Paper-IX-Literature-of-Protest-munotes

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BACKGROUND TOPICS -I
Unit Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Literature and Protest
1.2 Politics and Language of Protest
1.3 Translation and Literature of Protest
1.4 Summing up
1.5 Important Questions
1.6 References
1.0 OBJECTIVES
Dear learner, this chapter will familiarise you with concepts such as
Literature and Protest, Politics and Language of Protest and Translation and
Literature of Protest. You will develop a basic understanding of the
literature of protest and its origin and development. The chapter will also
acquaint you with the Indian Bhakti Movements an d their contributions to
their role in the history of the literature of protest. Besides, you will develop
an understanding of politics and its relation to the language of protest and
the importance of translation in the literature of protest.
1.1 LITERATURE AND PROTE ST
“Knowledge forbidden?
Suspicious, reasonless. Why should their Lord
Envy them that? Can it be a sin to know?
Can it be death?” (John Milton, Paradise Lost)
According to Abrahamic religions, Satan was banished because he
disobeyed God's command. The query of what precisely the devil wants
receives little to no attention. There is no doubt that he desired something,
but it was beyond his reach. What exactly was that? Power? Skill?
Influence? He allegedly desired answers, but the answers were more
complicated. From the above quote, the question arises, “What is
knowledge and why is it forbidden? ” Is it something precious that everyone
can not possess or have a right to know? Is it something that only a particular
group of people or gods can have? If the answer is yes to these questions,
then why is the ‘right to know’ is with selected people or gods only? And
what about others? And what will happen if they (others) will try to know
the truth? Will they be allowed? Or will they be banished from heaven like
Satan? munotes.in

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2 Literature of Protest
2 Let me give you one more example, I consider yo u all have read
Mahabharata. There is one scene where Acharya Drona tests the archery
skills of his students. All of them are from royal family backgrounds, the
Kauravas and the Pandavas. Arjuna was his best pupil among all his other
students, and Drona wa nted him to be the best archer. But there is one more
interesting character, who was also the best archer. If I ask you to guess,
you will certainly say the name of Karna. No doubt he too was a great
archer, but here I am talking about Eklavya, the Adivasi boy. Like Adam
and Eve were asked not to eat the "fruit of knowledge", Shudras were not
allowed to take education in ancient times. Despite all these barriers,
Eklavya managed to learn archery with the help of the statue of
Dronacharya. When the Guru got to know about Eklavya’s skills, he asked
him to cut and offer his thumb. Shashikant Hingnekar wrote a poem about
'Ekalavya', and his sacrifice. But that act was not just a sacrifice, but to keep
the domination of a higher class over a lower class so that t hey could prove
Arjuna the best archer in history. According to the Manusmriti, a Shudra
should not pursue education. A Shudra should not receive instruction from
or advice from the upper varnas. The Shudras do not need to be taught the
rules and codes be cause it is not required of them to know them. Infringers
will experience eternal punishment. (Manu IV -78 to 81) So, it was not just
Guru Drona who opposed teaching the Shudra, but the entire system was
against the education of Shudras. Here, in the below poem, we can see that
the poet is raising his voice against this discrimination. He asks Eklavya:
“If you had kept your thumb
history would have happened
somehow differently.
But ... you gave your thumb
and history also
became theirs…” -(Hingonekar 1989)
This is the best example of the literature of protest. When there is injustice,
oppression, and suppression, there is a revolt, and when there is a revolt,
there is protest. Sometimes the protest is with weapons and sometimes with
words. Because words play an important role to educate people about the
problems. That is why many people choose the pen as a weapon for their
protest. Through literature, they try to achieve their goals. In this unit, we
are going to discuss the literature of protest.
Now let us take a look at the literature of protest in America. In American
protest literature, moral ideals are a recurrent issue in the early to mid -19th
century American protest literature. William Apess and Henry David
Thoreau discuss a moral code that people mus t maintain. Each poses the
same query: Is America really the magnificent land of principles that it
professes to be, despite the fact that they approached it differently and
offered different solutions. That government is best that governs least,
according to Thoreau's opening line in Civil Disobedience (p. 843) —and he munotes.in

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3 Background Topics-I supports a government that respects the rights of its citizens. He held that
the only reason that a government existed was that the people decided to
use it to carry out their desires. Howeve r, the government was prone to
abuse, fraud, and injustice. Individuals had the right and obligation to revolt
against the state using a variety of tactics, such as refusing to pay taxes,
when injustice reached an extreme level, such as when slavery was
permitted. Henry David Thoreau was imprisoned in Concord in July 1846
for avoiding a poll tax. Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of his friends, paid him
a visit and gazed through the bars. “What are you doing in there?” Emerson
asked. Thoreau replied: “What are you doing out there?” (The Harvard
Gazette , 2006). That tale, in which civic disobedience and civil manners
collide, does a decent job of summarising a sometimes -subtle division in
American literature. There is art, to start with. A noble question
continuously suggests itself, as Emerson hints in his brilliant poem
"Nature." On the other side, there is art that has a clear objective, such as
literature that is written to inspire action, express shock and fury, or evoke
empathy in response to dissatisfaction wit h the status quo. That is writing
on protest.
Literature that is written to express our suffering and anguish is nothing but
the literature of protest. Thomas Paine's irate, simple speech and Thomas
Jefferson's ordered rejection of his Declaration of Inde pendence are credited
with starting the tradition of American protest in print. The reader is thus
provided with a different perspective on such events as slavery, the forced
migration of American Indians, women's suffrage, labour unrest, lynching,
the Gre at Depression, civil rights, "second -wave" feminism, Vietnam, and
LGBT rights in American history through protest literature. The collection
of literary voices from 11 different American reform movements known as
"American Protest Literature," was inspired by a series of Harvard
undergraduate courses. Numerous authors are still well known (Thoreau,
Upton Sinclair, Allen Ginsberg). Others, like humourist and American
Revolutionary War poet Philip Freneau and actor Ralph Chaplin,
contributed "Solidarity Forev er" to the strike songbooks of the early labour
movement in 1915.
Like Thoreau's writings, those of William Apess is protest literature and are
best understood in the context of their time. The Indian Removal Act,
passed by the government in 1830, gave pe rmission for the relocation of
Indians from the regions east of the Mississippi to the Indian Territory and
other locations deemed acceptable. This measure effectively put an end to
Indians' ability to reside in those states under their own customary rules .
They were offered the option to leave their home countries or assimilate and
submit to US law. The Gesture was founded on white -written accounts of
contacts between Native Americans and European settlers; these accounts
are full of horrifying tales and j ust the occasional act of goodwill. Apess
pleaded with the American people to use their own judgement and uphold
their moral principles. He was able to use verses from the Bible to bolster
his arguments because he was a clergyman. He presented the moral
inconsistencies in American policy with as much specificity as he could,
and he based his argument against them on the intellectual foundations of
the United States. He continued by launching a scathing attack on racism at munotes.in

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4 Literature of Protest
4 his audience: "You might discover h ow deeply your principles run from
what you read. I should remark that they were superficial "(p. 504), but he
never lost faith because of the people who spoke out against abuse.
Despite being published in 1826, James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the
Mohi cans, subtitled A Narrative of 1757, refers to a previous phase of
American development. When it was written, it was widely believed that
humans were separated into several races and that certain races were
superior to others. There was no reversing destin y; Indians (savages) were
destined to perish in the presence of superior (civilised) white men. In so
doing, Cooper aimed to advance a genuine understanding of ethnological
issues in a rapidly changing America. His writing was permeated with a
conviction t hat our shared humanity could be expressed across cultural and
linguistic barriers and might remove the notion of the unfathomable
"otherness" that encouraged fear and justified exploitation.
Early to mid -19th century Native Americans had a range of issues to deal
with. They had to deal with the destruction of their cultural heritage, the loss
of their homeland, and the very real repercussions of institutionalised
discrimination. The intricacy of the cultural influences at play in the period
can be seen in the speech through the writings of James Fenimore Cooper
and William Apess. As much as the civilised, Christianized Indian was
formed in the image of the white man, so was the portrayal of the savage or
detestable Indian. Native Americans were distinctive, complex people who
shared the same needs and aspirations as other people.
The term "protest" is changing with time and age. The idea of showing
displeasure or opposing any idea is called "pro test." They did express their
resentment against unjust economic, social, and religious situations. It
might be because protesting is something that men naturally tend to do.
Individual protest frequently manifests as social protest. Protest is the
conscio usness that develops when a man encounters an unfair and inhumane
circumstance and decides to end it by speaking out against it and taking
action to do so.
In India, the Bhakti traditions and their literature have had a deep impact on
Indian society for ce nturies. On the one side, they have provided a medium
for the gendered expression of existential and social suffering. Class and
caste inequalities are common subjects of concern. Since the ninth century
AD, metrical compositions, poetry, songs, vachanas, bhajans, keertanas,
and padams have been produced by vernacular poets from various castes,
regions, and religions. They are a diverse group that stands out for their non -
sectarian viewpoint, vernacular vocabulary, belief in gods, disdain for caste
and ritu als, and ties to the poor sectors.
Numerous small religious communities and groups with a revolutionary
mindset have emerged, which is what defines this democratising movement.
The Mulsim invasion introduced Islam, a more equitable religion, and this
new spirit was a result of awareness and exposure to it. Manu separates
Hindus according to caste into four varnas. Hindus are not only divided into
four varnas; he also assigns them grades. Manu prescribes rank and munotes.in

