Dalits and Dalit Lives in 21st Century India: Towards a New Politics

This comprehensive body of work illuminates the new ways to remember caste and comprehend the enduring anguish it has imposed upon individuals across generations, thereby paving the way for a more informed understanding of its profound impact on Dalit lives throughout the annals of time. This work not only adds depth to the existing discourse but also serves as a catalyst for broader understanding and appreciation of the complexities inherent in Dalit experiences and their representation or (mis)representation. In doing so, the volume challenges the traditional social order's ability to address caste-based discrimination effectively and also makes an attempt to find alternative ways to understand the conundrum of caste. It delves into the necessity of alternative discourse, particularly the significance of Dalit discourse, and hence the imperative need for diverse and inclusive discourses. The volume represents the individual voices of the editors and contributors, who are eminent academics, and provides a more holistic approach to the examination of the socio-economic, cultural and political landscape of the Dalit community in contemporary India. Their contribution enriches the current body of literature on Dalit Studies, with a specific focus on the evolving dynamics within politics, academia, popular culture, digital culture, political economy, ideological perspectives, and representation or (mis)representation, among others. The chapters also demonstrate the profound impact of various modern influences on the lives of the younger generation of Dalits. In doing so, it sheds light on how access to information technology, the pervasive use of social media- digital media, the influential role of music and cinema in cultural resistance, and the discourse of protest politics collectively shape the experiences and perspectives of the young Dalit community. This literary work presents an invaluable opportunity for scholars, researchers, and students, and a methodological aid for classroom adoption for discerning readers to immerse themselves in an exploration of a significant community in India and its multifaceted presence within contemporary literature and culture.

Dalits and Dalit Lives in 21st Century India: Towards a New Politics
Chapter 1 Cast(e)ing a Subversive ‘Sensible’: The Symbology of Cultural Resistance in Dalit Writing
Sanchita Khurana
University of Delhi
Chapter 2 From an Untouchable to a Dalit: Interrogating the formation of a Dalit Identity
Shiv Kumar
Banaras Hindu University
Chapter 3 Manifesting Othering and Rethinking Caste: A Reading of Dalit Women’s Voices in Sujatha Gidla’s Ants Among the Elephants and Yashika Dutt’s Coming Out as a Dalit
Shalini Jayprakash
University of Michigan
Chapter 4 Brahminical Sisterarchy and Violence of a Caste Democracy: Anti-Caste and Dalit Feminist Ambedkarite Politics as Critical Resistance
Soma Mandal
IIT Delhi
Chapter 5 Narrativising the Absence of Dalit Consciousness and Visibility in Digital Media
Tamanna Priya
Banaras Hindu University
Chapter 6 (Em)bodying Caste, Cast(e)ing Touch: Gandhi, Ambedkar, and the Question of Caste in Selected Malayalam Novels
Sruthi Sasidharan
EFL University
Chapter 7 Rejuvenating Marginalized Anti-Caste Tamil Folk Music: Gaana and Oppari
Jay Kumar
Mahatma Gandhi Central University
Chapter 8 Dalit Queer to Queer Dalit: Navigating the Intersection of Caste and Queerness
Tanupriya
CHRIST (Deemed to be University)
Chapter 9 Narrativizing Caste Consciousness and Dalit Assertion: A Study of Jhund (2022) and Lagaan (2001)
Ashish Gautam
Shri Ram College of Commerce
Chapter 10 Untouchable, Unseeable and Unreadable: Caste Consciousness in Modern Indian Rewritings of Myth
Deepak
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Contributors

Tamanna Priya is a Senior Research Fellow at Banaras Hindu University, India, focusing on Dalit experiences and the representation of Dalit identity in visual and verbal mediums and their subjection to restructured-modernized forms of discrimination in contemporary India. She has delivered a talk on Political Cinema at EFLU, Hyderabad, chaired a panel at the 54th Annual NeMLA Convention, and has multiple publications and international presentations, including recent ones at University of Delhi and University of Pittsburgh. Her upcoming projects include research papers with the University of Nebraska Press and the Journal of the Department of English, Vidyasagar University (India).

Amrit Mishra has been a doctoral scholar at The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, India where he submitted his dissertation titled "Existentialism in Pre-Modern Societies: Siting Literary Existentialism in India". He published papers, co-chaired a session on the caste phenomenon at the 54th Annual NeMLA Convention and has presented at esteemed institutions like ACLA held at Johns Hopkins University , Louisiana State University, SUNY Brockport, Royal University of Bhutan, Ibn Haldun University Turkey. Currently, he is pursuing a Master's in Business Administration with a focus on Marketing at the Goa Institute of Management. His academic interests include the industry-academia pay gap and the dwindling interest in humanities projects worldwide.

India, dalits, dalit lives, caste