CHAPTER IV PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN IN OUTCAST
4.1 Preliminaries
The present chapter is mainly devoted to the analysis of the memoir Outcaste written by Dr. Narendra Jadhav with regard to the portrayal of women. He has plainly written about his Dalit family and their experiences of untouchability and exploitation of the entire community. The chapter delineates the theme of untouchability and the sufferings of the women characters in detail. It, in the beginning, presents the biographical information about the author. One has to understand how the writer was made before understanding his writing and philosophy of life. The author’s contribution to the field of literature is immensely important. Dr. Narendra Jadhav’s academic as well as social journey helps us to understand his literary masterpiece Outcaste. It is the fact one cannot deny that the present writer has written about his father who is the protagonist of the memoir. In other words, the writer pays his tribute to his father who is instrumental in bringing the desired social status and economic prosperity. After the death of his father in 1989, the writer reconstructed his bluntly written diaries and added to them from oral recollections of his mother, brothers, sisters, sister-in law and other relatives. Inspired by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar who touched the lives of the millions of Dalits, the present writer gives the emotive and courageous account of his father to whom he lovingly calls Dada. It is important now to look into the writer’s developmental stages.
2.2 Making of Narendra Jadhav
Narendra Jadhav was born in 1953 in Mumbai. From the chawls of Mumbai, this “Untouchable” economist and writer rose to a high position. Narendra Jadhav, who belongs to the Mahar caste, talked to Reader’s Digest about his
100 family, himself, and what it means to be an “Untouchable”. The following interview is worth mentioning:
RD: How would you define success?
Narendra Jadhav: Achieving your potential. No one is useless; everyone has some innate strengths. Success is recognizing those strengths and achieving your best in those areas. You know the Hans Christian Andersen story of the ugly duckling? Unfortunately, in our hierarchical society there are millions of swans who, because they don’t get a chance, believe they are ugly ducklings and waste their lives.
RD: Do you think you have achieved your potential?
NJ: I am on my way! Survival of the fittest was the rule in the slums where I grew up. I was a pretty good fighter, so I wanted to be a dada — a gangster! After I grew up a bit, I wanted to be a peon. All our family friends, and, of course, my father — who worked for the Port Trust — were Class IV employees. So, I thought that’s what we were meant to be.
Neither of Jadhav’s parents went to school (his father taught himself to read basic Marathi), but they were determined to educate their children, and sent them to Chhabildas Boys’ High, a Marathi-medium school.
RD: What were you like at school?
NJ: A topper who never opened his mouth in class. I used to sit in a corner like a scared rat. I studied Sanskrit because this was denied to all my forefathers. The ambition of everyone who studied Sanskrit was to get the Jagannath Shankarshet scholarship, awarded to the one who topped the Sanskrit board exam. When the results were declared I got 93% — the highest in my school,
101 but a girl in some other school got 94, so I narrowly missed the scholarship. But everyone in my school was thrilled. And when my Sanskrit teacher was told that someone in his class had done so well, he asked who it was — Bhave? Bapat? Phadke? Gokhale?
RD: He named only Brahmin boys?
NJ: Not just the Brahmins, but the Ekaranth Brahmins, the cream of the cream. And when he was told it was Jadhav, he couldn’t put a face to the name! He sent word for me, but I didn’t go because I was convinced he would scold me for outscoring all his high-caste students! I know now he wouldn’t have done anything of the sort — he was a good teacher, he never discriminated — but that was the mindset you develop when you grow up in the kind of setting I did.
All Narendra’s siblings — he’s the youngest — did well. His eldest brother, Janardhan, joined the IAS. Of his two other brothers, Sudhakar worked for Gulf Air in Dubai, and Dinesh retired as Mumbai’s deputy municipal commissioner. Both of Narendra’s sisters have bachelor’s degrees; one married a judicial magistrate, the other a sericulture expert.
RD: So, you all became middle class?
NJ: In fact, we brothers are all upper middle class.
RD: What was your father like?
NJ: Very intelligent, very determined. A tough cookie. We were all very scared of him. If he’d had the opportunities Janardhan and I had, he could have easily done better than us. Once, when I told Janardhan I wanted to be a writer, he said I’d starve. Later, my father said to me, “Look, people will tell you: Become an engineer, or a barrister, or a doctor. Don’t listen to them. I won’t
102 tell you what to do either. But whatever you do, be the best. If you become a thief, the world should say, ‘He’s some thief!’”
Unlike my father, my mother was a very simple person. She once asked what use my PhD was if I still had to work so hard! Father told her, getting a PhD is like getting a driving license. It is not the end of your driving, it is the beginning. I cannot think of a better analogy for a PhD.
As a young man, Narendra’s father, Damodar, attended a meeting addressed by B. R. Ambedkar and fell under his spell. He thrilled to Ambedkar’s call to his fellow Harijans to “Educate, unite and agitate” and felt that his oppressed community had finally found its saviour. From then on, for Damodar, as for millions of other Mahars, no other leader mattered.
RD: Why did people like your father follow Ambedkar rather than Gandhiji? Because Ambedkar was a Dalit?
NJ: Partly. But people like Father believed that Gandhiji was extremely patronizing towards Harijans. In fact, Father hated that word [which Gandhiji coined]. “If Harijans are the people of God,” my father used to say, “who are the other people? The devil’s?”
RD: So Dalit is the preferred word?
NJ: Dalit has become a generic word for the downtrodden. But some people still call us Harijans, not realizing how much we hate that term. RD: To identify with the poor, Gandhiji wore a dhoti and chappals. Ambedkar, on the other hand, always wore a suit. Didn’t this well-to-do, Westernized image alienate Dalits?
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NJ: No, on the contrary, Ambedkar was saying, “This is what I have accomplished.” He exhorted Dalits to get educated and occupy prominent positions. Because they’d been looked down on for so long, they had developed a huge inferiority complex. The caste system was history’s biggest and most brilliantly administered scam.
RD: Didn’t Ambedkar and Gandhiji have a complex relationship? NJ: They fought acrimoniously, but also respected each other. When Nehru drew up his first cabinet and went to Gandhiji to get his approval, Gandhiji asked him, “Is Ambedkar there?” When Nehru said “No,” Gandhiji gave the list back to Nehru without even opening it, and Nehru had to add Ambedkar’s name.