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5 Background Topics-I occupation in addition to giving privileges to Swarnas and punishing
Shudras. The Shudras' standing in Hindu society was established by Manu,
the Creator of Law and the Architect of Hindu Civilization. There are
numerous Manu Smriti Codes that are directed against Shudras. According
to God, a Shudra 's responsibility is to serve the upper varnas with dedication
and without complaint. (Manu 1 -91) This does not satisfy Manu. He desires
that the names and surnames of those who are a part of that community
reflect the submissive nature of the Shudras.
The Bhakti movement, which was just beginning, mainly questioned the
Brahminical interpretation of Hindu scriptures as a matter of religion and
dogma. And this is the very beginning of the literature of protest in India.
It has made the lower caste people a nd women a part of the new movement.
They offered irrational ideals, stressing devotion and love rather than
understanding as a path to redemption. Ramanuja, Nimbarka, Madhva,
Vallabhacharya, Ramananda, Chaitanya, Kabir, Guru Nanak, Dadu Dayal,
Mira Bai, T ulsidas, Sur Das, Maluk Das, Sundardas, and Narsinh Mehta,
among others, are well -known figures in the Bhati Movement literature. It
also moved the Bhakti -Marg. Up until the great socialist Mahatma Jyotiba
Phule and his wife Savitribai Phule made an effort , women were also not
permitted to pursue education because they were treated like Shudras. To
effect this revolutionary transformation in society, they both had to put in a
lot of effort. As a result of their efforts, women are now successfully in
charge of many positions in government, industry, and education.
The Gulamgiri by Mahatma Jotiba Phule is regarded as one of the earliest
tracts opposing the caste system. The 16 -part essay and four lyrical pieces,
which were published in 1885, criticise the con cept of caste and are written
in the style of a conversation between Jotiba and a figure he refers to only
as Dhondiba. Even till Independence, social, economic, political, and
spiritual inequality were present in India. It was Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar who
brought a drastic change in society with his writing and finally poured life
into the lives of all the Dalits and outcast or oppressed people in India
through the Indian Constitution.
Dalit literature, for that matter, is the best example of the literature of
protest. Let us take a glance at Dalit Literature and the Politics and the
Language of Protest in the next section of this unit.
1.2 POLITICS AND LANGUAG E OF PROTEST
Language plays a very important role in the formation of knowledge. And
when the same knowledge is used against something or someone to oppress
them, that becomes the superpower of th e dominant culture. When
knowledge is constructed through language, that can be considered as
language politics. Because language is used to create/manifest the
knowledge/discourse and that knowledge/discourse is acknowledged by the
dominant culture, but n ot always the knowledge/discourse is in the favour
of all the people in the society, most of the time the language is used to
manipulate the so -called truth or fact, this kind of practice can be called the
language politics. Religion, for that matter, is o ne of the best institutions to munotes.in

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6 spread favourable discourses in society, and thus it becomes the
unquestionable truth, the holy truth, or the words of the almighty, where
everyone is supposed to follow whatever is said. Then whether it is about
religion, po litics, society, gender or any other thing. Let me give you an
example from Manusmruti; “A Shudra who wants to just fill his stomach
may serve a Vaishya. If he wants a permanent means of living, he can serve
a Kshatriya. But if he wants to go to heaven or wants a higher or superior
birth in the next generation, he must serve a Brahmin." (Manu IX 334 &
335) Here we can see how the entire lives of Shudras were determined by
the dominant culture. The very discourse of superior or inferior birth was
decided by the Brahmins, and the same was in practice. “If a Shudra
arrogantly presumes to preach religion to Brahmins, the king shall have
poured burning oil in his mouth and ears.” (Manu VIII. 272.) They were not
allowed to chant or sing religious songs or mantras, and it was almost
impossible for them to rebel against it directly or indirectly.
Let me introduce you to one of the first low -caste poets in India, Sant
Chokhamela. He was a saint in Maharashtra in the 14th century. He
belonged to the Mahar caste. According to local legend, he was forbidden
by the upper classes to enter the temple or to stand at its entrance, so he
erected a cottage on the other side of the Chandrabhaga River. In
Mangalvedha, close to Pandharpur, labourers were building a wa ll when it
collapsed, crushing some of them. Among them was Chokha. His
tombstone is still visible today; it is located in front of the Vitthal temple in
Pandharpur. The slain Chokhamela's bones, according to a legend, were still
singing Vitthal, Vitthal, as though they still desired to go to the Vitthal
temple. At the footsteps of the Vitthal temple, the bones were buried. It was
he who lived in the 14th century, but let me show you a picture of the 20th
century. The same place, the same temple, but the ma n was different. He
was the Dalit activist B. R. Ambedkar, who tried to visit the temple in the
early 20th century but was stopped at Chokhamela's grave and barred from
entering further since he was a Mahar. This was the condition of Indian
society back th en. In the 14th century, Chokhamela wrote:
“Umbartyaasi Kaise Shivu Aamhi Jaati Heen
Roop Tujhe Kaise Paahu Tyaat Aamhi Deen
Paayarishi Hovu Dang Gaavuni Abhang
Natha Ghari Naache Maajha Sakha Pandurang” (Chokhamela)
In the above lines, Chokhamela says, “H ow am I supposed to even consider
touching your threshold? I am from a very low caste. How can I dare to look
at you if I want to? I am a poor and downtrodden person. I will do my best
to stand fascinated by your doorway while chanting abhangs.” The above
lines are not just expressing his desires to meet/see God, but they are
actually mildly rebelling against the dominant culture and registering their
resistance to the Bhrahmnic monopoly over religion, God, and temple.
Where the outcasts were not allowed to enter the temple, the saint said that
the lord comes and plays in their own place. Though here, the poet is not
directly opposing the dominant cultural norms, but he is changing the very munotes.in

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7 Background Topics-I discourse of God and God's availability that is in the temple, accor ding to
the dominant culture, and that is why the outcasts were not allowed to enter
temples so that they would not have access to God.
In recent times, Sant Gadge Baba, one of the known saints in Vidarbha,
proposed the very idea that God is not in the te mple or in the statue, but is
in the human being and humanity. The very language he used to criticise
the existing religion and its religious practices was very subtle. He used the
same language to manipulate earlier religious discourses. When the same
language is used to deconstruct the earlier manifested knowledge, this
practice can be called politics and the language of protest. Protesting is a
kind of political communication. It's a method of political persuasion in
which those who lack influence or pow er discover strategies for making
their voices heard in order to convey a message of opposition. Another
interesting fact about the language is that the language also has a relation
with power, and the knowledge created through the same language is
acknowl edged by the power/dominant culture. That is why the other
languages are considered inferior to the ones that have a relation with
power. Let me give you one example. When Britishers came to India and
made their colonies and when they ruled over India, the y made English the
language of administration and offered jobs to those who could read, write,
and speak English. Because Britishers were in power, English became the
powerful language. Andeven so, it was convenient for the people from
various states of In dia to communicate. Also, recently, you must have heard
about the idea of a “One Language, One Nation” policy, which is nothing
but an example of a power and language relationship, or the politics of
language.
Let me now take you to 384 BCE, the time of on e of the greatest Greek
thinkers, who proposed some fundamental ideas about writing and
aesthetics. Yes, I am here talking about Aristotle, whose Poetics is
considered the foundation of literary criticism. Who talked about tragedy,
poetry, music, and also how to write poetry? In his definition of tragedy, it
is mentioned that tragedy is “an imitation of an action, serious, complete,
and of a certain magnitude, in a language beautified in different parts
with different kinds of embellishment , through action s and not narration,
and through the sense of pity and fear, bringing about the catharsis of these
emotions.” Read again the bold and italicised parts of the definition. What
did Aristotle mean by that? Did he mean that the poetry should be written
in a be autiful language with different kinds of figures of speech? Yes,
exactly. He said the same. So, that means there are certain rules and
regulations for writing poetry. (Poetry here means literature.) If you read
his Poetics, you will understand these rules and regulations clearly. At that
time, God and the royal family were the subjects of literature. Poetry was
either written about Gods or about royal families like Kings, Dukes, etc.
And obviously, the language of these people was dignified. I challenge you
to find any classic epic where a hero is a common man or woman from a
low background or outcast like Jimmy Porter in “Look Back In Anger” or
Eklavya. I doubt you will get any epic because if you take a look at
Ramayana or Mahabharata, Iliad or Odyssey th e protagonists are not
outcasts, they all are from Royal backgrounds only. But why so? And why munotes.in

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8 not the outcasts? Was it because they were superior and the outcasts were
inferior? Then what about the language the outcasts speak? If the language
of the royal people is dignified, then are the languages of outcasts or
countrymen undignified? According to Longinus, to achieve sublimity, the
poet needs a dignified language. What if a common man writes poetry in
his own language? Isn't that great or sublime poetry then?
Since outcasts were not considered in the dominant culture, then there is no
question about their language. And that is why the Dalits needed a language
like English to express their thoughts and show the world the culture they
belong to. The use o f English as the medium of expression helps in
preventing traditional and skewed thinking and the establishment of
hegemonic social structures. According to Madhopuri, the usage of Hindi
and Sanskrit encourages rigidity and prevents Dalits from participati ng in
society at large.
Raj Gauthaman, a Dalit activist, makes a compelling case for the use of
language by Dalits. He asserts that the proclaimed intention of Dalit works
is to challenge accepted contemporary (upper caste) linguistic conventions
and to "e xpose and invalidate the present language, its grammar, its polish,
and its deceptive order as emblems of dominance." He adds, "For it is
according to these measures that the language of Dalits is marginalised as a
vulgar and obscene language, the language of slums . English for the Change
of Social Status English has helped a great deal in making Dalits ex -
untouchables. It might be included in university curricula throughout the
nation and even beyond because of the growing usage of English in Dalit
works f or translation purposes. Now, this has helped the movement a lot
because it could associate youth and intelligentsia in its fold. Any
movement with youth as its force becomes a force to reckon with.
Madhopuri also feels English education for Dalits has bro ught in rational
thinking as an alternative to conforming to the established socio -cultural
setup. The key to that change was education: parhai kar ke zaat badalni
(altering caste status by acquiring education). This was the mantra that B.R.
Ambedkar gave to his people.
Even Dalit critics like Chandra Bhan Prasad have elevated English to the
rank of a deity and even supported building a shrine dedicated to her (Times
of India, 2010). Such measures would be in opposition to the Dalits' anti -
traditional syste m attitude, according to Dalit thinkers like Madhopuri.
Giving English the title of deity would be anti -Dalit and in favour of the
current quo. Thus, we can see how language and the politics of language are
important for any culture. Let us now take a look at the translation and
literature of protest in the next section.
1.3 TRANSLATION AND LITE RATURE OF PROTEST
Some Dalit activists refer to English as the Dalit Goddess because it is the
language of empowerment, protest, and resistance. Through the English
translation of Dalit texts, a socio -cultural revolution's growth and
importance are attained. What happens to the text when it is modified by
the translator in the process of making it available to the readers of a munotes.in

