of self. The autobiography of Sharankumar Limbale is not just an honest account of a single person; it also serves as a narrative about the past and contemporary conditions of the underprivileged community. Consequently, Sharankumar Limbale’s autobiography is a burning explanation as well as a potent representation of an impoverished community in the modern setting.
Works Cited:
Bhaskar, Talluri Mathew. “Shrankumar Limbale’s The Outcaste (Akkarmashi): A Dalit Perspective.” Scholar Critic, vol.1,no. 3, December 2014. Accessed 15 February 2017.
Jamdhade, Dipak Shivaji. “The Subaltern Writing in India: An Overview of Dalit Literature.”The Criterion- An International Journal in English, vol 5, no.3, June 2014.Accessed 30 December2016.
Limbale, Sharankumar. The Outcaste: Akkarmashi. Translated by Santosh Bhoomkar, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2008.Print.
Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye, London: Vintage Books, 1999.Print.
Ramanathan. S. “Situating Dalit Literature in Indian Writing in English.” Language in India, vol. 14, no.12, December 2014. Accessed 21 January 2017.
Thomas, Ashly. “Interrogating Casteism: An Althusserian Reading of Sharankumar Limbale’s Akkarmashi The Outcaste.”Galaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research Journal, vol.7, no. 2. April 2016. Accessed 2 March 2017.
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