Untouchable Spring (2000) offers conversion to Christianity as a means of Dalit resistance in Andhra Pradesh in contradiction to the conventional process of emancipation adopted by the lower castes

Abstract

Untouchable Spring as a novel epitomizes the struggle of Dalits and their assertion for self-identity through the means of revolution. Religious conversion was seen as a primary source to gain social ascendancy hence large number of untouchables, specifically the Malas and Madigas in Andhra Pradesh converted to Christianity however it still did not provide them the deserved status. The novel presents how this means of resistance is radical and revolutionary as compared to the conventional forms of revolution undertaken by the Dalits. It not only exposes the plight of Hindu Dalits but also the humiliation faced by the Christian Dalits when they converted. Hence while recording the uprising of the Dalits, the novel also potrays an alternative history of generations of oppressed people and the means adopted by them to attain liberation. This paper aims to study the issue of Dalit oppression even after conversion and understand the impact of Ambedkar in adopting conversion as a solution.