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9 Background Topics-I different language if the goal of translation is to be heard and unders tood by
a greater readership? Does the power of manipulation and interpretation that
the translator has to empower the source text or the translated text? When it
comes to the topic of marginalised literature, which develops as a result of
or as a componen t of the fight in the lives of the downtrodden, this issue,
which is significant in the translation of texts, becomes even more vital here,
each and every word is a product of a culture that the author, translator, or
both encounter or witness. The author tries uncompromising when it comes
to important matters like Dalit identity, and he or she subtly critiques the
dominant Dalit culture and calls for critical reading of Dalit tradition. Some
voices are silent, some are muffled, and some are occasionally an d
ineffectively heard. Literature supports a chance for the voices that have
been muted or have been silent for a long time if verbalization is
empowerment. If being heard by a sizable population is an act of
empowerment, then many voices end up being igno red and less heard due
to a variety of both overt and covert factors.
Language is primarily the fundamental cause of not being heard or being
heard less, among other factors. It may be national and international
languages compared to regional languages or standard languages compared
to dialects. When there is a need to voice and convey literature to more
readers, translation, in the context mentioned above, seems to be one of the
worthwhile strategies. Actually, a major part of Dalit literature is available
only in regional languages. Then, English is the sole language through
which one may read Dalit literature in other languages. With the exception
of the fact that very few Dalit writings have been translated into English,
there have been quite a few dispu tes and controversies with regard to a
variety of issues regarding the translation of Dalit texts into English as there
have been any translations from regional languages into English. English -
language literature is unquestionably enriched by the translati on of Dalit
texts, which also empowers Dalit authors. It offers up a whole new realm of
real information about the oppressed, their hostility, their responsibility, and
their engagement. The translations fill up major gaps in Indian writing in
English whic h has not been able to hold the voices of the socially and
economically marginalised sections. Let us try to scan how Dalit writings
have been empowered in translation into English. It's debatable whether it
actually empowers the Dalit text or not. The tra nslation's enhancement of
Dalit literature is a symbol of Dalit empowerment that is connected to the
Dalit revolution. It is influential that when a writer writes to assert the Dalit
identity, the translation takes the text as close as possible to that ide ntity.
According to well -known Dalit activist Sharan Kumar Limbale, "Dalit texts
arise from experience, but non -Dalit literature emerges from fantasy"
(Limbale, 1993). Most Dalit writers corroborate this view that their life is
their literature. Hence, it is only extending the established empowerment
into the target language and target literature. The obligation for
communicating the culture, experience, identity, and argument of the
original writer falls under this endeavour to empower target writing and, in
turn, Dalit literature. According to sociologist Ashish Nandy, "I definitely
endorse every oppressed minority or individual's freedom to pick up any
weapon, be it a political, academic, or intellectual error, to combat the munotes.in

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10 Literature of Protest
10 establishment. It's the sheer audacity of it that makes it so forceful." He
further says that Dalits must no longer see themselves as oppressed and
repressed; they have their own traditions and knowledge systems which
must be preserved. There's a very powerful tradition of history, mu sic, and
life, which the younger generation must be proud of. (Vrinda Gopinath,
2006)
With the help of many languages, translation no doubt plays a very
important role in spreading thoughts from one culture to another. As far as
literature of protest is co ncerned, it is mostly in the regional languages and
thus to bring the literature of protest from regional language to the global
level, translation is very much important.
1.4 SUMMING UP
Dear learner, let us sum up what we have learned in this chapter. We
discussed concepts such as Literature and Protest, Politics and Language of
Protest and Translation and Literature of Protest. We have arrived at a basic
understanding of the literature of protest an d its origin and development.
The chapter also discussed the Indian Bhakti Movements and their
contributions to their role in the history of the literature of protest. We then
took a cursory look at politics and its relation to the language of protest.
And lastly, we studied the importance of translation in the literature of
protest with illustrations.
1.5 IMPORTANT QUESTION S
Consider working on the following concepts with the help of notes and the
references given at the end of the chapter.
x The role of Bhakti Movements in the history of literature of protest.
x Write a detailed note on the Politics an d Language of Protest.
x What is the essence of Translation in the Literature of Protest?
x Comment on the emergence and growth of Bhakti Movements in
India.
x Write an essay on “Bhakti and Social Protest”.
x Write a critical analysis of Dalit activists and litera ture and their role
in the literature of protest.
1.6 REFERENCES
x Ambedkar B. R., 1978, Babasah eb Ambedkar‘s Writings and
Speeches, vol 1, Education Department, Government of Maharashtra,
Bombay.
x Andrew Schelling, 2011, Oxford Anthology of Bhakti Literature.
OUP India. munotes.in

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11 Background Topics-I x Behl, Aditya .  ʊ3resence and $Esence in %haNti $n
$fterZord. ۅInternational -ournal of +indu Studies, Yol. , no. ,
x “D is for Dalits and E is for the English Goddess”. Times of India 2nd
May 2010, Englished.: 1. Print.
x Farhana Sayeed, “The Goddess English: Lan guage of Protest and
Empowerment”, Language in India 2013.
x Gopinath, Vrinda. (2006). Happy Birthday, Lord Macaulay, thank
you for Dalit empowerment. The Indian Express October 25, 2006,
English ed.:1. Print.
x .uPar, $Nshaya. . ʊTranslatinJ %haNti Vers ions of Kabir in
Colonial(arly 1ationalist 3eriod. ۅIndian /iterature, Yol. , no. .
x Larson, Gerald James, 2007. "Scholarship on Religion and
Communities of Faith," Journal of Hindu -Christian Studies: Vol. 20.
Lele, Jayant, 1
x Limbale, Sharan Kumar. (1993). Towards an Aesthetic of Dalit
Literature: History, Controversies and Considerations, trans. Alok
Mukherjee. Hyderabad: Orient Longman.
x Oza, Preeti. "History of Protest Literature in India: Trails from the
Bhakti Literature." International Journal of Interreligious and
Intercultural Studies 3.2 (2020): 38 -49.
x Sargar, Shivaji D. "Dalits and the Literature of Protest: An
Overview." Labyrinth: An International Refereed Journal of
Postmodern Studies 3.4 (2012).
x Satyanarayana, Adapa.1995."Dalit p rotest literature in Telugu: A
historical perspective." Economic and Political Weekly.
Web Sources:
x https://www.essaysauce.com/coursework/literature -of-
protest.php#:~:text=Over%20the%20centuries%2C%20one%20of%
20the%20most%20important,Nast%2C%20John%20C.%20Calhoun
%2C%20and%20Martin%20Lut her%20King .
x https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347325862_History_of_Pr
otest_Literature_in_India_Trails_from _the_Bhakti_Literature
x https://www.academia.edu/43557933/History_of_Protest_Literature
_in_India_Trails_from_the_Bhakti_Literature
x http://eiirj1.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/8/0/10800505/28ss.pdf
x https://www.jstor.org/stable/23333844
x https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhakti_movement#:~:text=The%20Bh
akti%20mov ement%20refers%20to%20the%20Hindu%20devotiona
l,Tamil%20Nadu%20and%20Kerala%20%29%2C%20and%20sprea
d%20northwards .
x https://byjus.com/free -ias-prep/bhakti -movement/
x https://bhaktidhara.in/devotion/history -of-bhakti -movement -in-india/ munotes.in

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12 Literature of Protest
12 x https://byjus.com/free -ias-prep/bhakti -movement -ncert -notes/
x https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2006/11/tradition -of-
american -protest -literature -probed/
x https://www.ukessays.com/essays/english -literature/analysis -
american -protest -literature -5109.php
x https://smartenglishnotes.com/2021/11/03/aristotles -definition -and-
six-elements -features -of-tragedy/
x https://www.the -
criterion.com/V5/n6/Haroon.pdf#:~:text=Dalitsof%20Maharashtr a%
20registered%20their%20protest%20in%20the%20form,thirty%20fi
ve%20novels%2C%20one%20among%20them%20was%20%28195
9%29 .
7777777
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13 2
BACKGROUND TOPICS -II
Unit Structure
2.0 Objective
2.1 Concept of Caste, Varna Theory and Division of Labour
2.1.1 Definition and meaning of caste
2.1.2 Essential characteristics of Caste System in India
2.1.3 Varna System
2.1.4 Division of Labour
2.1.5 Forms of Division of Labour
2.2 Concept of Race and Discrimination
2.2.1 What is Race?
2.2.2 What is Race discrimination?
2.2.3 What the Equality act says about Race Discrimination?
2.2.4 Different types of Race Discrimination.
2.2.5 Discrimination.
2.2.6 What Drives Discrimination?
2.2.7 Some key forms of Discrimination.
2.3 Protest in African American, Dalit and Tribal Literature
2.3.1 Protest in African -American and Dalit Literature
2.3.2 Protest in Urmila Pawar’s Aaydan (The Weave of My Life) and
The Autobiography of Malcolm X/ Al-Hajj Malik Al -Shabazz
2.3.3 Protest in Tribal Literature
2.3.4 Women in Tribal Society
2.4 Let’s Sum up
2.5 Important Questions
2.0 OBJECTIVES
This unit will make the students aware with:
x The voices of discord, rhetoric and cultural contexts.
x How to compare and contrast the artistic manoeuvres.
x The protest spectrum in literature.
x The panoramic understanding of global protest literature and
ideologies.
x The historical links between forms of protest and meanings of literature munotes.in

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14 Literature of Protest
14 With this knowledge the students will be able to read and interpret cross
cultural texts, understand protest literature, get sensitized towards global
issues. Students will also learn to look into past, correlate it to present and
future. They will also be able to Understand the historicity of protest
literature.
2.1 CONCEPT OF CASTE , VARNA THEORY AND
DIVISION OF LABOUR
2.1.1 Definition and meaning of caste
The English word caste is derived from the Spanish and Portuguese word
casta, and which, according to the John Minsheu 's Spanish dictionary means
"race, lineage, tribe or breed". Howbeit, it was the Portuguese who first
applied the term ‘casta’ in the primary modern sense of the English word
'caste'. And when the Portuguese applied it to the thousands of endogamous,
hereditary Indi an social groups they encountered, undergone and
experienced upon their arrival in India in 1498. The term ‘caste’ also
indicates ‘race’ or ‘kind’. Whereas the Sanskrit word for caste is ‘varna’
which means colour. And according to the Chaturvarna doctrine , the Hindu
society was basically divided into four main varnas such as, the Brahmins,
the Kshatriyas, the Vaishyas, and the Shudras. The varna system which was
prevalent during the Vedic period was generally based on the division of
labour and occupation.
The term ‘Caste’ is a form of social stratum which is represented and
defined by endogamy , hereditary transmission of a style of life which
generally comprises an occupation, ritual sta tus in a hierarchy, and
customary social interaction and exclusion which is based on cultural belief
of purity and pollution. Its paradigmatic ethnographic illustration is the
division of India's Hindu society into rigid social groups, with roots in
India's ancient history and persisting and perpetuating to the present time.
As a result, the economic importance of the caste system in India has been
declining and diminishing due to the urbanisation and affirmative action
programs.
2.1.2. Essential Characteristics of Caste System in India
x Hereditary
An individual’s Caste status is determined and decided strictly by his
heredity, i.e. the caste into which an individual is born. No extent of
personal accomplishment, background, history, knowledge or efforts
can change his/her caste status.
x Endogamous
In endogamous groups inter -caste marriages are st rictly and rigidly
prohibited and there is merely an inclination to marry within the group.
However, an individual who is born to a low caste can never hope and munotes.in