Dr Ambedkar announced in 1936 that although he was born a Hindu, he was not going to die as one. For 20 years, he pondered over the alternatives to change his Hindu religion and finally settled on Buddhism because it was an Indian religion unlike Islam or Christianity and because it was democratic in spirit. On October 14, 1956, wearing a white silk dhoti and a white coat, he converted to Buddhism, along with around 500,000 of his followers. Damodar Jadhav and his wife, Sonu, were among them.
RD: In your book, Outcaste, you say your father kept a picture of Saraswati in the house. What kind of Buddhism did your family practise? NJ: Father followed Ambedkar blindly. He felt that if Ambedkar thought something was right for Dalits, they should do it. And my father was not using Saraswati in the religious sense but as a symbol of wisdom and the pursuit of knowledge. He was encouraging us to study.
My mother, though, like most Mahar women, had a tough time converting. Ambedkar had said that idols of all the Hindu gods should be respectfully taken
104 to the nearest river or sea and submerged. But my mother hid her idols — the only time she defied her husband.
Ambedkar died just 50 days after his conversion. So although he led us to Buddhism, he didn’t tell us how to practise it. As a result, there is a lack of proper structure in the day-to-day practice of the religion.
RD: Do you consider yourself a Buddhist?
NJ: By law I am a Buddhist. How much do I follow Buddhism? I think Buddhism is a religion of good behaviour and even if I were not a Buddhist I would have followed the broader notions of Buddhism. In what ways do I practise Buddhism? When I married a so-called high caste Hindu, I insisted — despite a lot of opposition — that the marriage must take place according to Buddhist rites. I can recite the Buddham Sharanam Gacchami [the basic prayer] and at home, we hold prayers on special occasions. But I must confess that I like many Hindu gods. As symbols, they are fantastic. I love Ganesh.
RD: Have you or your family members benefited from reservations? NJ: When my brother got into the IAS, reservations did play a role. I got tuition fee waivers in school and college. I don’t think reservations had anything to do with my selection as a national scholar [which enabled him to study for his PhD in the US].
RD: What about your joining RBI?
NJ: Absolutely not. I was a university topper. But if a scheduled caste candidate does better than all the general candidates, when he gets the job people say he got a reserved place.
RD: Isn’t it better to struggle and achieve positions strictly on merit? Reservations also encourage people to falsify their caste. And many upper caste
105 people believe that any Dalit who occupies a senior position has got it only because of reservations and that he’s actually incompetent and corrupt.
NJ: Bullshit! For many people, there is no such thing as a competent Dalit. That’s a contradiction in terms. Do you know Gandhiji himself believed that Ambedkar was a Brahmin [until they actually met]? It’s a very sad commentary on how the mindset is affected by the caste system.
Anyway, the Indian system has never ever been based on meritocracy. There is this very strange argument that by giving reservations you are going to dilute the quality of research and development or the quality of medical education. Not true. It’s our inability to be fair which calls for reservations. In fact, it’s the caste system that is the cause of India’s economic decline in the last 2000 years. When only a handful of people are allowed to realize their potential and the majority is even denied the basic opportunity of education how can a society sustain growth?
When Dr Narendra Jadhav returned to India after getting his PhD, his father asked him how his economics research would help the common man. Jadhav was taken aback by the question. Later, his father pointed out that Ambedkar, after returning to India with his foreign degrees, had chosen to unite Dalits and launch a social revolution. He advised Narendra to enter politics and serve the people.
RD: Are you going to take your father’s advice to heart? And will you enter politics?
NJ: One important implication of what my father was saying has already been implemented. I had 15 job offers in the US after my PhD, but five days later I came back home. I also chose to be in government service even though I could have easily been in the private sector making a lot more money. As for politics,
106 that’s a different ball game altogether. I think I’m extremely suited for politics, but I will not be able to take the plunge until I have sufficient financial security for my family — both my children are studying in America. But it can happen.
The above interview makes it clear that the author wants to be identified on the basis of his merits and not on the basis of his caste.
Dr Jadhav has several academic honours and professional distinctions to his credit. He was the member of the Planning Commission in India during Congress government. He was the Head of economic research of the Reserve Bank of India some years ago. He has also served as an international civil servant during his various assignments abroad, including a four-year term as the Adviser to the Executive Director (India) at the IMF.
Dr Jadhav graduated himself in Economics at the Mumbai University. He went to Indiana University, USA, from where he earned his doctorate degree. He won the Best International Student Award and the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Economic Theory at the Indiana University. His books, Monetary Economics for India (1994) and Challenge to Indian Banking: Competition, Globalization and Financial Markets (1996), have been popular readings on the subject. He was awarded the Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad (Literary Academy) Award for his book Dr Ambedkar: Economic Thoughts & Philosophy (1992). Dr Jadhav’s Marathi book Amcha Baap Aani Amhi (1993) became an instant bestseller. The present book in English is its expanded version that was first published in French as Intouchable by Fayard (2002), is also being published in several other European languages.
Dr. Narendra Jadhav, is a great visionary educationist, distinguished economist and an excellent policy maker. He is also a well-known social thinker who
107 always thinks of the ground realities. The earlier Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh called Dr. Jadhav, “a role-model for the disempowered millions in our country.”
Dr. Narendra Jadhav held a key position as a Member of the Planning Commission (in the rank and status of Union Minister of State). He took over this responsibility on June 16, 2009 and was sworn in by the Prime Minister on July 27, 2009. Planning Commission is India’s apex policy-oriented Think Tank chaired by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh with Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia as the Deputy Chairman. As Member of the Planning Commission, Dr. Jadhav shouldered certain responsibilities that included Education, Labour-Employment-Skill Development, Sports & Youth Affairs, and Social Justice and Empowerment. In addition, Dr. Jadhav looked after the States of Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and Goa, besides the Union Territories of Diu- Daman and Dadra-Nagar Haveli during those days.
Dr. Narendra Jadhav had also been appointed as a Member, National Advisory Council (NAC), chaired by Smt. Sonia Gandhi, with effect from May 31, 2010 till his tenure lasted.
