Representational Space as Cultural Production in Dalit Text

Introduction

Dalit literature has created its own identity through its way and mode of registration. It started its phase four decades before and the impact that it has created is immense. Dalit literature purely talks about Dalit’s life, pain, struggle, and experience. According to Jaisankar (2019), the term ‘Dalit’ got pan Indian recognition. Taking Ambedkar’s wider perspectives on the Dalit question, comparisons were made between Afro American Literature and Dalit Literature. It emerged as part of the interest on the rise of indigenous cultures across the world. It then gave way to the emergence of Fourth World Literature or Indigenous Studies as an academic discipline. In India, Dalit literature plays a vital role as counter narrative text for the existing texts in the main stream literature. This literature emerged in the Marathi language, which is a regional language in India. Later, it influenced many states throughout India. It is known for its stark portrayal of reality (Abraham & Misrahi-Barak 2015). The caste system in India, which has a hierarchy based on ritual purity and occupation, has given the last place in that order to a particular set of people, who are called Dalits. After years of oppression, only a few came forward to raise their voice in early 1960s. Previously, education was denied and they were not given equal status in the classroom education. After the efforts of Jyotiba Phule, Savitri Phule, Dr Ambedkar and other activists, this evolution became possible. Kumar (2016) Dr Ambedkar believed education is a movement and insisted on education for the downtrodden. He believed that education can improve the standard of living and his slogan was ‘educate, unite, struggle’. He thought that education was a crucial tool for elevating people’s standards (Ranjan, 2022). The writings of Dalits expressed their views and has become a medium for the reader to know their pain. According to Dadawala (2016), through literature, the writer could encounter their audience with all the expressions of the past and the aspiration for the future. The reader could witness the Dalit’s condition and their struggle for rights. Through writings, a Dalit writer could elaborate on their perspective and it could develop the reader’s perspective over the existing constructed society and upcoming culture. It may create a change in the reader’s microcosm. This article concentrates on how revolutionary the Dalit text is in its very presence in mainstream literature. The testimonies of the Dalit writers are becoming a cultural production where the muted voice is being read by all sects of people in the society. It eventually follows the auto-narration methodology for writing and this has become the writer’s space of representation. Dalits have exhibited various forms of self-representation, developing a sense of identity in social, religious, public, and political spheres (Gupta, 2015). The writing space allows the narrator to explain the trauma that has happened and experienced in the real place and the limited space given or allotted for Dalits. Place and space become the real problem for Dalits, whether they are restricted from knowing their identity or concealing it for safety, dignity, opportunity, and for respect purposes. Joseph (2015) Yashica Dutt’s Coming Out as Dalit and Limbale’s Outcaste talk on these issues through the auto-narration of the writers.

Language and Space for Cultural Production

Every space is described by the human action and every human activity is defined by the space in which it takes place. According to Peter Brook’s idea, the dialectical relationship between space and human action is the root. The emergence of geo-criticism has a broader spatial turn in humanities and it studies the effect of literary representation. The spatial turn in the human sciences has paved a way for a radical shift in theory where it seems to be seen as a constitutive category that determines what takes place within and on something that determines the life that unfolds within the space. The interrelationship between reality and perception constitutes embodiment and space becomes something that is constituted and conditioned through perception. The space becomes the way of life, the expression of life, ambitions, and aspiration. The cultural production of the marginalized is a process where it is already there with no clue of being regarded as ‘culture’. The Dalit writer’s space of representation and perception gave a new perspective on the culture of Dalits. The language that a Dalit writer uses in their writings is different from that of the language of literature that has been used. The usage of a particular word can serve the essence of the proposed meaning; that is why a writer must use the exact word to express it, which is what a Dalit writer does. Not only a word, but the whole experience can be expressed through auto-narration.

Dragging and cutting dead animals—how non-Dalits will write about their experience of Dalits with the power of their imagination (Limbale, 2003, p. 57).

The experience of a Dalit is particular and the representation needs a space for their language to denote or to give the exact meaning of what the writer intends to. The action and the activity that is meant for a particular space could be felt and realized and expressed by that particular community, that is, what is reflected in these lines of Sharan Kumar Limbale (Veroneka & Vijayalakshmi, 2020). The language of Dalits is the portrayal of their culture and it is imminent for a Dalit writer in the process of their cultural representation through auto-narration (Mukherjee, 2019). Since there was a neglect of their community in the societal structure, the writing space in literature is a treasure for them and so the culture, lifestyle, struggle, denial, rejection and discrimination of them is being represented in literature.

