Intersection of caste and gender in Dalit Autobiography: A comparative study of Joothan and The Weave of My Life: A Dalit Woman's Memoirs

Abstract

In Dalit literature, autobiography has been an influential mode of narrative. It has been a crucial confessional instrument for expressing the plight of the underprivileged and bringing attention to several levels of oppression experienced by the outcaste. Dalit autobiographies discuss the plight of the Dalit in India and provide insight into how they challenge the power of the upper caste. However, there are two methods to approach this resistance. One, where it discusses the Dalit community's battles against the horrors committed by the higher caste. Second, it has been used as a potential tool to address how women are doubly marginalised in the Dalit community. Dalit women are more marginalised than Dalit men due to the economic, social and cultural factors. In the proposed paper, there will be a comparative study of the two chief autobiographies- one by a male author, second by a female author. The paper would study the representation of gender divide and its intersection with caste atrocities in the selected works. It aims to shed more light on the apparent differences and similarities between autobiographies written by a woman and a man respectively and try to analyse the mode with reference to gender inequality and caste.