A Valuable Intellectual Resource on Dalit Writing

No Alphabet in Sight is the first of

a two-volume collection of the

English translation of vernacular

dalit writings from south India. The present

volume comprises writings from Tamil

and Malayalam. The forthcoming volume

promises to present writings from Telugu

and Kannada.

The dalit upsurge in the post-Emergency

period is in a significant sense a reaction

to the rise and consolidation of the shudra

upper caste nouveau riche and their prime

position in the regional political regime

structures in India. A beneficiary of the

agrarian change brought about by the

green revolution, this class, in the process

of its consolidation, has displayed an

aggressive and even violent assertion in

the countryside.

 

Confidence and Assertion

 

This process has also seen an assertion on

the part of the lowest in the social hierarchy,

the dalits, especially the youth, due to their

access to the benefits of modernity like

education, exposure to urbanisation and

new ideas of freedom, equality and justice

informed by the Ambedkarite ideology

and social movements inspired by it.

This has made the rural milieu not only

vibrant with new energy but also increasingly

charged it with violent propensities

and conflicts informed by the contradictions

based on caste. What are popularly

called “atrocities on dalits” are symptomatic

of the conflictual processes of social

transformation in rural India.

 

The caste riots against the dalits in the

post-Emergency period, the most notorious

of which have caught national attention

like the Belchi, Karamchedu, etc, have led

to a sense of solidarity among the dalits

nationwide and ignited new thinking on

questions of nation, democracy, citizenship,

development, so on – catalysed and

informed by the resurgent Ambedkarism.

 

Despite this common concern and inspiration,

dalit politics and thinking has taken

different forms depending on the regional

historical specificities, social trajectories

and power structures. The present volume

seeks to capture the intellectual and political

spirit of this resurgence in its regional

manifestations, as embodied in the dalit

writings from the south Indian states of

Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The merit of this

volume lies in the selection of vernacular

dalit writings that represent the complexity

of articulation, attempt to capture intricacies

of negotiation with different specificities

and also display a new sense of confidence

and assertion

 

These writings deserve to be studied and

engaged with seriously for they attempt to

capture the complex engagement of the

most oppressed of India with the postindependent

trajectory of democracy and

development. Further, they articulate the

perspective that caste is a dynamic power

relation that structures the social relations

and state action in India. This view, needless

to say, goes contrary to the dominant

view that seeks to find a closure to the

caste question in and through development.

The volume presents a wide spectrum of

dalit writings that range from creative writings

to autobiography, historiographical writings,

political criticism, economic analyses

and interviews. In a significant sense, dalit

writing defies modern disciplinary categorisation

despite the fact that dalit intellectuals

are also influenced by the modern

division of knowledge into different disciplines.

It is due to the subversive character of

the dalit engagement that their intellectual production defies the compartmentalisation

of knowledge and restores agency to the

dalit project. This is clearly evident in the

writings of those who are active in the dalit

movement when compared to those who

are academically inclined. Dalit writing

cautions us that our life world is not fragmentary

but interrelated and interwoven

and needs to be intensely engaged with.

 

This volume also provides an opportunity

to study the sociology of dalit intellectual

formations which differ from that

of dominant caste intellectuals in the sense

that the former have a more organic link

with grass-roots social reality and political

mobilisations. That these writers have

published their writings in small magazines

brought out by themselves with

their own meagre resources could be seen

as a significant

aspect of the resistance to

mainstream vernacular publishing. This

is indicative of the fact that the dalit assertion

has been autonomous not only in

content but also in form. This dialectical

unity between the form and content of

the dalit movement mediated through

critical political practice is reflected in

the spirit of their writings.

 

Hierarchy or Difference

The fact that the caste system is dynamic

and transforming has been characterised

by some sociologists as marking a shift

from hierarchy to difference and plurality

(Sheth 1999). The editors of this volume

seem to be positively inclined to this view

(p 19). But the spirit and angst coming

through these writings point to a different

reality. The challenges to the ritual hierarchy

of purity and pollution by dalit and subaltern

caste movements have had a serious

impact on the character of hierarchy and

the density of the purity-pollution matrix.

But to call this a shift to difference appears

to be a clear misreading of the changing

nature of caste.

As caste adapts itself to postcolonial

modernity, the casteist purity-pollution

logic in fact assumes multiple avatars –

crude and subtle; harsh and sophisticated

(see, for instance the poem, Identity Card,

pp 454-55). Its reflection and articulation Hierarchy or Difference

The fact that the caste system is dynamic

and transforming has been characterised

by some sociologists as marking a shift

from hierarchy to difference and plurality

(Sheth 1999). The editors of this volume

seem to be positively inclined to this view

(p 19). But the spirit and angst coming

through these writings point to a different

reality. The challenges to the ritual hierarchy

of purity and pollution by dalit and subaltern

caste movements have had a serious

impact on the character of hierarchy and

the density of the purity-pollution matrix.