Each space represents language and that is quite common for all the communities, states, or nations that an individual belongs to. In India, learning English is considered an important aspect where it becomes a pride for them. Most of the Indians who come from a rural or illiterate background lack in this aspect. Especially Dalits find it difficult to learn English, since there may be very few English articulating community members. The condition that prevails within this community is due to a lack of education and exposure to the fields of education. They strive hard to bring up themselves to get a good education and speak English. If a Dalit fails to master fluency in English, they might strive hard to prove the talent that exists. Yashica Dutt’s Coming out as a Dalit is a memoir that reflects her life through her words. While the life of Dutt’s mother is concerned, she had faced the same. It is a must for a Dalit to excel in English to flourish in their profession. The importance of speaking and learning has been elaborated in this memoir just by her experience. A very few understand the importance of education as well as English language learning. In most schools, English is just a subject and not a medium of education or instruction. Dalits were denied access to learning a few generations ago, Dutt’s great-grandfather tried learning informally and her grandfather received formal education and entered civil service. The strong educational background of Dutt made her excel in education as well as in the English language. Dutt’s mother studied in a local school in her town where the English Language is taught as a subject and she was mocked by her own family for not speaking ‘good’ English. Though her mother could perfectly read and understand English, she had a fear that she would be mocked for her accent and grammar.

Speaking English was a symbol of pride in those days.

Dutt related ‘Daltiness’ with English, where she sees English as a means of escape from the chains of trouble, insults, and disrespect that Dalits face irrespective of intelligence and talent, but there was a hesitation and a question in her mind whether could English be a means of escape from her identity as a Dalit. From childhood, she showed much interest in making herself excellent in English. Dutt gives importance to the English language and she mentions the need for learning English being a Dalit. She was able to get a good education and knows to speak, read and write English properly just by hiding her identity of who she is. When it comes to good education, it not only focuses on academics but also on the learner’s overall development, which includes excellence in the English language.

Dalit writers who register their voice through text were well expressed in their mother tongue. India is a country of diverse cultures and languages. Every state has a different language and culture, but every state also has a Dalit community. To reach every Dalit and non-Dalit reader the text must be in English and other regional languages. The Dalit text in English is meant for comfortability, accessibility and availability and for its ultimate goal of reaching the globe about the struggle, oppression, discrimination and voice and need for their rights and resistance to be recognized. Only a few Dalit writers use the English language in writing their text, the rest were being translated. The translated works also make a greater impact in the minds of the reader.

Literary Representation of Dalit Writer

The narrative space of a Dalit writer is filled with experience, hope, aspiration, and a futuristic one where aesthetics is deeply connected. The sense of the writer’s self-relationship with society and how the society understands the self and the representation of his community are interlinked. The writer uses his language in constructing reality (Barnett, 2006). The way of perception over experience in spatial turn is diverse in itself. The space of a writer is divided into different spaces in terms of their experience. The experience of a Dalit writer is entirely different from the experience of a non-Dalit writer.

Dalit’s literary works which represent their life have become one of the tools for their progress. Yashica Dutt describes her life incidents through this memoir which throws light on the identity crisis, and deserted condition of a Dalit when they camouflage in society. The importance of the English language where it plays a vital role in the field of education, career, and endeavour is observed in this article and the ideology over skin complexion is discussed through the life incidents and instances that Dutt provides through her memoir.

Judging a person by skin tone is quite common around the world. In India, the colour of the skin is related to and linked with status and class. Dutt in her memoir talks about skin colour, her mother was always bothered by Dutt’s skin tone and she spent a lot on buying expensive daily comforts. To pretend as if she is from an elite societal background she concentrated on her dressing and makeover. The perception of Indians over appearance is connected with skin tone; fair skin is much more privileged than dark skin. Dutt makes references to real incidents that happened on National television and the biased nature toward dark skin in Bollywood and she also mentions Nandita Das’s ‘dark is beautiful’ campaign on social media. She focuses on the advertisement on television that indirectly forces society to look down on dark skin and the fairness cream that could bring a change in one’s life. The same was felt by Dutt’s mother where she was very particular about her daughter’s skin colour and she saw it as a threat that it could reveal her identity—‘Dalit’. Dutt sees that there is always a knot that was tied by society between dark skin and the marginalized.