Education:
B.Sc. in Statistics (Bombay University, 1973)
M.A. in Economics (Bombay University, 1975)
Ph.D. in Economics (Indiana University, USA, 1986)
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Educationist
Dr. Narenra Jadhav served as a Vice Chancellor (from August 24, 2006 to June 15, 2009) of Savitribai Phule Pune University which is one of the largest university in the world with 6,50,000 students. In a period of less than three years, under his leadership, he brought about a metamorphic transformation in the university departments and affiliated colleges under the jurisdiction of the University. He was instrumental in making the university dynamic, vibrant, socially conscious and indeed, a Model State University. The university is now catering college and university education to 45 per cent of foreign students coming to India.
Economist
Dr. Narendra Jadhav served the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for 31 years, taking voluntary retirement in October 2008, from the position of Principal Adviser and Chief Economist (in the rank of Executive Director). In the RBI, steered a team of 120 career economists and played a significant role in macroeconomic policy-making in India especially after the macroeconomic crisis in 1991.
He worked for four and half years at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), first as Adviser to Executive Director for India and briefly as a Consultant to the Independent Evaluation office of the IMF. He also worked as Chief Economic Counselor for Afghanistan (2006) and earlier as an Advisor to the Government of Ethiopia (1988).
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In 2008, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra appointed him as the Chairman of a One Man High Powered Committee in the context of ‘Farmers’ Suicides’. Dr. Jadhav Committee Report had been accepted by the previous Government.
Social Scientist and Author
Dr. Narendra Jadhav is a social scientist as well as a prolific writer. He has been a recipient of as many as 33 national and international awards for his contribution to the fields of economics, education, literature, culture and social work. As an eminent public figure he has featured in Time, International Herald Tribune, and (on the cover page of) Readers’ Digest. He has participated in discussions on almost all leading national and international TV channels. In addition to social work, he has published more than 100 research papers 14 books on economic and social issues including four in Marathi to his credit. In addition, Dr. Jadhav has authored around 30 major official reports, over 100 research papers/articles besides serving as a number of different committees. He has also delivered a series of Memorial Lectures/Key Note Addresses in national and international conferences and symposia.
Dr. Manmohan Singh highly spoke about the author of the memoir Outcaste in the following words:
“Like the life of Dr B. R. Ambedkar, or indeed the life of our beloved former President, the Late Dr. K. R. Narayanan, the life story of Dr Jadhav is also a story of change, of great courage, of progress, of hope. …I urge all political leaders and social reformers to read both the autobiography of Dr Jadhav and his treatise on ‘Re-Emerging India’. We must draw the correct lessons from both. Narendra’s autobiography must shape our social and political vision. It must shape our educational
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policy. His book on the Indian economy must shape our thinking on economic policy.”
Extracts from the Speech by the Honourable Ex Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh (http://pmindia.nic.in/lspeech.asp?id=227)
Through single-minded dedication, Dr. Jadhav excelled using his own intelligence, perseverance, leadership qualities, unconventional thinking and communication skills. From a modest start as a Dalit (former ‘Untouchable’) boy reared in the Mumbai slums and earned name in the financial, academic and literary circles at the national as well as international levels.
Dr. Jadhav assumed the office of the Vice Chancellor of Savitribai Phule Pune University in August 2006. He wanted to achieve two major objectives: one, to place the University of Pune on the global map as the Center of Excellence, and second, to bring the University out of its splendid isolation and make it directly responsive to the ever-changing societal needs. Accordingly, Dr. Jadhav took several far-reaching initiatives aimed at improving the access e.g., through Education Guarantee Scheme for the underprivileged youth and quality of higher education, and promoting the research environment.
Dr. Jadhav followed a dynamic marketing strategy to place the University on the Global Map. During his period, there were more than 14,000 foreign students from 102 countries studying at the University of Pune. A full-fledged Campus of the University was set up in United Arab Emirates (UAE), which became functional in 2009. Vice-Chancellor Dr. Jadhav visited Austria, China, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, South Africa, Sweden, UAE and USA during the two-year period. Several collaborative arrangements with the globally reputed educational institutions had been established and effort was made to widen their geographical spread and functional scope. University of
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Pune has now emerged as the most favoured destination for foreign students coming to India. More than 40 per cent of the foreign students come to this reputed university every year for higher education and research.
Social Initiatives
As the Vice-Chancellor of the Savitribai Phule Pune University, Dr. Narendra Jadhav had launched an ambitious movement, named, ‘Samarth Bharat Abhiyan’- an all-inclusive rural development programme for directing the youth power towards constructive social commitment in the rural area. Under the Abhiyan, all colleges had adopted one village each in their vicinity for all- round socio-economic development. In all, around 500 villages had been adopted. A 15 Point Program had been drawn which covered, tree plantation, watershed management, sanitation facilities, communal harmony and the like. This movement involved more than half a million students and teachers, and senior citizen volunteers who had been working throughout the year in the chosen village with the locals and the government machinery, seeking help from NGOs active in the relevant field, and endeavored to bring about a complete transformation. The results so far were most encouraging (e.g. more than 7, 00,000 saplings planted and 190 villages made Nirmal Grams). Dr. Jadhav had also initiated a unique and innovative Soft–Skills Program for personality development of the students. Students from rural areas, socially disadvantaged groups and economically poor strata of the society were chosen for an intensive fifteen-days training programme wherein outside experts had been invited to impart training in Conversational English, Techniques of Interview and Group Discussion and Overall Personality Development. Nearly two hundred colleges set up Personality Development Centers and conducted the programme successfully.
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Academician and Best Selling Author
Dr. Narenda Jadhav is not only an academician but he is also a great author with a sense of social commitment and justice. His biographical book Outcatse written in both Marathi and English has been a runaway best seller. It has been translated into 17 languages. 4, 00,000 copies have been sold out so far. The book received the prestigious Sahitya Academy Award for its Punjabi Version. Recently his latest contributions are two books in Marathi on Ravindranath Tagore – one is an anthology of Gurudev’s poems translated into Marathi and the other one (being released) is on Gurudev’s life and times.
He has been associated with several social organizations including the coveted Marathi Vishwakosh Nirmiti Mandal (Encyclopedia Committee), Government of Maharashtra and Kusumagraja Pratishthan. He has anchored and participated in several discussions on All India Radio, Radio France, National Public Radio (USA), Doordarshan, NDTV, BBC (UK) and ABC (USA) and CCTV (China).