But to call this a shift to difference appears

to be a clear misreading of the changing

nature of caste.

As caste adapts itself to postcolonial

modernity, the casteist purity-pollution

logic in fact assumes multiple avatars –

crude and subtle; harsh and sophisticated

(see, for instance the poem, Identity Card,

pp 454-55). Its reflection and articulation Hierarchy or Difference

The fact that the caste system is dynamic

and transforming has been characterised

by some sociologists as marking a shift

from hierarchy to difference and plurality

(Sheth 1999). The editors of this volume

seem to be positively inclined to this view

(p 19). But the spirit and angst coming

through these writings point to a different

reality. The challenges to the ritual hierarchy

of purity and pollution by dalit and subaltern

caste movements have had a serious

impact on the character of hierarchy and

the density of the purity-pollution matrix.

But to call this a shift to difference appears

to be a clear misreading of the changing

nature of caste.

As caste adapts itself to postcolonial

modernity, the casteist purity-pollution

logic in fact assumes multiple avatars –

crude and subtle; harsh and sophisticated

(see, for instance the poem, Identity Card,

pp 454-55). Its reflection and articulation in the form of merit/efficiency, as evident

in the anti-reservation agitation, is an important one. If the continual prevalence

of untouchability in blatant forms in large

parts of rural India forms one aspect of

the reality, then caste discrimination in

subtle forms in the urban and modern

milieu (for instance, in higher educational

institutions; see p 16) is another – both in

fact are evidence of the persistence of

caste as a significant marker of social and

cultural life in 21st century India.

 

The chief reason for the above one-sided

understanding is the lack of appreciation of

the dialectics of hierarchy and difference that

characterise caste. The impact of western

categories of social transformation

is evident

here. In the west, pre-capitalist social hierarchy

was supported and strengthened

by a top-down model of domination and

authority. With the anti-feudal struggles and

development of capitalism, the traditional

notions of hierarchy were replaced by those

of equality and freedom. Contrarily, in the

context of India, because of the localised,

decentralised nature of caste structures,

hierarchies are built up and reproduced

at various levels. There is no centralised

authority to reinforce the caste hierarchy.

 

With the transition to feudalism, the

different occupational groups being coopted

into the mainstream varna social

organisation are assigned specific locations

in the hierarchy. Those who resisted integration,

like the adivasis, remained outside

the Hindu fold. In the process each caste

group, thus co-opted, has not only assimilated

the value of hierarchy but reproduced

it with itself as the focus or centre. In other

words, the occupational social differences

are retained through caste by replicating

multiple-centred caste hierarchies. This is

not done by force alone but also through

implicit consent and exclusion.

 

But all this undergoes a crisis with the

onset of modernity, possibility of mobility

and new principles of organising society

like equality, liberty and individual choice.

As these processes gain currency and ignite

the desires of the lower castes, there emerges

a challenge to the existing arrangements

based on caste. The dalit movement is an

expression of this.

In a broader frame, the dalit movement

and other lower caste assertions are

expressions and attempts at the resolution

of the new “contradiction” between equality

in politics and inequality in social and

economic life; the contradiction between

the principle of “one man, one vote, one

value” in politics and the denial of the

principle of “one man, one value” in social

and economic life. It is this contradiction

which puts “our political democracy in

peril” as B R Ambedkar eloquently warned

about in the Constituent Assembly.

Central to the dalit project is addressing

and resolving the contradiction between

the formal political equality and the substantive

inequality in the social and

economic spheres. What is unique about

Indian history is that these contradictions

continue to coexist without being decisively

resolved. It is because of this, we

find a mélange of social relations, segmented

and active, coexisting with all

their contradictory forms and spirit, without

being resolved and posing explosive

possibilities and potentialities. For this

reason, the project of caste annihilation poses to be a torturous, tardy, protracted

process. The writings in this volume

could be read as a documentation of the trajectory of the unfolding of the above

contradiction and the efforts at its resolution

and the resistance from the dominant

social interests.