The registration of experience is unique to a Dalit writer where the space that he occupies in the narrative field is entirely different from the other writers. Time plays a vital role in the works of a Dalit writer because it can give life to the writer’s aspiration over the constructive society. Time has shrunken space to an extent. Foucault points out that the perception of theoretical understanding is the result of priorities and prejudices against modernity. Modernity is concerned with replacing tradition, which is radical and sees itself in terms of change. Modernity’s obsession is with time and change. Dutt was able to conclude that she is hiding her identity, and she was able to overcome it when there was a shift in place and time, where she revealed her identity at Columbia University. Migration plays a vital role in expressing her identity. The switch from India to New York made her more comfortable, and fearless to express herself without any hesitation. She accepted her identity after Rohit Vemula, a Dalit scholar committed suicide. Rohit adhered to this philosophy and even dared to sacrifice his life for his caste identity. He did not fight against caste-based prejudice for himself, but rather for all of his fellows in his community who are suffering from it in public life, particularly in educational institutions. The real-life instances could prove the identity of being a Dalit left the individual to death or insulted. According to news (NDTV, 2022) on 10 April 2022, a young Dalit minor boy was assaulted and forced to lick one of the accused’s feet in a terrible case of caste-based violence in Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh. According to recent news (PTI, 2022), on 20 July 2022, a teacher at a private school in Surana Village, Jalore District, struck Indra Meghwal. According to the information provided by the National Commission for Scheduled Caste, the nine-year-old Dalit boy who was allegedly beaten by his teacher in Rajasthan for touching a drinking water pot received treatment at six different hospitals over the course of 23 days, but it was not enough to save his life. In the research from Zee News (n.d.), Ms Meira Kumar, the former Lok Saba speaker twitted on her official Twitter account ‘100 years ago my father Babu Jagjivan Ram was prohibited from drinking water in school from the pitcher meant for Savarra Hindus. It was a miracle his life was saved’ says Kumar. In the same regard, the Congress MLA Pana Chand Meghwal resigned from his positing, ‘When we fail to protect the rights of our community…We have no right to remain in the post. After listening to my inner voice, I resign from the post of MLA so that I can serve the community without any position’ he stated in the resignation letter handed to the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Mr Ashok Gehlot.

Yashica feared that she might be insulted in every aspect if her identity is revealed. After Vemula’s incident, she decides to write an auto narrative with lots of references from real-life incidents, history, law and literature. According to Bhaumik (2018), the Dalits fight against all forms of prejudice because of a desire for identity. Autobiography plays a crucial part in helping to create a Dalit identity and to express dissent. Yashica spent three long years doing research on Dalits’ position in the social, political and economic conditions and finally presented it through auto-narration. The writing space of the Dalit writer becomes the their space for producing a new perspective on an existing culture where it badly needs a change with the help of radical thinking through their writings.

Discussion

Representation of a Dalit in writing involves space, time, and place. Before representing themselves, they need to identify themselves, accept it and in some cases, reveal it and finally represent it. This representation involves a specific time when the Dalits identify themselves as Dalits at a particular time. Their living space decides their identity in some way or the other and towards the end, a Dalit fits themselves into the space and place through their representation. Dutt in her memoir constantly tries to hide her identity which may be due to the condition and pre-conceived notion that the society has created, but within herself, she felt insecure that she has not revealed her originality. This situation of her is due to the stigmatic feeling that existed within herself. Oyserman and Fisher (2017) Towards the end, she made a bold decision because of the continuous fight within herself by wearing a mask for a long period. Though she learns English and tries to change her skin colour through cosmetics, she questions whether it gave a solution for her identity.

Ambedkar’s identity was discovered while he was working for the Maharaja of Baroda, the Parsis in the mansion approached him with lathis and referred to him as an untouchable. Even though Dr Ambedkar worked for Maharaja, his position was never taken into consideration and never gained respect for it since he was a Dalit. The hostel is intended for their people. The Parsis demanded that he go right away, but he gently requested that they give him some time so that he could find a place to live. He has left without a place in Baroda, no one gave him shelter because of his caste identity—‘Dalit’—and finally the sky served as his cover and the ground as his bed (Kothari, 2019). Revealing one’s identity as Dalit is not that easy for many but Dr Ambedkar overcame it through his education, political knowledge and he used his identity as a tool for resistance (Satyanarayana, 2014)

Starting from education to the workplace, Dutt was very particular in not revealing her identity. This may be due to her inferior feeling toward her caste identity created by society, her mother, and herself who wants to project herself as superior in every way. Her experience and the lack of originality that she felt within herself made her reveal her identity in media. She felt that she is not truthful to herself, her friends, colleagues, and society. She made a bold decision to overcome the guilt. The notions that were set before Dutt was constructed idea by power. She got control of the constructed frame by making herself eligible and skilful to an extent and finally, she broke the frame by revealing her identity. Sharankumar Limbale being there with his community, faced problems due to his identity as a Dalit. His whole family suffered because they could not get a proper job because of their identity and out of starvation. Starting from his schooling, there was much discrimination that he faced and could closely relate to it. Due to their place of residence, their identity was known by others in the society but once he shifted for his higher education out of his village, he could rarely find anyone noticing identity out of caste. According to Dissanayake (2019), representation of himself in his work happened out of his education and mobilization. The space and place play a major role in determining who the individual is. Limbale was able to identify the difference that a place gives to a Dalit. To prod a thinking process in the minds of the reader he represents his community by representing himself.