He toured the US extensively in 2005 on the release of the book Untouchable. He delivered 40 speeches in 12 days at places including the New School University, Yale University, Cornell University, University of Washington, University of California at Berkley and Santa Cruz and Stanford University where the audience included leading literary figures, social activists, university professors and students. He also participated in autograph-signing sessions at major locations and bookstores and appeared on the National Public Radio (NPR) and various television channels.
4.3 Thematic Analysis of Outcaste
Outcaste is written in the form of a Memoir. It is a multilayered personalized saga of the social metamorphosis of Dalits in India. It is a tender tribute from a
113 son to his father. It also makes the intelligent assessment of the caste system in India and traces the story of the awakening of Dalits traversing three generations. In fact, it is reflection of the aspiration of millions of Dalits in India. The memoir of Dr. Narendra Jadhav is a milestone in the trajectory of Dalit literature as it unfolds catastrophic experiences of the writer’s father and mother.
Written in the first person, Outcaste traces the remarkable journey of Damu from Ozar a small village in Maharashtra to the city of Mumbai to escape persecution. It is written from the perspective of Narendra Jadhav’s parents, Damu and Sonu, and the writer himself. Although illiterate and despite the low status accorded to the Mahar caste, Damu earns respect at various places in this big city where he undertakes odd jobs. Damu aspires in life to become a respectable person but circumstances force him to live in humiliation and degradation. However, it is heartening to read that his sons who rose to high positions and made bright careers in their lives fulfill Damu’s aspirations. Damu’s refusal to cave into any type of injustice and his iron determination to oppose untouchability make him the hero of the memoir Outcaste.
Nevertheless, Outcaste is much more than a personal recounting of the negative aspect of the caste divide in India. It also examines Dalit issues in the context of the Dalits’ awakening spearheaded by the champion of human rights, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, the Independence movement, the Civil Disobedience Movement, Gandhiji’s relation with Ambedkar, the mass conversion of Dalits to Buddhism in 1956, and caste in its contemporary reality. A crucial landmark is Damu’s own transformation under the spell of Dr. Ambedkar. The radical change in Damu, his family, and their self-esteem are impeccably woven into the narrative.
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What makes the memoir more interesting and thought provoking are personal anecdotes, some funny, some sad and some heart-warming episodes in the lives of Damu, his wife Sonu and other members of the family of the narrator. Heartrending and straightforward, Outcaste makes a captivating reading. The memoir ends with a note of self-realization that in modern India dignity resides in the hearts of people, and that obsolete caste discrimination does not in reality matter. One observes that the present memoir more appealing is the fact that the men and women presented in it are vigilant and aware of their social uplift. The Dalit women depicted in it are capable to rise above the caste and establish their identity.
Outcaste is a stunning piece of writing that compels us to recognize the callousness and inequality of a social order that treats humans worse than animals. Bringing the threads together the story covers three generations, with many characters intricately depicted. Then, it adds just the accurate touch of social problems and one gets a convincing amalgamation of the events that took place in the lives of the narrators.
Outcaste is a poignant first-person narrative written from the perspective of Damu and Sonu, Narendra Jadhav’s parents, and at times, from his own. It is a gripping tale of the gradual change of Damu from an ostracized Mahar, cringing with his sense of inadequacy, to a fighter with a sense of purpose in Dr Ambedkar’s movement for the uplift of Dalits. It is an expanded version of Narendra Jadhav’s best-selling Marathi novel Amcha Baap Aan Amhi, written in 1993. The writer depicts the plight of his family members who include his father, mother and brothers. The writer unfolds the struggle of his father to earn bread and chutney. Damu comes to Mumbai to escape the tyranny of the upper castes in his native village Ozar in Nashik district. His struggle for survival and his transformation under the guidance of Dr. Ambedkar, from servility to
115 awakened self-consciousness, is the main theme of this book. It is also a personal account of the Dalit movement spearheaded by Dr Ambedkar during pre-Independence India, until the 1950s. Damu’s life is seen in the backdrop of events such as Independence, the Civil Disobedience Movement, and the mass conversion of Dalits to Buddhism in 1956.
Damu was not born a leader, nor did he ever become one. Nevertheless, he had one exception—he chose to rebel against the prevailing caste system and create his own destiny. An intelligent man, with no formal education, he worked hard to be allowed to live with dignity. The author declares:
"The caste system is so deeply ingrained that change can, at best, be cosmetic. The caste system was disposed by God and not by mortals. It has such a powerful sanction behind it that no laws, no reform movements, and no revolutions will ever change it completely."
It is obvious from the above comment that change will come gradually. In the old days, the caste system was extremely rigid. Now, we see the change in the nature of caste system. Through Damu’s character, the writer conveys the change. Damu wants a change in his as well as in his family’s life. Being an untouchable, he is destined to undergo sufferings in his life. For instance, the caste Hindus abuse him refusing to take out a decomposed body from a well in the village. His "forefathers were untouchables who were required to wear clay pots around their necks to keep their spit from polluting the ground, and brooms were tied to their rumps to obliterate their footprints as they walked." He is denied entry to temples for fear of the gods being polluted. However, later in life, his son (as a high-ranking government official) is treated like a VIP, in the same temple. The account of how the priests compete with each other for the privilege of performing puja for him would have been amusing if it were not so sad. Damu’s granddaughter feels that she is "just Apurva,"
116 without the tag ‘Dalit’ attached to her. It is important to note that the young generation in Dalit families refuses to be termed as ‘Dalits’. It means that they want to change the nomenclature which their forefathers bore. They want to have a different identity unlike their ancestors.
The motto "Educate, Unite and Agitate" runs throughout the narrative. Damu sees this slogan as his mission and, though illiterate himself, he educates his children to the best of his abilities. He even tries to educate his wife Sonu, something that was unheard of in those times. Fortunately, the children fulfill his aspirations and rise to high positions in their chosen careers, a great triumph for a man who has devoted his life to bettering their prospects.
Babasaheb Ambedkar’s teachings have a profound effect on Damu and Sonu and they realize that they are beginning to develop a sense of self-respect. "We sensed a change in the way we carried ourselves. We proudly proclaimed ourselves Dalits, with our chins up, and we looked everyone in the eye."
