Post Colonial Theory Of Dalit Women

Spivak borrows the term ‘subaltern’ from Antonio Gramsci who initially used it in to refer to persons of lower rank (Gramsci 55) and it has its roots in Post Colonial theory. Spivak used it to refer to the marginalized, downtrodden or those who were outside the “hegemonic power structure(s)” (Singh 113) of the society. They are discriminated on multiple grounds and denied the rights, freedom and opportunities in society. Singh suggests that in recent times it is used to refer to “those who lack agency in society and access to social power” (Singh 114). Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak says that “Subaltern is not just a classy word for oppressed, for Other, for somebody who’s not getting a piece of the pie…In postcolonial terms, everything
They were the worst sufferers and were “dalits among the dalits” (Narayankar,3). Dalit women were the worst victims of oppression as they were subjected to the same abuse and exploitation at the hands of Dalit men, which the Dalit men themselves experienced outside the house (public arena) at the hands of the upper castes. Bama’s own subaltern consciousness as a Tamil Dalit woman informs her writing and she through her writing, style and choice of language−a language that is realistic and not the sophisticated standardized language of the upper class but often categorized as vulgar, uncouth and rustic, puts forward her resistance. She uses her writing as a weapon against exploitation of the upper class and patriarchy, inflicted upon subaltern communities. Also, instead of the upper class women or Dalit men talking about the plight of Dalit women, that is, as Singh suggests, “elite documentation that gives us news of the consciousness of the subaltern” (Singh 114), Bama attempts to retrieve the subaltern consciousness, what Spivak calls “subaltern subject-effect” (Spivak) and becomes a spokesperson for Dalit
B. R. Ambedkar’s political and social reform movements which besides seeking to empower the Dalit community on the whole, also emphasized at the emancipation and liberation of women and advocated women’s education, urged women activists to resist child marriages, promoted widow remarriages and inter-caste marriages among the Dalits, etc. and women’s participation in these programmes gave Dalit women a fresh/different consciousness and self-respect and was the greatest effort in the direction of the creation of several Dalit women’s organizations. Dalit women were never taken seriously until the recent years and were also marginalized within the literary or the cultural space, which was dominated by the Dalit males. Dalit literature written by men usually talked about the Dalit male hero and his struggle for identity (Dalit male experience) and the Dalit female was only marginally represented. The Dalit woman was refused subjectivity as her subliminal voice of complaint/objection never gets conveyed/articulated. The education, self-respect, Dalit consciousness and confidence that women gained through the reform (Dalit) movements resulted in a burst of literary activity by several Dalit women writers. Their newfound consciousness and sense of dignity and pride also made them play a major role in the untouchable liberation movements and led to the emergence of Dalit Bahujan Feminist Movement. Literature by Dalit women significantly contributed to the movement. The