Volume II, Special Issue, February 2026
Volume-II, Special Issue, February, 2026 |
Received: 23.12.2025 | Accepted: 28.01.2026 | ||
Published Online: 28.02.2026 | Page No: | ||
DOI: 10.69655/atmadeep.vol.2.specialissue.W. | |||
বঞ্চনার ভিতর থেকে: দলিত সাহিত্য, তার ঐতিহাসিক শিকড় ও দলিত ভাবনার প্রসার জয়িতা বসাক, সহকারী অধ্যাপিকা, দর্শন বিভাগ, বাগনান কলেজ, পশ্চিমবঙ্গ, ভারত |
From Within Deprivation: Dalit Literature, Its Historical Roots, and the Expansion of Dalit Thought Joyita Basak, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Bagnan College, West Bengal, India | ||
ABSTRACT | ||
The article analyzes the origin, development, and ideological foundations of Dalit literature within the Indian socio-cultural context. The term “Dalit” is derived from the Sanskrit root “dal,” meaning “broken” or “oppressed,” and refers to those communities that have historically been subjected to caste-based discrimination, social exclusion, and institutional injustice. The article demonstrates how caste-based stratification became institutionalized through Brahmanical texts such as the Manusmriti and various Puranas and how religious and literary discourses legitimized social inequality and structures of power. The paper argues that literature has always played a crucial role in sustaining dominant ideologies and that Brahmanical traditions have used literary forms to perpetuate caste oppression. With the advent of modernity, Western rationalism, and democratic consciousness, resistance to caste-based hierarchies intensified, leading to the emergence of Dalit literature as a distinct literary and political movement. Dalit literature is defined not merely by its subject matter but by lived experience; it prioritizes reality over imagination, emphasizes autobiographical writing and collective memory, and foreground’s themes of pain, rebellion, rejection, the reclamation of identity, and social reconstruction. The philosophical backbone of this movement is Ambedkarism, shaped by the ideas of Jyotirao Phule and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, which provide its ideological foundation. The article also discusses the development of the Dalit literary movement in Maharashtra—particularly through the Dalit Panther movement—and its all-India influence. In Bengali literature, Dalit consciousness evolved from a marginal presence in its early stages into a powerful contemporary current; this consciousness is clearly reflected in the works of writers such as Manoranjan Byapari, Anil Gharai, Jatin Bala, and Saikat Rakshit. Finally, the article concludes that Dalit literature is not merely literature of caste identity; rather, it is literature of liberation, equality, and social justice. By challenging established aesthetic norms, it calls for the creation of a humane and egalitarian society. | ||
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