 

Three Challenges

 

The first challenge to the dalit project is

internal to the community itself. It is the

subcaste division among the dalits that is

the logic of graded inequality being reproduced

among the dalits themselves. The

articulation of the internal unevenness in

the form of the demand for subcategorisation

of the dalits for reservation, as evident

in the Arundatiyar/Madiga movement

(p 18), has only led to the restriction of the debate on the dalit question and distracting

it from a larger focus and macro

perspective on political power and social

transformation. This has given enough

scope for the dominant caste groups and

political parties to exploit it for their

political and electoral gains. The failure

to address the internal differences and

perceived discrimination by confronting it

head on has discredited the dalit leadership

and paved the way for the consolidation of a narrow reservation centred perspective

and mobilisation.

The second important issue pertains to

the relationship between the caste question

and nationality aspirations. The nationality

articulations in south India have generally

led to the emergence of regional political

formations in contradistinction to the pan-

Indian Congress Party. The Dravidian movement

which was based on a social vision

that incorporated an anti-caste perspective

subsequently ended up in the consolidation

of the Dravidian parties dominated by

the shudra upper castes in Tamil country

and therefore perceived as anti-dalit by

the dalits as the atrocities on them with

the Dravidian parties in power clearly

demonstrate (Viswanathan 2005). Despite

the strenuous relationship between the

Dravidian parties and dalits, writers like

Tirumavalavan emphasise the organic

relationship between Tamil nationalism

and anti-caste/anti-Hindutva politics.

 

The third important issue that is central

to this volume is concerned with the dalit

experience with the history of postcolonial

India’s experiment with democracy and development. The developmental process

after independence informed by Nehru’s

vision of mega development through

what he called “Temples of Modern India”

has led to a massive and widespread displacement,

dislocation, dispossession and

loss of livelihood and habitat. The most

affected by this have obviously been

the adivasis, dalits and backward caste

peasants, artisanal and service caste

communities. The logic of destructive

development is continued in the context of

neo-liberal economic reforms at a greater

pace and with more serious consequences

for the subaltern communities. Some

essays in this volume capture this reality

(M Kunhaman).

Given the centrality of the land question

to the provincial power structure, land

struggles of the adivasis (under C K Janu

in Kerala) and dalits have assumed significance.

The inclusion of writings highlighting

this issue shows the sensitivity of

the editors to the importance of land to the adivasis, dalits and backward caste

peasants, artisanal and service caste

communities. The logic of destructive

development is continued in the context of

neo-liberal economic reforms at a greater

pace and with more serious consequences

for the subaltern communities. Some

essays in this volume capture this reality

(M Kunhaman).

Given the centrality of the land question

to the provincial power structure, land

struggles of the adivasis (under C K Janu

in Kerala) and dalits have assumed significance.

The inclusion of writings highlighting

this issue shows the sensitivity of

the editors to the importance of land to

the adivasi and dalit struggles for dignity

and self-respect and also for their rise to

positions of political power.

 

By highlighting the cultural richness and

creative vibrancy in the social life of the

dalit communities, this volume exposes the

shallowness of the dominant view that

considers dalits, almost exclusively, to be in a

perpetual state of victimhood, oppression

and subjugation and thereby treats them

as passive receptors of dominant culture. It

brings forth the dalit assertion of an active

subjectivity as a community capable of selfexpression,

self-reflection and self-representation.

The resources that inform and enrich

this process are drawn, apart from Buddhism

and Ambedkarism, from Iyothee Thass,

Ayyankali, Poikayil Yohannan to name few

dalit thinkers (Dharmaraj, Sanal Mohan).

The role of organisations like Sadhujana

Paripalana Sangham, Cheramar Mahajana

Sabha is also highlighted (Chentharassery).

 

The merit of this volume lies in making

accessible for a wider public the dalit

intellectual ability to interrogate and

problematise

the dominant discourses on

nationalism, citizenship, democracy, development,

religion – both Hinduism and

Christianity – modern state and civil society

institutions and the representation of the

dalits in them.

If the energy and richness of the dalit

intellectual churning that comes out through

the writings in this collection point to the

shaping of a new alphabet in full glare then

the last essay by T M Yesudasan defining the

contours of the dalit project – engaging with

dalit traditions, formulating perspectives

and methodologies and forms of knowledge

– attempts to provide fullness and vision

to the project.

 

This volume gives access to some valuable

dalit intellectual resources from

regional contexts which would be useful

to reflect upon the Indian experience

with modernity, democracy, development

and also with radical political and social

projects of transformation in the postindependence

period

 

References

Sheth, D L (1999): “Secularisation of Caste and Making

of New Middle Class”, Economic & Political Weekly,

21-28 August.

Viswanathan, S (2005): Dalits in Dravidian Land:

Frontline Reports on Anti-Dalit Violence in Tamilnadu

(1995-2004), Navayana, Pondicherry.