Paper short abstract:

This paper aims to show how narratives depicting 'stigmatized' existence of Indian Dalits and Adivasis not only transgress spatial boundaries but create a discursive space for the Dominant and the Subaltern to interact and start a dialogue.

Paper long abstract:

Does one's social location shape one's identity? This paper based on references drawn from "Chandalika"- a Bengali dance-drama written by Rabindranath Tagore and the news articles on Chuni Kotal- a Bengali Adivasi woman who allegedly committed suicide during the 1990s as a result of continuous mistreatment from her upper-caste university professor, reveals how the voices arising from spaces 'stigmatized' by the notion of pollution can create a new discursive space for not only challenging the hegemony but also, more importantly, for starting a dialogue between the 'Centre' and the "Margin." The ulterior purpose of this paper is to underscore the significance of building the new intellectual space which can bring changes to the exiting power dynamics by transgressing territories and by compelling the dominant discourse to recognize the assertion of new identities.