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15 Background Topics-II think to marry someone who is from higher caste. Every individual is
supposed to marry within h is caste and sub -caste.
x Hierarchal
Indian caste system has a system of superiority and subordination.
However, according to Hindu Caste the hierarchy is that the Brahmin
occupies the highest level which is followed by kshatriya, Vaishya and
Shudra.
x Fixed occupations
Having developed from the Varna system the occupation in caste
system is fixed and definite for instance the son of a carpenter becomes
carpenter etc. With development of industrialization and mechanization
people belonging to different castes have lost their occupation and have
taken agriculture or some other occupation.
x Restricted Food Habits
In Indian caste system, the higher castes try maintaining their traditional
purity followed by distinct food habits. Therefore, the Brahmins will
only ta ke ‘Satwil’ or ‘Pure’ food, while Kshatriya and Vaishya will take
‘Royal’ food. A Shudra takes ‘Tamsi’ food. Each caste has its own laws
which govern the food habits.
x Untouchability
In Indian caste system the Shudra, the people belonging to the lowest
stratum castes are considered to be untouchables. There was a time
when the Shudra were considered to be as pollution and even if the
shadow of a low caste would fall on a Brahmin, then the latter was said
to have been polluted.
2.1.3. Varna theory
The term varna in the context of Hinduism, attributes to
the Brahminic ideology of hierarchizing society into classes . This ideology
and belief are embodied in the texts such as Manusmriti , which classify and
categorize the society into four varnas as follows;
x Brahmins were mostly Vedic scholars, priests and t eachers.
x Kshatriyas were rulers, warriors and administrators.
x Vaishyas were agriculturalists and merchants.
x Shudras were laborers and service providers/servant.
The communities which belong to one of the four varnas or classes are
known as Savarna whereas the ones who do not belong to any varna were
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16 Literature of Protest
16 The four division i.e. the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and the Shudras
is a form of social classification, completely different from the
regional Jatis, which were later mapped and outlined by the British, to the
European term " caste ". The varna system is discussed in Hindu texts, and it
is understood as idealised human callings. However, the concept is often
traced to the Purusha Sukta verse of the Rig Veda. The commentary on the
Varna system in the Manusmriti is frequently cited. Counter to these textual
classifications, many Hindu texts and doctrines question and disagree with
the Varna system of soci al classification. The varna system provides and
example of unity in diversity.
The word ‘Varna’ appears in the Rigveda , and it means "colour, outward
appearance, exterior, form, figure or shape". The term Varna contextually
means "colour, race, tribe, species, kind, sort, nature, character, quality,
property" of an object or people in some Vedic and medieval texts.
According to this theory, it was in around 1500 BC, when the varna
originat ed with the arrival of Aryans in India. And according to this theory,
the Aryans invasion led to the conflict and clashes between them and the
original inhabitants of the subcontinent who were called the Dashuds.
The varna system, does not believe in supe riority of inferiority, it is wrong
to believe that one job belongs to an "inferior" category and another to a
"superior". No work is greater or superior, every work is equal in varna
system.
2.1.4. Division of Labour
The term Division of labour first or iginated from the division of workers in
distinct occupations. For example, in an extensive readymade garment
factory, a man does the cutting of cloth, the second man stitches clothes
with machines, the third buttons the clothes, the fourth makes folding a nd
packing, the fifth checks all the packages, etc. So, this way of doing the
work is known as division of labour for the reason that, different workers
are engaged and involved in performing and fulfilling different parts of
production. As said by Watson, “Production by division of labour consists
in splitting up the productive process into its component parts.”
The Scottish economist Adam Smith said that the division of labour was
limited and restricted by the extent (size) of the market. If the demand for a
commodity and goods is low, then the size of its market will be small. The
manufacturer will employ only a small number of workers. Hence, here one
worker will have to perform a number of operations and as a result the
division of labour will be small. Whereas, on the other hand, if there is great
demand for the commodity then the size of the market will be large. In order
to meet the large demand, the manufacturer will have to increase the scale
of production. Therefore, he will split producti on into distinct processes and
sub-processes which will be operated by different persons. Hence, this
increases the division of labour. Thus, division of labour depends on the
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17 Background Topics-II 2.1.5. Forms of Division of Labour
x Simple Division of Labour
When the production is split up into distinct parts and a number of
workers come together to complete the work, but the contribution of
each worker cannot be known, it is known as simple division of labour.
x Complex Division of Labour
When the produ ction is split up into distinct parts and each part is
performed and accomplished by different workers who have specialised
in it, it is known as complex division of labour .
x Forced Labour
Forced labour is also known as Slave labour, which is performed
involuntarily and under threat, hardship, compulsion and pressure
generally by relatively large groups of people.
x Occupational Division of Labour
When the production of a commodity or product becomes the
occupation of the worker, it is called occupational di vision of labour.
Division of labour possesses some advantages and disadvantages which
are as follows:
Advantages
x Increase in Production
With the adoption of division of labour, the total production increases.
The Scottish economist and philosopher Adam S mith has elucidated the
advantage of division of labour with the help of an illustration that a
worker can produce only 20 pins daily. And if the making of pins in a
modern factory is divided into 18 processes, then 18 workers can
produce 48,000 pins in a single day.
x Increase in efficiency and competence of labour
With division of labour, a worker has to do the same work again and
again, by this the worker gets specialisation in it. Hence, in this way,
the division of labour leads to a great increase in efficiency and
competence among them.
x Increase in skill
With the repetition of the same work, the worker becomes specialised
in it and hence, this specialisation empowers him to do the work in the
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18 Literature of Protest
18 Disadvantages
x Monotony
Under division of labour, a worker has to do the same job again and
again for years together. As a result, after a passage of time, the worker
feels bored or the work becomes annoying, irritating and monotonous.
x Loss of Efficiency
Division of labour is most of the times accounted for the loss of
efficiency, effectiveness and competence . For example, if a cobbler
goes on cutting the leather for a long period of time, he may lose the
efficiency and competence of making shoes.
x Danger of unemployment
The danger and fear of unemployment is another disadvantage of
division of labour. When the worker frequently produces a small part
of goods or commodities, he ultimately gets specialised in it and he does
not have the complete knowledge of the production of goods. For
example, a man who is expert in buttoning the clothes and if due to
some reason he is dismissed from the factory, then it will be very
difficult for him to find the job of buttoning. Therefore, division of
labour has a fear an d danger of unemployment.
So, to conclude, we can say that the division of labour is beneficial and
helpful to the workers, to the producers and to the society as a whole.
2.2 CONCEPT OF RACE AND DISCRIMINATION
2.2.1. What is Race?
A race is a categorizat ion of human beings primarily based on shared
physical or social characteristics into groups usually regarded as definite
within a given society. The term race was first used to refer to speakers of
a common language, and then later on to denote national a ffiliations. And
by the 17th century, the term race began to refer to physical (phenotypical)
traits. Modern science sees the term race as a social construct, an identity
that is assigned and based primarily on rules made by the society. Whereas,
it is par tly based on physical similarities within groups. The term race does
not have an inherent physical or biological meaning.
It was in the 17th century when the modern meaning of the term race with
reference to human beings began to arise and emerge. Until t hen, the term
race has had a variety of meanings in the languages of the western world.
Most of the definitions of race that have in common is an attempt and effort
to categorize peoples often through their physical differences. In the United
States, for i nstance, the term race usually refers to a set of or group of people
who have in common some visible physical traits, such as skin colour, facial
features, hair texture and eye formation etc. Such distinctive features are
allied with large, geographically separated populations, and these munotes.in

