Caste and Violence: A Critical Study of the Selected Short Stories from Sharankumar Limbale’s Dalit Brahmin and Other Stories
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.67431/6y4h6m09Keywords:
Caste; Violence; Suffering; Dalit; EqualityAbstract
Thomas Paine claimed that "all men are born equal, and with equal natural rights," highlighting the fundamental concept of human equality (43). Nevertheless, this notion clashes with the socio-cultural realities present in Indian society, where individuals are categorized into more than three thousand castes based on their birth, leading to established hierarchies that rank some as superior and others as inferior. The Dalits, among the most disadvantaged, continue to face sufferings in the form of social ostracism, discrimination, humiliation and violence due to their lowest status in the caste hierarchy, which proclaims them impure and inferior. In this light, the present paper critically examines the portrayal of violence in the selected short stories from Dalit Brahmin and Other Stories by Sharankumar Limbale. It will use the writings and speeches of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Jyotirao Phule, and Periyar as a theoretical framework to analyse the text.
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