WATER CRISIS IN DALIT LITERAURE : FICTION AND REALITY

Abstract

Caste is a stigma in Indian society and has hampered its growth. Because of this, a section of society has perpetually dictated the lower castes. The upper caste has tormented Dalits economically and socially for primary needs such as water, an essential need for both humans and animals. The upper castes have forbidden the right to water to a lower caste. The upper classes felt that a touch of Dalit would contaminate the water. If a Dalit happened to trod into a pond, the Indian priest had to sanctify the defiled water with a yajna. This situation led to many heart-rending casualties. This paper will investigate how the denial of even the fundamental right to water has rendered trouble in the lives of Dalits in India. Though the Dalit leaders had launched Satyagraha for Dalits to use a public tank in Maharashtra, the upper caste Hindus banned, the lower caste Hindus' access to water bodies. The present study will shed light on water issues, specifically in Dalit literature by non-Dalit writers. Do upper caste Hindus still keep separate water bodies for themselves? To what degree have progressive writers displayed it in their writings?