Towards Visibility: Subaltern Counterpublics in Paul Chirakkarode’s Pulayathara

Abstract

Christianity has always been celebrated as a catalyst towards modernity for the Dalits of Kerala. Though missionary accounts and ethnographic studies confirm the progress of the community, there was rampant casteism and separatism too. This is succinctly revealed in Dalit Christian texts. Pulayathara by Paul Chirakkarode stands as a testimony to the Dalit Christian dilemma and traces the history of the Kuttanadan Pulaya community in the pre- and post-conversion scenarios. Conversions could not change the existing public sphere of Kerala, where upper castes were the dominant party. They (Dalits) continued to be marginalized and subordinated and lacked a class consciousness. The article highlights the limitations in the public sphere that emerged in Kerala as part of the missionary endeavours in accommodating the converted Dalits. The article attempts to trace the emergence of subaltern counterpublics among the Dalit Christians to oppose the continued oppression and casteism by situating Pulayathara at the centre of the analysis.