The simplicity of the narrative brings out the pathos in the story. The tenderness with which Damu treats his wife is unusual for the times and extremely touching. Asked about the qualities she liked most in her husband, Sonu makes a telling comment on the poor expectations of women in her generation—"He never drank, never abused me. Best of all, he never raised his hand to me." Here, Sonu seems to be a representative of modern Dalit woman who expects her husband to treat her with equality and dignity.
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The present memoir ends with the realization that further change is required. The world has to stop treating Dalits as different. It is up to the present generation to carry the torch lit by the tears and blood of their ancestors. The younger generation does not like to lead the life of misery and injustice.
The memoir Outcaste is an adaptation by Narendra Jadhav, from his own Marathi best-seller Amcha Bap Aan Amhi (Our Father and Us). At one level, it is a tribute from a son to his father; while on the other hand, it is the story of three generations of a Dalit family. The author wanted to reach the world-wide readres. Therefore, he himself translated the Marathi memoir into English for universalizing the sufferings of the community to which he belongs.
The story begins in the 1930s when the Dalits were addressed in the name of caste. Damu, the protagonist of the story, is continuously addressed as “Mahar” in his ancestral village in Western Maharashtra where caste determined one’s destiny. Greatly influenced by Dr. Ambedkar’s teachings, Damu stands against the caste system. It is to be noted here that the male members of the Dalit community become aware of their rights first.
The book traces the bizarre trajectory of Damu from a small village at Ozar in Maharashtra to the city of Mumbai to escape caste discrimination. In the city, he earns respect while doing various jobs, despite being a low-caste and an illiterate. His uncompromising spirit inspires his wife who realizes that their emancipation is possible only through the pursuit of academic excellence. Damu’s wife becomes a supporter of education for her children. Here, one notices the awareness of Dalit women to bring about developmental changes in their children.
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Outcaste is also the story of Sonabai, the author’s mother. Her innocence as a pre-pubescent bride and horrified reluctance to give up her old and trusted gods for the unknown Buddha are instances of an ordinary Dalit woman’s experiences. In the present memoir, Sonu’s story alternates with that of Damu’s. At the other end of Damu's story, is his sixteen year-old granddaughter's epilogue. Born in Bloomington, Indiana, she writes with confidence, "Now I think I know who I am. I am just Apoorva, not tied down by race, religion or caste." But her father, Dr. Jadhav is not so sure. At one point he asks, "Will I ever be able to free myself from the bondage of caste?" here, one notices that Sonabai stands as a representative of the Dalit women whereas Apurva symbolizes a modern woman with dignity and self-esteem.
One can find Ambedkar’s clarion call for the Dalits to “Educate, Unite and Agitate” as a recurrent theme in the book. Outcaste is the first book to portray Ambedkar as a character in its story. There is also a long note at the end of the book on untouchability, the caste system and Dr. Ambedkar. Dr. Jadhav has wisely retained many Marathi words in the text, thus retaining the essence of the story intact. Personal anecdotes keep the book lively and easily readable. The memoir ends with a note of self-realization that in modern India dignity rests in the minds and hearts of people, and that outdated prejudices do not really matter.
In the 1960s, when author Narendra Jadhav's father Damu retired from his job with Indian Railway, the old man had trouble adjusting to life without schedules to meet and work to do. The "virtually illiterate" pensioner turned his hand to repairing all the gadgets in the Jadhav house - even those that were, until he got hold of them, in perfect working order.
It was only to keep his father from becoming a nuisance that Narendra, his youngest son, pushed him to write his memoirs. That the old man persevered,
119 wrestling with language, testifies to the unforgettable character he was: stubborn, perhaps irrationally confident, and, above all, unwilling to accept his supposed limitations.
More than twenty years later, recollection of the incidents by the author’s father became the framework for writing the memoir Outcaste. It is a great tribute by the son to the father who inspired not only his children but who also boosted the confidence of the young people in his community. Inspired by the father’s advice, the son Narendra Jadhav with his scholarship and merit rose to the higher positions such as an executive director (India) at the International Monetary Fund. He also occupied a post of head of economic research at the Reserve bank of India. This memoir is a remarkable story of a successful Dalit family. What makes the memoir worth appreciation is its stark ground realities that establish authenticity of the characters portrayed in it.
Unlike the autobiographies of the elite writers, the present memoir is extraordinary and has a wider appeal. Outcaste is a family narrative that unveils life history of three generations of untouchables.
Written in a simple, artless style, Outcaste traces the journey of Damu, the author's father, from a small village in Nashik district to a big city such as Mumbai. In the city, he uplifts himself and his family, overcoming impediments, with an amazing force of will. The movement of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar inspired Damu. The Dalit leader struggled against caste discrimination and untouchability during India's war for independence and eventually became the chief architect of the new country's constitution. Damu, therefore, wanted his children to educate and become self-reliant. Damu’s dream was visualized because his eldest son became a district collector with the
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Indian Administrative Service. His youngest son, Narendra, with a PhD in Economics from Indiana University, became an adviser to the executive director (India) at the International Monetary Fund and, later, head of economic research at the Reserve Bank of India - and, of course, an author and the member of the Planning Commission.
The present memoir is a multifaceted personalized account of the social transformation of Dalits in India. At one level, it is a loving tribute from a son to his father. At another, it gives an intelligent appraisal of the caste system in India and traces the story of the awakening of Dalits traversing three generations. At still another level, it is reflective of the aspirations of millions of Dalits in India.
The present memoir is written from the perspective of Narendra Jadhav’s father and mother. The central characters are Damu and Sonu. The migration from a small village in a Nashik district of Maharashtra to a big city i.e. Mumbai is symbolic of Dr. Ambedkar’s advice to the Dalits. The social reformer wanted the Dalits to migrate to the cities so that they can conceal their caste there and live with dignity. It is described in the memoir that in the village named Ozar the practice of untouchability was rampant those days. The village caste Hindus ill treated the Dalits. Damu, after shifting his family to Mumbai, earned respect by virtue of his helping nature. Here, one notices a remarkable quality of Damu, the protagonist of the present memoir. He stands against injustice. His strong determination to bring metamorphosis in his family is praiseworthy. Socially aware, Damu instills courage and self-respect in his coworkers in the factory where he works. It shows that Damu’s life story becomes a social document with its minute details.