The culture of Dalits is least considered like their existence. The structured frame of society never allows anyone to think outside of that frame in a closed space like a village or town. In a city, the identity of an individual could be known only if the individual reveals it to others, instead of the mindset of some people remaining the same regarding the caste system despite the place they live in. In a village, every person of the community know their kinsmen and they live within their boundaries and it is a strict practice where caste is practised with pride. In a cluster space-like city, there is a mixed community living and no shades of caste-based discrimination is visible due to space constraints, population, opportunity, availability and many others. Yashica was able to hide her identity due to her place of residence. Though it was a city, she could not reveal her identity as Dalit because most of the people living in the city come from the background that follows the structure (caste). Just because they live in a city, they cannot survive without a caste identity. Limbale repeatedly speaks about the pain of discrimination in his narration because he faced it throughout his life. While registering his life experience, he shows the world that there is a particular pattern of lifestyle that is being followed by Dalits in that particular area. Indian literature was very much familiar with the cultures of the popular community, it is because education was limited to one sect of people and they represented themselves in their writings. The writings of Dalits came only in the early 1960s. It represents the reality of Dalit life; some were written by other community writers and some are being represented by Dalits themselves. Most of the Dalit works are in their regional language and few are getting translated into English. India is diverse and so the language has become an important barrier for each state to know others. English becomes a bridge for communication between states of India and Dalit literature could flourish in every means by representing their pain, suffering, discrimination, and need for equality in mind process and culture of their own which was neglected like their existence in the society through the English Language. Thus, the representational space of Dalits has become a medium for their cultural exhibition and their writings itself has become and paved a way for positive cultural aspects and progressive cultural process in the minds of the readers.

Conclusion

This study involves textual analysis of two texts Yashica Dutt’s Coming Out as Dalit and Sharankumar Limbale’s Outcaste. It analyses how these texts create space for the writer and represent themselves in auto-narration. As Kavitha (2004) states Dalit writers mostly interpreted their own experiences regarding social injustice in their own autobiographies. It is called Dalit Auto-narrative. This form of literature is best suited to Dalit writer. Their writings describe that the space they live in plays a major role in control over their identity. The literary space gives them relief and becomes an outlet for their emotion, pain, trauma, experience, and feelings. Space includes language, culture, and the appearance of an individual who belongs to that space in the sense of skin tone, height and facial features, and so on. According to Wegner (2002), the various types of work that are performed by various literary genres, modes, and other forms of textuality, attention to spatial concerns simultaneously calls into question the very foundation of the literary canon. The literary canon of Dalit literature showed their living space in the auto-narration. Space defines one nature but making it a mark of underestimation becomes a question. This is what happened in the context of Indian societal structure where the hierarchy is given a grade and it was existing in reality. Dalits were oppressed in the social structure and they were ill-treated through the means of untouchability. The pain that they underwent needs an outburst and outbreak to pour out from their consciousness. They found a means to register their pains through narration. The narration in the written form reached many, that too in the universal language of English. That is why many works are being translated to English from Indian languages. In the process of registration, Dalit literature indirectly involves the study of the place described in the text and the literary representation of the given space. Ramachandran (2003) states that Dalit literature has captured much of the fear, longing, and suffering of a century of caste conflict, and the imaginative social justice visions they have advanced can still inspire and influence local and global participants in struggles against repressive and exploitative regimes. This literature paves way for the cultural production of literary tradition and a spatially oriented approach to reading the text. The literary narratives of the Dalit writers provide a fresh experience and new sensitivity with the combination of suffering and revolt by provoking the critical intervention in the process of reasoning over constructed society. According to Geetha (2011), in the narrative space of the writer through self-expression of auto-narration, the registration and representation can be comprehensive. The writing space of the writer includes the process of thinking in the reader’s mind. Dalit writer utilizes their given or taken space in writing to reveal their pain which they faced due to discrimination practice in society. Prasad and Gaijan (2007) Literature has developed into a powerful tool for protesting dominance. In addition to expressing the anxiety of being a Dalit in a caste-based society, it also records revolutionary rhetoric that opposes the dominant caste structures in society. The deep-rooted thoughts of caste discrimination could be uprooted only by the thinking process. The thinking process of equality is inclusive of everything that an individual attains through education, awareness and the basis of all these could be reasoning. The reasoning of a sophisticated individual could happen only if the individual happens to know the reality. The real phase of discrimination needs to be heard from the discriminated point of view and that the auto-narration of Dalits is more effective in bringing about a change in the literature and cultural aspects. Finally, both autobiographers made an effort to grow. The past has been left behind, and the present is spent forming identities. Due to their efforts to represent their community, both authors have earned respect among the citizens of this nation (Ghodake, 2016). The representation of Dalits has a possible chance of bringing about a change by knowing the reality, its effect on the mind of the readers, reasoning capacity, finding out alternative solutions, possibilities of new cultural production in the minds of the readers and prospect of positive generation.