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19 Background Topics-II continental aggregates are also designated as races, as the “African race,”
the “European race,” and the “Asian race.” Most of the people think of race
as reflective of any visible physical (phenotypic) variations amongst h uman
groups, despite of the cultural context and even in the absence of fixed racial
categories.
Modern scholarship sees racial categories as socially constructed, that is
race is not intrinsic to human beings but moderately an identity which is
created, g enerally by socially dominant and powerful groups to establish
meaning and significance in a social context. Different cultures characterize
different racial groups, and usually focused on the largest groups of social
relevance, and these definitions can c hange over time.
2.2.2. What is Race Discrimination
Race discrimination is when you are treated differently because of your skin
colour or racial or ethnic origin. This treatment could be a one -off action or
due to a rule or policy primarily based on race. And, it doesn’t ought to be
intentional to be unlaw ful. Individuals can discriminate by way of means of
refusing to do business with, socialize with or share assets with people of a
certain group. Governments can discriminate in a de facto style or explicitly
in law for instance, through the strategies and policies of racial
discrimination, distinct enforcement of laws and legal guidelines or
disproportionate and divergent allocation of resources. Some jurisdictions
have anti -discrimination laws which restrict and prohibit the government or
individuals fro m discriminating primarily based on race (and sometimes
other factors) in diverse and varied circumstances. Some institutions and
laws use positive and affirmative action to endeavour to overcome or atone
for the consequences of racial discrimination. In f ew cases, that is merely
enhanced recruitment of members of underrepresented groups; whereas in
other cases, there are rigid racial quotas. For most of the people not just race
discrimination, but discrimination based on class, caste, gender, race
religion etc. is the everyday reality.
2.2.3. What the Equality act says about Race Discrimination?
In the Equality Act, race can mean your colour, or your nationality (such as
your citizenship). It can also mean your ethnic or national origins, which
might not b e similar to your current nationality. For instance, you can have
Chinese national origins and be dwelling in Britain with a British passport.
Race additionally covers ethnic and racial groups. A racial group can be
made of two or more distinct racial grou ps, for instance black Britons,
British Asians, British Sikhs, British Jews, Romany Gypsies and Irish
Travellers. You can be discriminated against due to one or more facets of
your race, for instance people born in Britain to Jamaican parents may be
discri minated against due to the fact they are British citizens, or due to their
Jamaican national origins.
2.2.4. Different types of Race Discrimination.
There are basically four important types of race discrimination which are
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20 Literature of Protest
20 1. Direct Discrimination - Direct discrimination is when you’re directly
discriminated due to your race. Direct discrimination takes place when
someone treats you very badly than another person who is in a same
situation due to your race i.e. due to your skin colour or your nationality.
For example, age, race, religion and belief, disability, pregnancy and
maternity, gender reassignment etc.
x For instance, if you are looking for a flat to purchase but, the letting
agency would not let a flat to you due to your race, so this will be
referred as direct race discrimination.
x Someone with good potential is not offered a job because they are
woman, or their colour is dark, and the job goes to the less qualified
man. This is also an example of direct race discriminat ion.
x Direct discrimination also happens when applying for a job,
someone is treated unfairly and did not get selected just because the
job gets to someone who is directly associated with the interviewer.
2. Indirect Discrimination - Indirect discrimination happens when an
organisation has a particular rules or arrangements, or policy or way of
working that puts group of employees or job applicants or the people of
your racial group at a disadvantage.
x For instance, a sales company is recruiting for a head of sales and
the HR team only advertises the job internally, and the only people
who could apply internally are all men. This means that the sales
company could be discriminating indirectly, based on sex.
Racial bias exists not just in the company or at an y work place, but
it also exists in the medical field affecting the way how patients are
treated and the way they are diagnosed. There are many instances
where patients’ words are not taken seriously, and they are left
unnoticed, the best example would be the recent case with Serena
Williams . After the birth of Serena William’s daughter via C -
section, the tennis player began to feel pain, misery and shortness
of breath. It to ok her several times to convince the nurse they
actually took her self -said symptoms seriously. Had she not been
incessant and demanded a CT scan, which showed a clot that was
resulting in blood thinning, Serena might have not been alive. This
is just one of hundreds of cases where systemic racism can perturb
and affect women of colour in pregnancy complications.
3. Harassment - Harassment takes place when a person makes you feel
humiliated, outraged or degraded due to your skin colour, race, religion,
sex, national or ethnic origin, disability etc. Harassment can take place
in a variety of circumstances such as harassment in the workplace,
harassment in schools, sexual harass ment, landlord harassment,
harassment related to religious beliefs, sexual harassment in the
workplace, sexual and gender employee harassment, racial harassment
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21 Background Topics-II x The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, or a supervisor in
different area, an agent of the employer, he can be a co -worker or
can be a non -employee.
x The victim does not always have to be the person who is harassed,
but the victim can be anyone affected by the offensive and abusive
conduct.
x Unlawful harassment may occur without economic injury to, or
discharge of, the victim.
4. Victimization - Victimization takes place when you are treated very
abominably because you have made a complaint of race related
discrimination under the Equality Act. It can also take place if you are
supporting or helping someone who has made a complaint of race
related discrimination.
For instance, rape, sexual touching, physical abuse, sexual harassment,
sexual exploitation, domestic violence etc.
2.2.5 Discrimination.
Discrimination hits hard at the very heart of being human. It is harming
someone’s rights certainly due to who they're or what they believe.
Discrimination is pernicious and perpetuates inequality. We all have the
prerogative to be treated fairly and equall y, irrespective of our race, class,
caste, ethnicity, nationality, religion, belief, intercourse, gender, language,
sexual orientation, gender identity, intercourse characteristics, age, fitness
or different status etc. even though we have the right to be treated equally
often hear the heart -breaking tales and stories of people who go through
cruelty and endure a lot just for belonging to a “different” group from the
ones in positions of advantaged or power .
Discrimination occurs when a person of any class, caste, caste, ethnicity,
nationality, religion, belief, gender etc. is unable to enjoy his or her human
prerogative or other legal prerogatives on an equal basis with others due to
an unjustified distinction and differentiation made in policy, law, rules and
regulation or treatment. Discrimination can take diverse forms such as
direct discrimination, indirect discrimination and intersectional
discrimination. In direct discrimination differentiation is made between
groups of people that impacts in individua ls from some groups being less
able than others to exercise their prerogatives. For instance, a law that
requires women, and not men, to provide proof of a certain level of
education as an essential for voting would constitute direct discrimination
on the grounds of sex. Whereas intersectional discrimination occurs when
various forms of discrimination associate and incorporate to leave a
particular group or groups at an even greater disadvantage and loss. For
instance, discrimination against women time and again means that they are
paid less than men for the same work. Discrimination against an ethnic
minority generally results in members of that group being paid less than
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22 Literature of Protest
22 2.2.6. What Drives Discrimination?
At the heart of all forms of discrimination is the biasness and prejudice
which is primarily based on the concepts of identity, and the need to identify
with a certain group. This prejudice can result in division, hatred or even
the dehumanization of other people due to the f act that they have a disparate
identity. In most parts of the world, the politics of condemn, fear and worry
are on the rise. Intolerance, hatred, prejudice, animosity and discrimination
is inflicting an ever -widening rift in societies. The politics of fea r and worry
is driving people apart as leaders peddle toxic rhetoric, blaming certain
groups of people for economic or social problems. Some governments
attempt to reinforce and strengthen their power and the status quo by
blatantly justifying discriminati on in the name of morality, religion or
ideology etc. Discrimination can even be cemented in national law, even if
it breaks international law, for instance, the criminalization of abortion
which denies and refuse women, girls and pregnant people, the health
services only they need . Certain groups can even be seen by the authorities
as much more likely to be criminals simply for who they are, such as being
impoverished, indigenous or black.
2.2.7. Some key forms of Discrimination.
x Racial and Ethnic discrimination
Racism impacts and hits hard virtually almost every country in the
world. It systematically and consistently denies people to enjoy their
full human rights simply die to their skin colour, caste, class, race,
ethnicity, religion, national or igin etc. There are many cases in India, in
which the members of the Dalit community are targeted, by the
members of dominant castes, for a range of human rights violation and
abuses. The crimes such as gang rapes, killings and the destruction of
their hom es, often go un -investigated by the police because of the
discriminatory attitudes and mindsets which do not take crimes against
Dalits seriously.
x Discrimination based on Caste
Even after 73 years of Independence, it can be seen that our Indian
culture an d society is not free from separation, violation and
discrimination based on caste, class, gender, religion, politics, culture,
and treating downtrodden sections as untouchable is still prevalent in
the society. In an orthodox and tradition -bound societies both women,
and backward classes are persistently repressed and suppressed
irrespective of their caste, religion, class, gender or education and are
treated as inferior and subjugated groups in hierarchal social structure
by the powerful. Discrimination b ased on work and descent which is
referred to as caste discrimination is widespread and it is deeply rooted
in society, it exhibits itself in everyday lives, in individual perceptions
to culture and customs, in social and economic structures, in education
and employment, and in access to services, opportunities, resources and
the market. Discrimination is perpetuated and bolstered from
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23 Background Topics-II internalized, regardless of the existence in some co untries of laws and
affirmative action to tackle the circumstances.
x Gender Discrimination
In most of the countries, and in almost all regions of the world, the
policies, laws, customs and beliefs that exist, denies and refuse, women
and girls their rights. Women cannot dress as they like, because if
something happens, then the girl is to be bla med for, or she is not
allowed to work at night, or she is not even allowed to go out at late
night. Whereas there are few countries in which the discriminatory laws
place limits on a woman’s right to divorce, own property, exercise
control over her own bo dy and enjoy protection from harassment.
In the ongoing battle for justice and equal rights, hundreds of thousands
of women and girls take to the streets to claim their human rights and
demand gender equality. All over the world, women and girls, trying
their best, fighting for their rights, and they have been at the leading
edge of demands for change.
Howbeit, the social media has given more prominence in some parts of
the world to women’s calls for equality in the workplace. In almost all
over the worl d, in many places, women are not only paid less, on
average, than men, but are more likely to do unpaid work and to work
in informal, insecure and unskilled jobs. This injustice against women
can be seen just because of social norms and the orthodox and tr adition
bound societies that consider women and their work to be of lower
status. Gender -based violence by the patriarchal society
disproportionately and immensely affects women, yet it remains a
human rights crisis that politicians continue to ignore.
x Discrimination based on disability
As many as 1 in 10 people around the world lives with a disability,
though in many societies, people with disabilities must grapple with
stigma, being blackballed and treated as objects of sorrow, sympathy,
pity, worry or fe ar. For about 70 to 80 percent of the people with
disabilities, developing countries are their home. Women with
disabilities are two to three times more likely to encounter physical and
sexual abuse than women without disabilities.
x Discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and
intersex (LGBTI) people.
Discrimination is something which can be seen everywhere in the
world. People not just face discrimination based on race, skin colour, or
ethnic origin, they also face discrimination because of who they love,
who they are attracted to and who they are. Lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people despite of recent advances,
risk being unfairly and unjustly treated in all areas of their lives,
whether it’s in education, emplo yment, housing or access to health care,
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24 Literature of Protest
24 immensely very difficult and painful, and in most cases, impossible for
LGBTI people to live their lives freely and seek justice for abuses,
exploitatio n and injustice, when the laws are not on their side. Even,
when in some cases it is to their side, there is strong stigma and
stereotyping of LGBTI identities that restrains them from living their
lives as equal members of society or accessing rights and freedoms that
are available to other members of the society.
2.3. PROTEST IN AFRI CAN AMERICAN, DALIT AND
TRIBAL LITERATURE
2.3.1. Protest in African -American and Dalit Literature
The dilemma and predicament of African Americans and Dalits can be
compare d and correlated in some ways. Though the African Americans had
been slaves, they could buy their freedom with money. While the Dalits
were technically not slaves, they couldn’t even pay to rent a house. Whereas
the untouchables were not slaves, but the sa varnas had no concern and care
for them and hence they were deprived and degraded by the Savarna society.
The African -American is bereft and deprived by the White society whereas
the Dalits by the Savarna society. The Untouchables were viewed as societal
slaves. The main reason of the African slavery was economic. The African
American can do any kind of work, however their hard labour was lo longer
taken into consideration, and were disgraced and undignified, whereas on
the other hand, Dalits can perform th e lowest form of the job, but even their
hard work is always termed as disgraced and undignified. The African
American cannot hide the colour of his skin, whereas the Dalit cannot
conceal and hide his caste, hence they both suffer a similar kind of plight
and injustice.
It is significant to comprehend the condition and plight of the subalternity
which was repeatedly suppressed and repressed by the bureaucratic power
structure and their voice are always silenced. Music was perhaps considered
as an alternati ve mode to exhibit the suffering, pain, sorrow, grief and the
struggles musingly. Music gave voice to the subalterns by challenging the
flow of power within the social system.
African -American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer and
statesman, Fr ederick Douglass in the year 1845 wrote an autobiography,
‘Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass’, which was the first slave
narrative that gain more popularity before the civil war. Harriet Jacobs, an
African -American writer wrote about the gender -based violence, savagery,
brutality, cruelty, fierceness and pugnaciousness of her own life when she
endured and experienced as a slave. Harriot Jacob’s autobiography,
‘Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl which was published in the year 1861,
was consider ed as another notable and memorable slave narrative by the
time of the civil war. In India, Mulkraj Anand, who his famous for his
portrayal of the lives of the poorer castes in traditional Indian society, was
the first writer to write in the genre of Dalit literature. munotes.in

