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  2. Vol 1 Issue 2, 2019
  3. THE BARRIERS SHE HAD TO CROSS: THE STRUGGLE OF A DALIT WOMAN THROUGH HEGEMONY AS IN BAMA’S KARUKKU
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Dr Justin James

THE BARRIERS SHE HAD TO CROSS: THE STRUGGLE OF A DALIT WOMAN THROUGH HEGEMONY AS IN BAMA’S KARUKKU

Dalit literature came into existence comparatively recently, but it has carved its indisputable place in Indian literature in particular and world literature in general with its unique identity as one of the compelling genres of literature. It is the outcome of growing Dalit consciousness. It is a part of the fourth world literature, which brings to light the marginal position of the so-called ‘lower caste’ society. The emergence and growth of the fourth world literature are about the economic, social, political, and cultural scenario of the marginalized. Dalit literature chants not only of the sufferings and agonies of Dalits but also of how they have made their way through the antagonism that surrounds and suppresses them. There are not many Dalit writers and among them a very few are women writers. Dalit women's autobiographies are a rare phenomenon, especially in Tamil. Bama’s Karukku is one such exceptional creation, and it is translated into English by Lakshmi Holmstrom. Though it talks about the life of its author, it can be taken as the biography of the Dalit community as a whole; it is the voice of Dalit consciousness. This article analyses Karukku from social and gender perspectives. To understand the plight of the Dalits, the chapter employs the theories of two great Indian personae who waged war against the caste system and patriarchyB.R. Ambedkar and E.V. R. Periyar. The application of Western feminist and subaltern theories is consciously and deliberately avoided in this study, as there is always a question lurking in my mind as to whether the Occidental minds can voice out the agony of the Oriental Dalits.