On the Structure of Subalternity and the Process of Subalternisation in India

Abstract

The concept of subalternity, originally formulated by the Italian Marxist, Antonio Gramsci, was amplified by a few Indian historians by juxtaposing the elitist nationalist historiography with subaltern historiography providing a bottom-up perspective. 1 This paper attempts to identify the structure of subaltern deprivations with special reference to India. The main sources of subalternisation in India are as follows: treating some groups/communities as outsiders to the polity (externalisation); assigning groups to the lowest rung of the social ladder (hierarchisation); denial of identity to some groups through a process of absorption (expansionism of the hegemonic group) and lastly, application of traditional norms of society to keep women in subordination (patriarchy). The groups/communities subjected to the process of subalternisation in contemporary India are dalits, adivasis, religious and linguistic minorities and women. Admittedly, the phenomenon of intersectionality creates a hierarchy among subaltern groups—some are cumulatively oppressed, based on several factors, while the oppression of others is anchored in one or two factors only.