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25 Background Topics-II Marathi language author, poet and a literary critic, Sharankumar Limbale
also acknowledges that the Literary fronts of Dalits and African -American
also have many similarities. Dalits writers see the sorrow, suffering and pain
of African -Americ an writers as their own. African Americans have
expressed their sorrow, suffering, pain and grief through music genre such
as blues, ballads, stories, novels, dance and songs. African American and
Dalit movements have proceeded with distinctive paths and h ave taken
distinctive shapes, but the core of both the movements were same. Despite
differences of countries, society, language, region, economy, the similar
treatment meted out with these two communities exhibits the fact that both
were targets of injusti ce, slavery and subjugation and their experience of
suffering, pain and grief are of a world -scale.
The experience of racism, bloodshed, lynching, rampage, state sponsored
rampage and violence, Jim Crow indignity, discrimination, injustice, racial
prejudi ce alienated the African -Americans from the mainstream American
life. Penury, destitution, illiteracy, ignorance, hunger, insecurity, violence,
horror, fear, psychological and emotional trauma represents their life. Their
artistic sensibility is conditione d and affected and influenced by the
circumstances of their life. The African -Americans used their writings to
protest, resist, oppose and negate the White supremacy and liberate them
from the slavery, servitude and subjugation of White dominance. Music
played an important role in the life of African -American. It gave them relief
from pain both emotionally and voluptuously. Music played an important
role in the life of African -American. It gave them relief from pain both
emotionally and voluptuously.
The “B lues”
The African slaves were brought from Africa to America and they were as
the workers of the plantations. As songs and dance were known as the
cultural significance of these black people, they sang to themselves the
songs of their miseries, pain, agon y, despair and spiritual yearnings and
desires. These songs which came down from generation to generation in the
oral form are called as “Blues”
Jazz
It all started around 1819 in Congo Square, New Orleans, was the birthplace
of jazz. Both Blues and jazz have always influenced each other, and they
until now interact in innumerable ways today. Jazz songs galvanised the
civil rights movements for the reason that its lyrics often evoked the pain,
agony, grief, sufferings and frustration of the blacks.
Music h as been an immense source in the universe which connects and links
all the human beings together. Music has always been considered as an
timeless strong and powerful force for both the African - Americans as well
as the Dalits in India to resist and withsta nd against the injustice, inequality,
violation and the cruelty, inhumanity, and savagery in their lives.
Dalit Literature is about the oppressed and subjugated people. People, who
are known by the name Dalits in the Indian society, have a history of being munotes.in

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26 Literature of Protest
26 lived in marginalization, oppression and subjugation under the high -classes
of the Indian society. Hence, they have been considered as a marginalized,
downtrodden and subaltern group since centuries. But it was due to the
struggles and efforts of many soc ial reformers such as Dr. B.R. Ambedkar,
Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, and Mahatma Gandhi, this community has seen a
drastic change and had been progressing and developing day -bay-day.
However, their marginalization has not come to an end, and they are still
facing many problems with their existence in the present scenario.
Omprakash Valmiki, Munshi Premchand, Mannu Bhandari, Mulk Raj
Anand, Arundhati Roy, Salman Rushdie, Amrita Nagar, Malkhan Singh, Jai
Prakash Kardam, Suraj Pal Chauhan, Vasant Moon, including fe w other
writers in their books and autobiographies, portrayed the issues of
marginalization and injustice towards the dalit community. Mahaswetha
Devi, Arundhati Roy, Basudev Sunani, Bama, Sivakami, Poomani, Marku,
and Paul Chirakkarode are some other nota ble writers who wrote about the
subjugation and social injustice towards Dalits.
Dalit literature first originated and emerged in Marathi and hence, spread in
many languages all over India. Writers such as Sharankumar Limbale,
Bandhu Madhav , Laxman Gayakwad, Annabhau Sathe, Daya Pawar, P.I.
Sonkamble, Shantabai Kamble, Raja Dhale, Namdev Dhasal, Laxman
Mane, Hari Narake, Arun Kamble, Waman Nibalkar, Bhimsen Dethe, Bhau
Panchbhai, Ambadas Shinde, Kishor Shantabai Kale, Murlidhar Bansode,
have contributed to a great extent in Dalit literature. Dalit literature, is a
literature which basically focuses on the social marginalization and
suppression of the oppressed communities such as Scheduled Castes,
Scheduled Tribes and religious minorities. Fo llowing are some of the
notable autobiographies of Dalit literature:
Joothan
In ‘Joothan’ Omprakash Valmiki depicts his life as an Untouchable, or
Dalit, in the newly independent India of the 1950’s. Joothan means
‘polluted’, or scraps of food left on a pl ate, or the food that associated with
animals. The autobiography describes the struggle between Chuhra (Dalits)
and upper caste Tagas of Barla.
Siddalingaiah's Ooru Keri
Siddalingaiah’s Ooru Keri, depicts poverty and anxiety of Dalits in
Karnataka state.
Bama's Karukku
Bama’s Karukku, is the well -known prominent Dalit woman autobiography
in Tamil. The autobioagraphy portrays the life -story of a Dalit woman, and
the author herself considers Karukku the story of Dalit mass. munotes.in

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27 Background Topics-II 2.3.2. Protest in Urmil a Pawar’s Aaydan (The Weave of My Life) and
The Autobiography of Malcolm X/ Al -Hajj Malik Al -Shabazz
x Urmila Pawar’s Aaydan (The Weave of My Life)
A Dalit woman, Urmila Pawar, rejecting the traditional social role and
identity which is foisted on her and her community by the traditional
Hindu society, by educating herself and endeavouring for modernity,
creative and intellectual life protested the tr adition of Brahminil
supremacy and dominance and traditional social role and expectations
on her part. Urmila Pawar’s Aaydan also embodies her struggle and
strive for identity and modernity as well as her struggle and hardship
against the exploitation and oppression of the weaker and poor in the
traditional Chyaturvarna and patriarchal and orthodox Indian society.
x The Autobiography of Malcolm X/ Al -Hajj Malik Al -Shabazz
Malcolm X, the eminent mid twentieth century black American
Human Rights leader, anti -integrationist, revolutionary firebrand,
militant nationalist, the fiery and intense eloquent speaker, the great
liberator of black consciousness, and a black Muslim leader was born
of father Earl Little and mother Louise at Omaha, Nebraska in the
year 1925 . The White supremacist Klan’s men ruined and demolished
Earl’s house, killed his brothers and they later killed him when
Malcolm X was a child. Life was a nightmare for them.
Malcolm’s militancy, nationalism greatly and largely influenced and
inspired y oung black activists who upon his foundation and base, and
force Black Power Movement. Malcolm’s protest and militancy has
brought about significant and progressive change in the identity of
African American.
2.3.3. Protest in Tribal Literature
India is home to a number of indigenous people, who are nevertheless
untouched by the way of the lifestyle of the modern world. Indigenous
people in India comprise an estimated population of 94.4 million, which is
the largest population of the tribal people in the world. These tribal people
are also called by the name as the Adivasi's, and they are the poorest in the
country, who are until now reliant on hunting, agriculture and fishing.
While some of the considerable tribal groups in India comprise Gonds,
Santhals , Khasis, Angamis, Bhils, Bhutias and Great Andamanese. And all
these tribal groups have their own culture, tradition, language and lifestyle.
While, during the period of British rule in the Indian subcontinent, these
tribal people were called as the Depre ssed Classes.
Whereas terms such as atavika, vanavasi (which means forest dwellers), or
girijan (which means hill people) are also used for the tribes of India, while
the term Adivasi carries the particular and definite meaning of being the
original and au tochthonous inhabitants of a given region and was
particularly coined for that reason in the 1930s. Land dispossession,
deprivation, servitude and subjugation by British and zamindar interests munotes.in

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28 Literature of Protest
28 resulted in a large number of Adivasi revolts and rebel in the late eighteenth
and in the early nineteenth centuries, such as the Santal Hul (or the Santhal
rebellion) of 1855 –56. The economic dispossession, deprivation and
hardship, in few cases, triggered internal Adivasi migrations within India
that would continue for another century, including as labour for the
emerging tea plantations in Assam.
The Tribals unlike the Dalits are facing discrimination and injustice and are
until now fighting for their voice to be heard. Tribes have continued to be
at the margins of Hindu civilization since time immortal and these margins
have always been considered as vague, uncertain, unclear, dubious, and
fluctuating. The distinct and the peculiar attributes of the tribe in India has
been its isolation, for the most part, in the i nterior hills and forests as well
as in the frontier areas. Each tribe has its own different and distinct dialect
which may alter fundamentally from the prevalent and existing regional
language. But many a times, this differentiation does not work because there
are many tribes in western India including the Bhils or Bheels, an Adivasi
ethnic group in India, who do not have any language of their own but have
and adopted the language of the region.
2.3.4 Women in Tribal Society
The tribal women, like many ot her social groups, comprise of about half of
the total population. The status of the tribal women in a society can be
divided into two categories. The first category being; the tribal women have
a comparatively low status as compared to men, just like in t he caste Hindus.
Excluding the case of matrilineal, matriarchal, and polyandrous tribal
communities, the status of women in most of the tribes are inferior and
secondary as compared with men. Whereas, the other group of studies
centres on higher social sta tus of tribal women. It can be seen that the tribal
women are comparatively well off than their non -tribal counterparts, and in
that, they are free to move outside the home, mix with men folk, they can
completely participate in the various economic activit ies of the household
etc. For instance, between the Tharus of Terai, who live in both India and
Nepal, the status of women is traditionally high. These women dominate
over their husbands, they have the property rights, keep poultry, they own
it, they fish, make baskets and sell the products of their hard work. Howbeit,
the women in social groups, are more illiterate as compared with men.
However, with the outset of development programs, economic changes
have started taking place which ultimately have affect ed tribal women.
These tribal women who sustained themselves on the natural resources had
to face economic impoverishment, depletion and poverty followed by loss
of social status.
To conclude it can be said that the African -Americans and the Dalits are
embodied by comparable hegemonies and power of subjugation and duress
that depicts and differentiates the identities of the subaltern in the
irrespective cultures. Regardless of the drastic changes which took place
due to the pace of urbanization, mechanizati on and industrialization the
different tribes of India is still maintaining their traditional religion, values
and culture. munotes.in

