Giving Voice to the Unvoiced: The Rise of Indian Dalit Literature

The word "Dalit" connotes people who are impoverished, oppressed, abused, and in need. The origin of the Indian caste system is not a widely accepted theory. There are several forms of inequality that give rise to social prejudice in every civilised community. Additionally, it is dressed in "Casteism" in India. The subaltern literary voices of the tribals, Dalits, and other minority groups were absent from discourses tailored to the tastes of the nobility. The dalits are denied their basic rights to equality, property ownership, and education. Dalit literature thus arises as a voice for all those marginalised, oppressed, and exploited populations who have long suffered from societal injustice and exploitation. The liberation of Dalits from this never-ending slavery is the central theme of Dalit literature. Dalit experiences and expressions are positing the history in quotidian. Though they may appear as alien and anathema to the “upper” caste sensibility, they can be read as embodying the political in all its dimensions. Since Dalit literature is based on ideas of equality, liberty, justice, and solidarity rather than pleasure, it is important for Dalit critics to find a new imagery of “beauty and truth”, which is more responsive to contemporary lived realities. Otherwise, Dalit literature will forever be condemned for its lack of merits and the taste within the overarching framework of traditional aesthetics. The Dalit writers' rejection of the hegemony of a caste-based universalism challenges the neat binary world of postcolonial literary theory and calls attention to the internal contradictions of Indian society.