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A crucial landmark is Damu’s own transformation under the spell of Ambedkar. The radical change in Damu, his family, and their self-esteem are seamlessly woven into the narrative. Nevertheless, Outcaste is much more than a personal account of Damu’s family life. It also examines Dalit issues in the context of the Dalits’ awakening spearheaded by the champion of human rights, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar.
Outcaste makes for fascinating reading. The readers of this book get a complete overview of the existing caste system in India, which becomes a hindrance for the untouchables to grow and create spaces for themselves as respectable members of the society. Thus, the struggle depicted in the book is realistic and makes the readers ponder over the problem of caste system in India. Enlivening aspects of the text are personal anecdotes, some funny, some sad and some heart-warming. Moreover, running like a refrain throughout is the clarion call of Ambedkar, ‘Educate, Unite and Agitate’.
The memoir ends with a note of self-realization: that in modern India dignity rests in the minds and hearts of people, and that obsolete prejudices do not really matter.
4.5 Portrayal of Women in Outcaste Outcatse is one of the outstanding pieces of literature in which we come across women characters who are made the victims of the male-dominated and caste- ridden Hindu society. Sonu, Damu’s wife has to undergo suffering due to her being feminine and an untouchable. Sonu’s journey is juxtaposed with Damu’s journey. Her fate is in the hands of her husband.
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4.5.1 Sonu
In the beginning of the book, the nature of Sonu is revealed. She seems to be a very compassionate woman who cares for her husband. She did not sleep the whole night when Damu, her husband did not come for dinner that night because he was assigned the duty by the police officer in the rank of Fauzdar to guard the floating corpse of a loose woman in the village whose husband died of tuberculosis three years ago. It was Namya, one of Damu’s cousins who went to the edge of the well to give him bhakris sent by Sonu in a small basket. It was the duty of the Mahars to guard the dead belonging to the high caste. When Damu refused to draw the body of a high caste woman from the well in front of the village folk fearing that it would be a sacrilege to touch the corpse, he was severely beaten by the Fauzdar. The police officer flung abuses at Damu profusely. The abuses made him angry but he could not retaliate because he thought of the consequences for his family. He had to swallow anger and plead for the mercy of the police officer. He received whiplashes due to which he was bleeding. His bleeding symbolizes the amount of atrocities committed on the untouchables.
The Patil of the village came forth to rescue him from further beating and battering. Raghoji, the eldest of his cousin was furious at the audacity of Damu towards the government officer. It is remarkable to note that Sonu, the wife of Damu, was shocked and was not able to control her sobbing. She tried to apologize to Raghoji on her husband’s behalf. She said:
“Big brother, please forgive my man. He has committed a grave mistake. Forgive us, big brother. Please overlook our mistake. I assure you we will abide by every tradition.” (p. 10)
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The above expressions speak volumes about the love and compassion for her husband. Nevertheless, Damu did not like his wife pleading like a beggar. His wife had no say in this. It indicates that Sonu had no place in the world of men. She is a mute sufferer. She only sat caressing her husband’s forehead until midnight. In the middle of the night, Damu wanted his wife to leave the village finally. He was strongly determined to go to Nashik and look for some transportation to go back to Mumbai. His wife Sonu was of the opinion that they could leave at dawn but Damu was in a hurry to quit this place right away. As soon as he let of his wife’s hand, he started walking away. Sonu had to follow him for the fear that he would divorce her. When he asked her whether she would walk shoulder to shoulder to him, she was affirmative and followed him as a calf would follow its mother cow. She hurriedly went home to fetch some bhakris and onions to eat during the journey. Thus, Sonu also joined her man in search of freedom. Their journey from darkness to light is engaging.
Sonu narrates her own experience of the journey to Mumbai. She was determined to accompany he husband in his freedom-walk. Mindless of fatigue she walked endlessly crossing the road, the river and the forest. Both of them ventured to walk in the darkness in the hope that they would see light in their lives. Despite the fact that she was exhausted, she did not complain a word to her husband. When she asked him the destination to which they were heading, Damu would keep silence. Sonu thought that she would not go back to Mumbai since they had left Mumbai and come to Ozar, near Nashik for the village duties assigned to Mahars (Yeskar duty).
She would support her husband when her husband was crestfallen. She would give him bhakris and a raw onion alongside to fill his hungry stomach. Her mother-in law would get enraged and taunt her in front of her husband, which
124 made her shudder. However, Damu would pacify her and tell her that it takes both rain and sunshine to make a rainbow.
The emotional world of Sonu, Damu,s wife makes it clear that she had to undergo traumatic experiences from her girlhood days. She was married when she was barely ten years old. For five years, she lived with her in-laws. Since her village was only three hours away, she longed to meet her parents for a few days. She desired to be in the lap of her mother like a carefree girl. When she remembered her mother, she would vent her feelings sobbing and wiping the tears from her cheeks. She expressed her desire to have a change in the situation. She did not like to see her husband in a dejected mood. Her prayers were answered and there was a change in the offing. The message came from the village that it was the turn of their family to do the Yeskar duty. Every three months one household from Mahar community would get a chance to perform the duty of Yeskar in the village. His duty was to announce the deaths, to remove the dead animals from the village and dispose of the carcasses of the cattle of the caste Hindus.
Sonu looks at the world of her of her husband with some emotional attachment. She could not understand why her man was not willing to take the charge of Yeskarki and do the traditional duty. Thus, one realizes that Sonu was a traditional woman who could not understand the revolutionary nature of her husband. Her husband would call her foolish because she did not know the implications of the Baluta system in the traditional village. The arguments over the traditional duty as a Yeskar and Baluta system would go to the extreme.
Damu’s mother would intervene and advise him to accept Ghongadi as a mark of Yeskarki for she did not like to see the tarnished image of their family. She
125 held that if he refused Ghongadi, it would amount to the wroth of the high caste people in the village. Sonu considered it as an opportunity to go to the village since she was homesick. She thought that her man would do the duty of the Yeskar in the village while she worked in the fields. She thought of getting a good square meal.