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29 Background Topics-II 2.4. LET’S SUM UP
Protest are one of those events that no one can predict, and it has wide -
reaching implications. Protest is a part and parcel of human life and hence
is observed in distinct walks of life. Voice against the marginalized and
oppression has been a universal phenomenon since time immortal. Protest
is affirmation of dissent, assertion of disagreement. Protest can be
indivi dual or it can be collective, organized and instant. It can be against
ideology, belief, policy, action, rule system, opinion, principle etc. When
one becomes aware, alert and careful of the cause of protest, he thinks of
protest. Protest ranges from direc t massacre, rampage, violence, assault,
cruelty, to militant agitation to amicable and amiable democratic rallying to
the writing of ideas and literature.
2.5. IMPORTANT QUEST IONS
x What are the main basis of caste system?
x What is the concept of caste?
x Who was highest in caste system?
x How many types of varna are there?
x What do you mean by Varna. Explain in detail?
x What are the three types of division of labour?
x What is the largest benefit of division of labour?
x How does division of labour increase productivi ty?
x What are the advantage and disadvantage of division of labour?
x What is race discrimination?
x What are the best ways to identify biases we all have?
x What are the different types of race discrimination?
x What are the key forms of discrimination?
x What drive s discrimination?
x How did African American fight for equal rights?
x Write about the protest in African -American.
x Protest in the autobiography of Urmila Pawar and Malcolm X.
x What was the main focus of Dalit Literature?
x What is the importance of a Dalit consciousness in Dalit writing? munotes.in

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30 Literature of Protest
30 x What is the motto of the Dalit movement?
x Why is the tribal literature neglected?
x What is the role of women in tribal society?
References .
x amnesty.org
x Dr. Pavan Mandavkar, Indian Dalit Literature: Quest for Identity to
Social Equality, March 2016, Humanities & Social Sciences
Reviews 3(2):42 -48, DOI: 10.18510/hssr.2015.321
x Jenitha Blessy J & Dr. V. Bhuvaneswari, The Role of Music in the lives
of Dalits and African -Americans: A Narrative Comparison of Pain and
Endurance, Nat. Volatiles & Essen t. Oils, 2021; 8(5): 10253 -10265.
x Kalel, N.T. Protest in Dalit and African American Autobiography,
www.ijikc.in -ISSN -2454 -2415
x www.equalityhumanrights.com
x www.wikipedia.com
x www.agriinfo.in
x www.bbc.com
x www.yourarticlelibrary.com
x www.epgp.i nflibnet.ac.in
7777777
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31 3
CRITICAL STUDY OF I WANT TO
DESTROY MYSELF
Unit Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 About the Author
3.2 Back ground
3.3 Dalit Women’s Autobiography
3.4 I Want to Destroy myself – Detailed Analysis
3.5 Conclusion
3.6 Questions / Exercise
3.0 OBJECTIVES:
I want to destroy myself is a translated version of Marathi autobiography of
Mallika Amar Sheikh. The book has Introduction in which the auther makes
the objective of her autobiography clear –
“I have peeled away skin of my life and served it up to you. Some may say
this fruit is inedible but that doesn’t mother. It is more important for me to
present this very different would of experience in which I have lived, telling
the story from my point of view and from the point of view of all women
who have been exploited.
As a woman I seek justice in a patriarchal world. My role is clear to me…”
The objective of this study, therefore, is to know inner life of a women her
sufferings and her responses to the situation she was put in. The book is
offers a rare account of cross cultural conflict between write and husband
in which the man is labelled as villain becase he does not comply with her
eypectations and in doing so, makes her suffer.
Autobiography as a literary from has unique facility of makin g an individual
life open to readers. There is no scope for imagination in autobiography.
The facts that are narrated relate the readers with the author. Thus, new
relationship is formed.
3.1 ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Malika Amarsheikh
Malika Amarsheikh was born of Muslim father and Hindu mother. Her
father Shahir Amarsheikh in the communist movement in Maharashtra. As
a child she was sick and delicate and was brought up with love and care.
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32 Literature of Protest
32 in Maharashtra as her father was a prominent person with cordial relations
with political leaders of the time. She had developed love for poetry and
dance in the childhood itself, but, unfortunately, could not develop it further
as her marriage with Namdeo Dhas the celebrated Dalit poet in Maratha,
turned out to be dismal. She, however, could publish a collection of poems
entitled –.. Her autobiography in Marathi – ]ak 8ÅdÖS Óhk^I^2 (I want to destroy
myself) made her famous overnight, as it portrays the picture of a woman,
extremely sensitive and tortured by the man whom she loved and married.
3.2 BACKGROUND DALIT WOM EN’S
AUTOBIOGRAPHIES:
Let there be no misunderstanding about I want to Destroy Myself as a Dalit
woman’s autobiography. It is not Ma lika Amarsheikh was born and brought
up in as atmosphere where caste and religion did not exist. Her father was a
staunch communist and refused to be associated with any religions group.
Malika grew up as her father’s daughter and believed in human valves. In
fact, her autobiography does not elaborate the earlier impression she
received as a child, as it concentrated upon her life after marriage. Her
memoirs of Dalit literature was in full swing in Maharashtra. Several
autobiographies by male Dalit writers like Daya Pawar, Madhav
Kondnrilkar, P. Sonkamble and others had made this literary form very
popular. It was followed by Dalit women’s autobiography. Shantabai
kamble’s The Pictursque story of my life Baby Kamble’s The way are Live,
Kumud Pawade’s Antspho t, Urmila PAwar’s (Aaydan) Closed doors Muhta
Sarvagand etc. Malika’s husband Namdeo Dhasal was a very popular Dalit
poet at that time. Therefore, her wife will say something suitable and
supportive to the Dalit movement. When the book came out it was crit icized
by a group of Dalit thinkers, whereas, others praised it as an exposition of
the internal contradiction of a movement which claimed to be liberator of
humanity.
Autobiographies in Marathi has a long glorious history. It began form
Laxmibai Tilak’s Smrutichitre and in the course of time, came down to
Sangye Aika by Hunsa Wadekar, Aahe Manohar by Sunita Deshpande,
Nach g Ghuma by Madhavi Desai etc. Dalit women’s autobiographies was
the culmination of this literary form as it opened up the inner world of
women in general, and of Dalit women in particular underlining the fact that
women suffer in patriarchy despite caste, colour or creed. Malika
Amarsheikh’s I want to Destroy Myself was yet another testimony to it.
3.3 DALIT WOMEN’S AUTOBI OGRAPHY:
I want to Destroy Myself is not precisely a Dalit women’s autobiography it
is not about atrocities inflicted in the name of caste or religion yet it
inevitably relates itself with the Dalit surroundings and curses vehemently
the Dalit movement amid which she i s compelled to live. Therefore, a brief
survey of Dalit woman’s memoirs will not be out of the contest. munotes.in

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33 Critical Study of I Want To Destroy Myself Dalit women are dual victims of casteism and patriarchy. In fact, caste
system in India and patriarchy cannot be seperted from each other. They are
two sides of the same coin. India is women have always suffered in the male
dominates social structure, besides they have also been victims of caste
system. The Indian social structure has Striking similarity with that of the
social structure in America where racism prevailed for many years. Severed
black women in America (now called African -Americans) have narrated
their position is precisely like that their memoirs. Dalit women’s position is
precisely like that of black American women. Toni Morrison has depi cted
dual victimization of women in her community in – She writes –
The following words She writes Edging into life from the backdoor.
Becoming. Everybody in the world was in a position to give them order.
White women paid - “Do this white men said - “Come here” black men said -
“lie down.” The only people they need not take order from were black
children and each other.
But they took all that and recreated in it their own image. They ran the house
of the white people and knew it when white men beat their men they clean
up blood and went home to receive abuse from the victim. They beat their
children with one hand and stole for them with the other. The hands that fell
trees also cut umblical cords, the hands that wring the neck of chickens and
butchered hogs a lso nudged African violets into bloom, the arms that loaded
sheaves, bales and sacks rocked babies into sleep. They patted biscuits into
flacky ovens of innocence and shrouded the dead. They ploughed all day
and came home to nestle like plume under the lim bs of their men. The legs
that straddled the mule’s back were the same ones that straddled their men’s
hips. And difference was all the difference there was…
Dalit women’s condition Indian society was no different from that of black
women is described by T oni Morrison -
Malika Amarsheikh, though not precisely a Dalit woman, shame her fate
nevertheless, because she is unknowingly draggled into the world where
Dalit is she come up prominently.
3.4 I WANT TO DESTROY MY SELF : THE TEXT
Malika begins the memories b y recalling her father’s background. Her
father was called ‘Bhai’ at home as he was from a place called Barshi in
Sholapur district of Maharashtra. He was a famous folk singer who
propaged the communist ideology through stage performances. He
developed con tacts with prominent Marxist leaders of the time like Shripad
Amrit Dange and others. He had also visited USSR to learn more about the
Marxist ideology as propose it further in India. Bhai was Muslim by birth
but had forgotten his religious background and the Marxist -Communist
activities which do not allow religion to interfere. He fell in love with a
Hindu girl who was also a party worker. They married despite opposition.
It was to this couple that malika was born. She had elder sister called
Prerana, who later married to Sunil Barve, a well -known poet and dramatist
in Marathi. Mallika’s father would always be on tours and the three women munotes.in

