Paper short abstract:

Through a study of dalit autobiographies and fact-finding reports in the aftermath of atrocities against dalits, my paper critically reflects on the implications of the socio-cultural organisation of space and its administration for dalit liberation and equality.

Paper long abstract:

One of the most striking features of dalit autobiography is the way in which caste gets foregrounded in the unfolding of events in dalits' pursuit of equality and self-respect in the modern democratic India. The title of Siddalingaiah's autobiography, Ooru Keri -which means village and colony—is significant in terms of understanding the spatial divide between the dalit street and the village and stigma attached with the dalit colony. Siddalingaiah 's recounting of incidents of hunger, poverty, labour, sex and untouchability explodes the category of caste.

Dalit autobiographies represent intersecting accounts of life in villages and urban spaces where dalit aspiration for freedom and dignity clash with the hegemonic caste morality. Drawing on W. E. B. Du Bois' concept of double consciousness, I discuss the interplay of socio-cultural meanings of space in Indian villages to understand how caste perpetuates and reifies socio-economic inequalities. Dalits' attitude towards dominant castes has undergone a tremendous change after 1970s and 80s, the decades in which the first generation of educated dalits, having come into contact with various philosophies of liberation, began to challenge the brahmanical caste morality in village economy. As a result dalits embodied a strange mix of defiance in obedience when they came into contact with the dominant caste people. Such a change in dalit attitude, however, was not without serious implications.

Through a study of dalit autobiographies and fact-finding reports, my paper critically reflects on the implications of the socio-cultural organisation of space and its administration for dalit liberation and equality.