When Damu came home after collecting the stale Bhakris from the houses of the upper caste people, she would lovingly come near him and would massage his head. Damu wanted self-respect and dignity as a human being. Therefore, he did not like to take to begging from door to door. On the contrary, he wanted his human rights and hated the rights as a dog. He would break down occasionally when Sonu would calm down his anger saying that the situation would get over one day and they could go back to Mumbai for better prospects.
Sonu seems to be an understandable woman. She understands that her husband’s uncles are not happy with the way her husband behaves. She does not like to see her husband humiliated and dehumanized at the hand of the caste Hindus. Her heart melts with pity and fear on hearing the unpleasant news. Her heart crushes when she discovers that her husband is badly beaten. She does not understand as to why her husband does not conform to the tradition. Soon she realizes the importance of self-respect and individual’s dignity as a human being. She also becomes conscious of the importance of her man’s radical thoughts and progressive beliefs. She comes to know finally the value of her husband’s identity. Thus, Sonu begins to understand her husband and his principles of leading a dignified life.
Sonu recollects her marriage day when for the first time she saw her man. When they were half way into their wedding, she saw her husband Damu for
126 the first time. She was completely exhausted with hours of waiting through rituals and other related things. The writer describes the wedding ceremony vividly to bring to light that women were asked to do what men told them to do. They were declared man and wife amidst crescendo of drummers and the loud chanting of the Hindu priest saying sawadhan.
After the marriage, the newly married couple started their family life in a one- room home in Mumbai. Sonu that time knew little about what marriage entailed. She only knew that marriage means wearing new clothes and getting lot of utensils and gifts from relatives who came to attend the wedding ceremony. The first night after the marriage was confusing for her. She did not know how to make her man happy as her mother-in law told her. When Damu asked to lie down next to her, she refused to do so because her mother warned her when she came of age to avoid physical contact with any male even if it was her own father. Therefore, she was reluctant to lie down next to her husband on the straw-mat. Her husband tried to persuade her three or four times, but it was of no use and finally she heard the snoring of her husband and was annoyed. She stood there, as there was not enough space for her to lie down. After some time, she also went to bed keeping a distance from where her husband slept. This episode makes it clear how Indian newly married Dalit women behave during the night of their honeymoon- the reason being sheer ignorance due to child marriage.
The second night equally was not pleasant as Sonu was terribly afraid to sleep near her man. Damu was understandable and did not force her to do so. When Sonu was in tears, he told her that his mother wanted them to go to worship Lord Khandoba since it was a tradition in Maharashtra that a newly married couple must go to Jejuri, near Pune to worship Lord Khandoba before they start their married life. The next day, they set for Jejuri and after offering prayers to
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Lord Khandoba, the couple came back home leaving Damu’s mother and sister in Jejuri itself for the annual Jejuri’ fair. As soon as they came home, her husband went to do his job. At home, Sonu was alone. Lakshmi Kaku, one of the neighbours invited Sonu over a cup of tea and advised her to make Damu happy by obeying him. Sonu did not understand the meaning of making her man happy. Lakshmi Kaku also advised her that she should offer a good cup of tea when her husband came home after work and asked her to bathe herself clean and wear a clean sari so that he could become happy to see her. As per the advice of Lakshmi Kaku, Sonu prepared a cup for her husband, gave it to him and stood quietly at a distance. Damu appreciated her for having made a good cup of tea. He also appreciated her beauty and charm but Sonu was almost in tears every time he asked her to come near her. Since, Damu was an understandable man; he tried to make his wife understand him and his thoughts. Thus, Sonu was not ill-treated by Damu. On the contrary, he behaved with his wife with some mannerism that was suitable for Indian culture and civilization.
When Damu told her his childhood experiences of untouchability on the way to Mumbai that night, Sonu was awestruck and looked confused. She also narrated her experiences as a small girl in the village named Kherda. She told Damu that they were also treated as outcastes- as untouchables. They had to follow the strict rules when it came to drinking water from the upstream. She was not allowed to drink water from upstream of the river like other caste Hindus. There, she realized that something was wrong with her or her entire community of Mahar.
The wedding feast of the Landlord is a glaring example of untouchability. The womenfolk of the Mahar community would do odd jobs at the house of the landlord such as plastering the floor with cow dung, collecting the dried twigs
128 to be used as fuel, grinding wheat on the stone wheel with hands etc. On such occasion, Sonu was waiting for some work to do on the occasion of the wedding feast at one of the landlords’ house. She saw that there were some beautifully dressed girls form the upper castes who were carrying platters of sweets. She had nothing to do; she thought of carrying one on her head like other girls. She wanted to distribute the sweets to the people sitting in a long queue. As soon as she started giving out the sweets to the guests, Hirabai, the landlord’s mother shrieked and started flinging abuses at Sonu in front of the guests in the name of the caste to which she belonged. Hirabai shouted to the highest pitch of her voice:
“Eh you bloody Maharin, what do you think you are doing? (p.47)
Sonu was flabbergasted and almost in tears. She could not understand what to say at that point of time. She managed to say that she had done nothing wrong and she had not eaten any sweet from the platter, which she was carrying. Hirabai, on hearing the words of Sonu became more furious and started cursing and abusing Sonu:
“Not done anything? You have polluted our auspicious food, you fool. Who is going to make food for this, that one-eyed father of your’s? You scoundrels, your caste will never change: give you an inch and you will grab a mile” (p.47)
Since Hirabai came from the upper strata of Hindu society, she could afford to abuse Sonu who belonged to the low strata of the same society. Sonu had no voice of her own as Hirabai had. Sonu’s position in the society made her speechless, whereas Hirabai’s position made her assertive. She could not retaliate and fire back because she was constrained by the social norms set by Hindu society. She was not even allowed to touch the high caste woman in the
129 context. She could not understand what she had done to make the high caste woman angry. When Sonu realized that the woman was terribly angry for carrying the platter of sweets, she wanted to hand it over to the landlady. However, the landlady was in no mood to take it. On the contrary, she caught hold of Sonu’s year and yanked her to one corner while making sure that no important guest was around. Hirabai also pushed the platter from Sonu’s hands in a way that it flew in the air and landed with a loud crashing sound scattering the sweet all over the place. Hirabai said:
“Your shadow has contaminated the food. It is not fit for eating,”
Hirabai’s remarks speak volumes of her contemptuous attitude towards the low-caste people. It is a glaring example of how high caste women treat low caste women. It is surprising that the attitude of the high caste girls is indifferent. All the girls came rushing to the spot where the sweet had fallen. The girls grabbed the sweet more than they could hold in their hands. One of the girls offered her a ladoo. Sonu looked confused and merely shook her head and felt disgusting that the girls had grabbed the ladoos, which were contaminated by the touch of Sonu who belonged to the Mahar community. She could not understand why the food was polluted or contaminated by her mere touch. She could never understand who had decided that things should be this way. Like her husband Damu, she often wondered if the untouchables were worse than animals. She would assume like her people that she must have committed a horrible sin in her previous birth to be born in the family of outcaste. On hearing this, her husband would say that it was a clever trick played by the high caste people to make lowborn people subordinate thinking that they would not challenge them. He would console Sonu that Babasaheb Ambedkar had asked them to educate, organize and agitate. The way to the freedom was their mission in life. Sonu, thus, underwent the agony and anguish of untouchability.
