ABOUT THE BOOK

This book Narratives of Deconstruction: A Postcolonial Study of Select Dalit Fiction is my research. Being thematic in nature, the book is divided into five chapters. The main objective of the book is to bring out the common issues in the select Dalit realistic narratives. Instead of going for a mere textual analysis, I focused on the indepth analysis of each novel taking the thematic issues into consideration. The text deals with the life aspects of Dalit communities. Dalit literature as a form, from its simplest beginning has now grown into a special and unique form of literature that aims at protesting for the civil rights, especially of the marginalized sections of the country including tribes and minorities. Dalit Novels among the other literary forms remains a successful genre in representing the issues of Dalit culture and movements in Dalit idiom. It is through Dalit Novels, the writers express their sufferings, sorrows and victimization due to the oppressive culture of caste Hindus. The Dalit novel makes the reader understand that insecure childhood, ever dependence for the assistance of the Government, Sociocultural oppression, gender dominance, exploitation in paying the daily wages, sexual harassment at the workplaces and physical attacks, police cases and political influence are the day to day experiences of the Dalits. Through their memories, the Dalits reconstruct their broken and long silenced history and demonstrate their rights and identity duly reconstituting themselves with the rest of Dalit communities. The Dalit novel is of rich experiences of the Dalits and paved the way for the formation of their col lect ive consciousnes srightly identifying themselves to fight against the Caste and Gender hierarchy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. U.S. Saranya holds a B.Ed, M.A and PhD in English. She is presently placed as Assistant Professor of English in VIT University , Bhopal. She has 53 publications to her credit which includes 3 Scopus, 14 Ebsco, 18 online research papers and 18 conference proceedings. Besides presenting 35 research papers in conferences she has co-convened a workshop in Academic writing and also attended various faculty development programmes and workshops on varied themes of language, literature, culture studies, personality development and soft skills. Her area of specialization includes Interdisciplinary Philosophy and Literature, Subaltern, Minority and Gender Studies.

CONTENTS

Abstract ..................................................................................................... 7

Foreword .................................................................................................. 11

Preface .................................................................................................... 13

Acknowledgement ................................................................................... 15

Abbreviations .......................................................................................... 17

1. DALIT LITERATURE: VIEWS AND REVIEWS ................................. 19

2. DALIT LITERATURE IN ENGLISH AND IN TRANSLATION ................ 35
• Emergence of The Marathi Dalit Literature • Emergence of Gujarati Dalit Literature • Emergence of Tamil Dalit Literature • Emergence of Kannada Dalit Literature • Emergence of Telugu Dalit Literature • Emergence of Malayalam Dalit Literature • Emergence of Dalit Literature in Punjab • Emergence of Dalit Literature in Odisha • Features of the Dalit Novel • Emergence of Gujarati Dalit Novel • Emergence of Tamil Dalit Novel • Emergence of Kannada Dalit Novel • Emergence of Telugu Dalit Novel • Emergence of Malayalam Dalit Novel • Emergence of Dalit Novel in Punjabi • Emergence of Marathi Dalit Novel • Select Dalit Novels: Synoptical View • Joseph Macwan’s The Stepchild (2004) • Bama’s Vanmam-vendetta (2008) • Sharankumar Limbale’s Hindu (2010) • G. Kalyan Rao’s Untouchable Spring (2010) • P. Sivakami’s The Taming of Women (2012) • Kancha Ilaiah’s Untouchable God (2013).

3. WRITING THE CASTE DISCRIMINATION AND ALIENATION ............ 57
• Joseph Macwan’s The Stepchild • Sharankumar Limbale’s Hindu • G. Kalyan Rao’s Untouchable Spring • Kancha Ilaiah’s Untouchable God • Bama’s Vanmam-vendetta • Abraham continued • P. Sivakami’s The Taming of Women.

4. WRITING DALIT GENDER ........................................................ 101
• Introduction to Feminism • First Wave Feminism • Second Wave Feminism • Third Wave Feminism • Elaine Showalter’s Three Phases of Feminism • Feminism in India • Joseph Macwan’s The Stepchild • Sharankumar Limbale’s Hindu • Kancha Ilaiah’s Untouchable God
• Bama’s Vanmam-vendetta • P. Sivakami’s The Taming of Women.

5. CONCLUSION ........................................................................... 135

REFERENCES ............................................................................. 139

INDEX ...................................................................................... 151