COMMENTARY them at the bottom of the hierarchy and A Milestone in Dalit Writing therefore subjects them to incessant torture and humiliation. Hinduism, which is as much a social system as a religion, Uttara Bisht uses the caste system as its framework to push the notion that one’s duty (dhar- Omprakash Valmiki, who mprakash Valmiki may not be a ma) is calibrated to one’s particular class. contributed so much to Hindi widely known name on the And this centuries-old notion gives it the literature, and especially to dalit O Indian literary scene outside of right to perpetuate caste discrimination Hindi literature. His contribution to dalit that is still a r eality in modern India and literature, was a contemporary writing, however, is defi nitely not less of which the khap panchayats can be of another great dalit poet, than that of writers like Namdeo Dhasal seen as examples. The joothan in the Namdeo Dhasal, who wrote and Kancha Ilaiah. It is not too well form of leftover food from wedding in Marathi. Even their deaths known either that Valmiki translated parties also became on several occasions Ilaiah’s book Why I Am Not a Hindu the only form of sustenance for his family. were separated by just a month. which is considered to be one of the big- Joothan is not only a powerful narrative However, Valmiki’s writings and gest contributions to dalit literature by about caste oppression but also about death, unlike that of Dhasal were any writer in Hindi. Valmiki made a Valmiki’s struggle to rise above the hu- largely unnoticed by the English major contribution to dalit literature miliation and denigration that he had through stories, poetry and his auto- faced since childhood. media. Valmiki’s account of dalit biography and right up to the last days of In the preface, Valmiki writes, life in his autobiography Joothan his life was actively involved in it; he Dalit-jeevan ki peedayein asahneeya aur is unsurpassed in its portrayal was a fellow at the Indian Institute of a nubhav-dagdh hain. Aise anubhav jo sahityik IIAS abhivyaktiyon mein sthaan nahi pa sakte. Ek of the pain and humiliation that Advanced Study ( ), Shimla in 2013. In 1989, Valmiki published his fi rst aisi samaj-vyavastha mein hamne saans lee casteism infl icts on its victims. hai, jo behad crur aur amaanviya hai. Daliton collection of poems under the title Sadiyon ke prati asamvedansheel hai. (The sufferings Ka Santaap (centuries of suffering). His of dalit-life are intolerable and heart- writing is a mirror to the suffering that wrenching. These are experiences that can- not fi nd a place in any form of literary ex- the dalits had to undergo due to caste dis- pression. I have breathed in a social-system crimination. It was mainly through his that is not only extremely cruel and inhuman efforts that dalit writing found its place but also, insensitive towards dalits.) in several seminal Hindi magazines, one of them being Hans edited by the late Scars and Stench renowned Hindi writer Rajendra Yadav. Joothan is a remarkable personal narra- Not only did he help give dalit writing its tive. Valmiki describes his village Barla deserved place in Hindi literature but at the beginning of the autobiography. also provided it with the best autobiog- Its location, separated by a pond from raphy that one can possibly fi nd in Hindi the village of the Tyagi community, is till date. i tself a site segregated from the rest and subjected to discrimination. It is a site Leftovers fi lled with fi lth and garbage chosen by Valmiki’s autobiography Joothan pub- the Tyagi women to defecate. The stench lished in 1997 is the best known of his from the fi lth is something that the dalits works that talks about caste exploitation could not escape and became a reality of and the struggle of the writer to rise above their daily life. The stench was just one it. What makes Joothan such an impor- aspect of the multifaceted discrimina- tant dalit autobiography? Why is it so im- tions that fi lled all the corners of the portant for any reader to read it in order village and thus their lives. From doing to understand dalit literature? And, what unpaid labour to disposing of carcasses is its contribution towards the creation of of dead animals to literally eating the dalit history or identity? The title itself is leftovers from the patals (plates), Valmiki suggestive in so many ways. Joothan had been a close witness to it all. His which can be translated as “left overs” is childhood memories were scarred by inci- Uttara Bisht ([email protected]) is a symbolic of the sheer exploitation of the dents that exposed him to hatred and hu- PhD scholar, at the Department of English, dalits at the hands of the Hindus on the miliation that lived with him all his life. Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. basis of the varna system that places Particularly disturbing is the incident Economic & Political Weekly EPW june 7, 2014 vol xlIX no 23 21 COMMENTARY when he was asked to skin a dead These statements can be read as sharp his life. However, there are some prob- animal. He recalls, comments on not just the education sys- lematic aspects. His work is mainly about Chhuri pakadte huye mere haath kaap rahe tem but also on its role in widening the a man who faced social inequality at the the. Ajeeb-se sankat mein phas gaya tha…Us caste differences. hands of a predominantly Hindu society. roj mere bhitar bahut kuch tha jo toot raha tha. Though this strengthens the narrative, it, (My hands were shaking as I held the knife in Liberating Force my hands. I was caught in a weird situation… at the same time, limits it to the extent That day I realised that a lot of things inside Amidst all the hatred and suffering that that it becomes an attempt towards self- me were breaking down.) had become a part of his life, literature aggrandisement. It becomes a celebra- Born to an extremely poor family in became the only liberating force. He recalls tion of one’s pain and suffering rather Barla, Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh on how his friend Hemlal introduced him to than a weapon to fi ght oppression. It can 30 June 1950, Valmiki recalls how the family the writings of B R Ambedkar during his sometimes also be read as an attempt to survived most days on starch w ater for college days. These writings did not just assimilate oneself into the mainstream in they could barely manage two meals a fi ll him with strength and a sense of self- order to be accepted. Valmiki himself ad- day. In such circumstances, education was respect but also gave him a direction. mits that his approach has been that of a a distant reality but the only dream that his During the 1970s, Valmiki took to writing passive protester. He believed that in a so- parents lived for was to educate their son and theatre (he founded the Meghdoot ciety where caste is so deeply entren ched so that he could improve his s ocial position. Theatre Group in 1974) in order to voice and is the only yardstick to measure an Post-Independence India promised a his opinion about the situation of dalits. individual’s capability, change cannot society that would be free of any social He was part of many organisations that come overnight. Other than some fl eeting discrimination based on caste or class. But worked for the upliftment of the oppressed r eferences to discrimination that his the land of Jyotirao Phule and Mahatma caste. In his writings, however, Valmiki friends faced, there are no incidents that Gandhi soon disillusioned Valmiki who fails to touch upon the subject of religion describe the plight of other dalits. Now- was quick to realise that even the bound- and its role in perpetuating caste differ- here does he discuss the problem of the aries of the school had been infi ltrated by ences and steers clear of any polemical women in his community who are doubly social inequalities. He narrates how debate. He exposes his discomfort at show- oppressed because of their caste and gen- school itself became the site for discrimi- ing allegiance to either Hindu gods or der. Any form of dalit writing is to a cer- nation against the lower castes not only local d eities but does not question the tain extent, autobiographical, but it can- by his classmates but also the teachers. role of religion in creating particular not be centred on one person and is about The incident where the headmaster of identities. He writes, all those who have suffered the same the school asks him to sweep the fl oor of …main Hindu bhi toh nahi huan. Yadi Hindu kind of atrocities and hatred and shared the school b ecause he belongs to the low- hota toh Hindu mujhse itni ghrina, itna bhed- the same fate. It is a narrative that aims to er caste is one such example. It was quite bhaav kyon karte? Baat baat par jaatiya-bodh weave together the stories of all for it is ki heenta se mujhe kyon bharte?... Hindu ki common for him to be addressed not by crurtaa bachpan se dekhi hain, sahan ki hain. essentially a narrative of protest. his name but by his caste. (…I am not a Hindu either. If I were a Hindu Though his writing does not use the Life at the university level was no better, then why would the Hindus hate me or dis- kind of passionate anger and aggression though the severe forms of injustice had criminate against me? Why would they, time that Dhasal did to express his pain, the and again, fi ll my heart with the inferiority now given way to discriminatory remarks of caste difference? ..