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On the way to Mumbai, mustering her courage, Sonu asked her husband what they were going to do after reaching Mumbai. Damu was very optimistic and answered her question by saying that they would get a job there and they would have a life of dignity there. He further said that he would earn a respectable bhakri. On hearing his response, Sonu became emboldened and continued her inquiries. Damu narrated his childhood experiences to Sonu on the way.
In Mumbai, life was difficult. Sonu and Damu hardly had an opportunity to talk openly. Sonu did not like the life in Mumbai. She could not tell her husband about her disliking the life in Mumbai. She was mortally afraid of the place. Her in-laws house was in Kurla, which was small and dingy. Four members; her husband and his mother, Najuka, sister-in law, and Sonu lived in this small and cramped house in a chawl. There was a cooking stove and the pots in one corner of the house. There was a small washing area in another corner. In fact, there was hardly any room to move in the house. There were community bathrooms and toilets outside and all the inmates of the chawl shared them. All inmates intervened in each other’s family disputes. All the women living in the chawl had to rush for drinking water. The women would quarrel for water. They would push, shove, fight and even pull each other’s hair in their bid for water. The municipality provided the drinking water to all the residents of the area. They would get drinking water at the time stipulated by the municipal authority. All the women would to fill the pitchers with enough water for their families because the taps would run dry by six in the morning.
Sonu would get angry many times over the repeated talk of her husband about Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and his social movement. She used her own tricks to distract his attention from the talk. Her husband would talk endlessly about the
131 people from the Mahar community. Sonu gradually began to understand her husband well. She thought that he was like a coconut- hard outside but tender and sweet inside.
The first two years of Sonu’s marriage were quiet and comfortable. During the Ganapati festival, the people of the Mahar community would arrange some programmes. One of the important parts of the Ganesh festival was series of lectures on social issues. People from the neighborhood would attend the lectures of the local wise men. Sonu was compelled by her husband to go with him and listen to the lectures thinking that she would understand the problems of the low caste community. He wanted his wife Sonu to understand contemporary social issues.
The people from the low communities were not allowed to worship Ganapati, the god of wisdom. However, in Mumbai, over the years, it had taken the social dimension and it reached the masses uniting them towards the social cause and the national cause as it was the period of freedom movement i.e. 1928. Sonu was quite happy with the way life was going on in this big city. However, in the year 1929 there was a strike in the GIP Railway workers for better wages. Sonu’s husband was the member of the union. He appealed the officials of the union to call off the strike. He explained the officials that Babasaheb Amedkar wanted the workers not to support the strike since it was a period of economic depression. Damu tried to convince them that they should defer the strike for a few months but it was of no use because the union was firm on launching the strike of the factory workers. Sonu’s husband was disappointed and disgusted. He, in the fit of temper, gave up the membership because of which he was dismissed from the company job. On seeing her husband in utter sad mood, Sonu’s heart melted with pity but she could not understand his frustration and the cause of his anger. She then realized that it
132 was the question of her/their identity. Because of the strike of the company workers they had to come back to their native place Ozar for a square meal. It is important to note that Sonu played a supportive role and did not budge an inch from her husband’s struggle for identity. Sonu says:
“Now when I walked with him shoulder to shoulder, it would be with a new awareness.” (p.122)
Thus, Sonu supported her husband’s fight for the rights of the untouchables as human beings. She gradually understood her husband and wanted to accompany him to achieve his goal of attaining freedom for the downtrodden and the disempowered.
4.5.3 Soun’s Mother-in-Law
There is no detailed description of Sonu’s mother-in-law in the memoir. However, there are certain references in the text which give the idea of her character. It seems that she is a traditional type of woman who wants the daughter-in-law to obey her commands. She expects all the daughters-in-law to be obedient and follow all the traditions and customs. She strongly believed in Lord Khandoba of Jejuri in Pune district. She wanted the newly married couple to go to the shrine at Jejuri and offer pooja before starting marital life. On her advice Damu and Sonu go to Jejuri and offer pooja.
4.5.4 Apurva
Apurva is a daughter of Narendra Jadhav who plays a minor role in the present memoir. However, her portrayal makes us to understand that she symbolizes the modern young generation of the Dalits. She is revolutionary in nature and does not like to be called as Dalit. She wants to establish her own identity. She
133 is a highly educated modern girl who wants to discard the shackles of the untouchables and want to live a dignified life. She rejects the old outdated customs as she has radical views about life. Like her father she wants to climb the ladder of so called success. She is scientific by natures and believes in rationalizing the issues. For her, the modern Dalit generation is a ray of hope.
Besides Apurva there are other women characters such as Laxmi Kaku, a neighbor, Nikunja, sister-in-law of Soun. These are the minor characters that help to support the main characters.
4.6 Conclusion
An attempt has been made in the beginning of this chapter to give the biographical details of the writer. It also highlights the making of the writer. The socio-cultural background of the writer has been also the major concern of the chapter. The main thrust of the chapter is on the thematic analysis of the autobiographical book Outcaste. It also makes us aware of the social movements carried out by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi. Thus, the chapter significantly contributes to the development of the present dissertation. The author and his social background in which his father was born and lived have been highlighted. The book also tresses the life of the author and his family members as is evident from the reading of the passages in the book under consideration.
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