In the stratified societies like North India, whose basic institutional framework generates unequal social groups in structural relations of dominance and subordination, members of marginal communities have no arenas for deliberations among themselves about their needs, objectives and strategies. Against the backdrop of this social reality, Dalit emerged as a "dissenting subaltern discourse” against caste hegemony in the state of UP.
In the recent past, there is an evident rise of
assertion of Dalit identity that is challenging the centuries-old humiliation faced
by Dalits. There has emerged a strong urge among these marginalized groups throughout
the country to assert their identity and through their own cultural resources and
challenge the cultural hegemony of the upper castes. This is powerfully visible
in north India, especially in Uttar Pradesh (UP), lying in the Hindi heartland,
which has one of the largest land areas of the country and is also the most populated
state.
This assertion transformed into political gain
of dalits in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Realizing that caste is much more an emotional
issue than a religious one (Illiaiah 1994), the BSP, which was launched by Kanshi
Ram in UP in 1984, converted caste into an ideology and tried to capture power by
the recreation of the dissenting culture of the Dalits of this state. (Narayana:2006)
This strategy has helped in strengthening their socio cultural and political mobilization
and providing a popular base for their participation in the democratic and political
processes of the state and of the country. (ibid)
Dalits are deconstructing the Brahminical caste
hegemony by recreating the cultural symbols and icons of their community which were
neglected by the upper castes. They adopted a strategy of installing stautes and
adoring their leaders to instill a sense of pride in the community. Castes are now
proud of their identity regardless of where textual traditions place them on the
‘purity-pollution’ hierarchy. Ahirs, Gujars, Jats, Patidars, Ad-Dharmis and so on
have a strong sense of pride in their caste identity (Gupta 2004: xiii). These new
caste histories are being recreated and circulated by the intellectuals of the communities
to dismantle Brahmanical traditions. This helps them in acquiring a respectable
position in society. In this process the Dalits are recreating the notion of caste,
strengthening their own identities and acquiring dignity.
On the one hand, caste was used as a tool of power
to hegemonies Dalit population, while on the other, the marginal community used
caste to subvert the dominant discourse of upper caste. Alternative histories and
literature are being created to deconstruct the hegemonic discourse of the upper
castes, where they simultaneously struggle, resist and subvert the mainstream discourse
of the world.
With such writings, these communities have started
to express their experiences of pain and humiliation in the past as well as present.
The recent trend of some ‘untouchable’ writers and thinkers to have their works
published, has brought a unique opportunity to represent and symbolize the experience
of oppression and to initiate a struggle to create new social identities and ideological
bases for action. Such endeavors and opportunities contribute, to some extent, to
create a corpus of counter- literature and cultural consciousness among the educated
lower castes in North India. (Narayan:2006). Thus, these writings play a quintessential
role in awakening the Dalits to social justice and sharpening their political consciousness
for constructing effective political discourses and for mobilizing themselves for
active participation in the democratic process of the country and also for enriching
the existing Dalit public sphere (ibid).
In a nutshell, dalits are trying to surpass their
peripheral existence or subaltern identity. They have emerged as counter publics
in response to exclusion by the dominant publics i.e., upper caste. They have countered
the dominant discourses of society, mostly controlled by the dominant publics/ upper
castes. These dominant publics circulate their dominant discourses in society through
literature, art and culture. The literary expressions and voices of the excluded
communities are seldom, if ever, included. However, as the excluded communities
become more and more aware of their marginalization and protest against it, they
create their own public spheres, which may be given the name subaltern counter publics.
(Fraser: 1993) They create a parallel discursive arena where members of subordinated
social groups invent and circulate counter discourses to formulate oppositional
interpretation of their identities, interests and needs. In general, the proliferation
of subaltern counter-publics means a widening of discursive contestation (ibid)
which has emerged as a distinctive feature of dissenting caste discourse in India.
These counter publics are rays of hope to deconstruct caste but the need of the
hour is the inclusion of women in the process. This counter public will be emancipatory
only when it will include women voices in it.