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34 Literature of Protest
34 would stag alone at home. However, Mallika’s mother was strong enough
to raise the two daughter, in amid the difficultie s that they always faced,
Mallika was a sick child and had developed pleurisy - the disease that affects
lungs. She was well taken case of and a protected child. She preferred to be
left alone and lived in dream would. As a result she grew up as lonely,
sensitive and stubborn girl. Namdev Dhasal was a well know Dalit poet of
1960s who often visited Mallika’s family. There was a kind of liberal
atmosphere at home where several progressive minded people would come
together. They would discuss movies, theatre. Poetry and plan to perform.
It was here that Namdeo came into Mallika’s life. They fell in love with
each other as married.
Meanwhile, Mallika’s father passed away, He did not leave much for the
family on he led life of a gipsy wondering from place to plac e as tour any
thought for future. As a result, his family suffered economically But
Mallika’s mother, who was a strong -wiked woman, manged to run the
family and took care of everything at home. Namdeo Dhasal had earned
reputation and fame by writing about prostitutes, beggars, slums and the
underworld experiences. His first book of poems published in 1972 is called
Golpeetha -a red -light area in Kamathipura of South Bombay where all sorts
of underworld activities take place. Dhasal had lived there and shared the
experiences therein. As a result, he turned out to be an insensitive husband,
beating his wife on and off, always domineering and unmindful of the
sufferings he came to his young wife Mallika’s life after marriage became
a saga of sufferings. She nama ten instances of Namdeo’s cruelty,
indifference and promises to behave of descent behavior next time
whenever he the animal instinct in him awaken. This would happen many
times. The woman had to give in and look for ways to abort. She suffered a
great deal during pregnancy where her husband would be away from home
reciting poems on feminism and Dalit issues. A wife of a famous poet in
Maharashtra, She compelled to diliver her firstborn in a Government
hospital where pregnant women are treated as if sleeping with husbands in
shame, where women in labour pain are abused and are called by nasty
names. Mallika underwent all these experiences while her husband,
elsewhere was busy in receiving honors as a great poet. Namdeo Dhasal is
also depicted as a womanizer, a lecherous man who had sex with all sorts
of women including prostitutes. Consequently he had developed diseases
like gonorrhea, and had transmitted it to his wife adding wretchedness to
her miseries. Mallika has a son from Namdeo. They named him as
Ashut osh.- Even the child could not bring the wife and husband emotionally
together as Namdeo’s waywardness had new limitations. He continued to
ill-treat his wife and remained indifferent to her needs.
As the autobiography reveals, Mallika suffered a great dea l, and the blame
goes to Namdeo, her husband, who is depicted as a villain, a hypocrat who
would lecture on women’s liberation and treat his wife as a slave. His
extreme liberalism devoid of any substance comes one through two
incidences. He makes the youn g Mallika sleep him before marriage. The
young girl is tempted into sex by a man who had lived among prostitutes.
Second incident in more hateful. A common friend of the two - the wife and munotes.in

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35 Critical Study of I Want To Destroy Myself husband – Mallika and Namdeo’s – desires to sleep with the wife – Namdeo,
the husband, has no objection even if they have if under his very nose. The
kind of permissiveness, if it hurts the wife, is detestable. Namdeo Dhasal is
portrayed as detestable.
Namdeo Dhasal was one of the leaders of Dalit lifevary movement and
renowned for her poetic genius and potentialities. Several of his supporters
and activities in Dalit liferary movement found Mallika’s account as a stunt,
an attempt by a woman to come into limelight who has nothing else to show.
She is always critical about the Dalit movement, quotes European
philosophers, draws references from Hindu mythology and has attraction
for popular Hindi movies. Can such a woman be taken seriously? That is a
reason why I want to Destroy myself does not find place in literary studies
of Dalit women’s autobiopraphies or, if at all it does is casually mentioned.
Mallika seems to be aware of her the situation and represents her case of
vehemently. She has made her feminist stand clear. She refuses to call
herself Dalit, or even Ambedkari te as her husband claims to be. She refuses
to participate in the Buddhist rituals at the time of her son’s birthday
celebration and prefers to stay away. Hurt by husband’s disloyalty, she
blames the entire movement as a whole.
However, Mallika seems to be aware of the situation and represents her case
vehemently. She makes her stand as a feminist clear at the end of the book
Mallika Amarsheikh’s book thus, is not a Dalit woman’s autobiography. It
is an autobiography of a woman who has cast off all the shad es of caste and
creed, and wants to be known only as a woman alone. She wr ites-
I hope this autobiography is not just a story of the quarrels between a
husband and wife. And I hope it does not seem as if I have offered a one -
sided view of things, my side. Truly, I was fighting against the system of
male domination. Namdeo was not a villain in that fight. Every person is at
one time or the other, a villain. Not just Namdeo, the social system in which
we live was also responsible for what I had to suffer.
And-
Sometimes I think it might have been best to keep this hidden, to crush the
poisonous butterfly inside my first to stop it from fluttering. But being aware
can be disturbing. Perhaps if I had remained wishfully ignorant and lived
accordingly to traditio n, things might have ended up difficultly. I might
have been happy. In the end, I do need to wear the shirt of the happy man.
Who is to engineer the jail break that women must make to attain self -hood,
independence? I am just one more face in the mass of i gnored faceless
women. I hope this book will help at least, one woman find her face, that it
might help her find her way out of her circumscribed and shortly world. For
this one woman’s sake I am willing to bear whatever criticism partrianchal
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36 Literature of Protest
36 3.5 CONCLUSION :
I want to Destroy myself thus is not an autobiography of a Dalit woman
although Dalit literary movement and the social movement of Dalit panter
looms large over the narrative. The reader comes across famous literary
names of the time. Anil Barve, Raja Dhale, Shamita Gokhale, Anna Bhau
Sathe, B.R. Khedkar, the sculptor, Vijaya Mehta, Vijay Tendulkar, Paresh
Mokashi, J.V. Pawar, Bhau Samarth, the poet and painter, Rupa Deshpande,
etc. Disappointed with her husband, Mallika expresse s her disapproval with
entire Dalit movement. She even offers immature comment on Dr.
Ambedkar’s conversion into Buddhism. This, of course, reveals her
disgruntled pessimism about life in general. The entire narrative reveals her
limitless sufferings as th e hands of her husband. She is extremely angry with
him for what she has done to her. Towards the end, however, she feels pity
for him as an experiment of partiarehy, who is ignorant about what he is
doing. She assumes the feminist stand and speaks for the ‘let the butterfly
out of her fast.’ By writing this book. She has released the tension which
had accumulated in her mind and heart since long. It is hoped that she might
have found peace after writing the autobiography. Considering all things
together, i t can be concluded the, beside being memories of a woman who
has suffered at the hands of her husband, is also an inspirational document
for women in general.
3.6 EXERCISE / QUESTIONS :
1. Consider Mallika Amarsheikh’s. I want to Destroy myself’ as an
autobiography of a woman who suffered at the hands of a man whom
she loved a great deal.
2. Bring out the nature of relationship between the narrators and her
husband in I want to Destroy myself, by Mallika Amarsheikh.
3. I want to Destroy Myself is not an autobiography of a Dalit woman, yes
Dalit movement in Maharashtra looms large over its narrative. Discuss
4. Mallika Amarsheikh asserts staunch feminist stand towards the close of
her memory – I want to Destroy Myself.’ But shows no courage to step
out of the institution of marriage. Discuss.
5. Mallika Amarsheikh’s I want to Destroy Myself is nothing but an
emotional outory of a sentimental woman, who curses her husband as
the movement he is involved in. Do you agree with this vies? Answer
with sufficien t references from the text.
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37 4
CRITICAL STUDY OF BARACK OBAMA’S
DREAMS FROM MY FATHER - I
Unit Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction: A Short Bio -literary Sketch of Barack Obama
4.2 Barack Obama a nd US P olitics
4.3 Life after the Presidentship
4.4 Introduction to Dreams from my Father
4.5 Dreams from my Father :Brief Summary
4.6 Conclusion
4.7 Important questions
4.0 OBJECTIVES:
The objectives of this unit are to:
x Know the life and works of Barack Obama
x Understand Barack Obama’s approach towards Po litics
x Get acquainted with Dreams from my Father
x Get familiar with the characters in Dreams from my Father
4.1 INTRODUCTION: A SHOR T BIO -LITERARY
SKETCH OF BARACK OBAMA
Barack Hussein Obama II is a well -known political figure in international
politics as he served as the 44th President of America. He was b orn on 4th
August 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii . His parents came from different racial
and national backgrounds. His father, Barack Hussein Obama Sr., was
a Luo from Nyang'oma Kogelo, Kenya, who had won a scholarship to ge t
educated in America. During his stay in America, Obama Sr. got engaged
with Stanley Ann Dunham resulting eventually in their marriage and
Barack’s birth. Stanley was mostly of English ancestry from Wichita ,
Kansas , who was courageous enough to accept a Kenyan black man as her
life partner.
The married life of Obama Sr. and Stanley came to an end immediately after
the birth of Obama Jr. because after the completion of his education, Obama
Sr. wanted to return to his native country. After return ing home , he
shoulder ed the responsibility as an economist with the government of
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38 named Lolo Soetoro and shifted with him to Jakarta. Here Obama lived with
his mother, step -father and half -sister, Maya.
Obama ’s initial schooling started in Jakarta before he returned to his
grandparents in Hawaii. He graduated from Punahou School, Honolulu and
then moved to Occidental College , Los Angeles for two years . He earned
his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Columbia University in
1983. After taking a break for some time, he enrolled himself for a law
degree in Harvard University and graduated with flying colors.
While Barack was working as a summer associate with a Chicago law firm,
he got acquainted with Michelle Robinson, who worked there as a lawyer.
This acquaintance led to the couple’s marriage in 1992. They have two
daughters, Malia Ann Obama and Sasha Obama .
Barack Obama’s autobiography, Dreams from my Father : A Story of Race
and Inheritance is an account of his early childhood and school days, his
constant movements from one place to another along with his mother and
also from one school to another in search of better educational opportunities
eventually leading to his enrolment to Harvard Law School. The Audacity
of Hope , Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream , Obama’s second
book was published in 2006 that deals with his vision for the United States .
Referring to this book in a tweet, Obama said he aimed to ‘provide an honest
accounting of my presidency, the forces we grapple with as a nation, and
how we can heal our divisions and make democracy work for everybody .’
4.2 BARACK OBAM A AND US P OLITICS
Barack Obama is the first African American to be sworn in as the President
of America on January 20, 2009 and again for the second term from January
2013 to January 2017. It is clearly mentioned on the White House web page
that Obama’s ‘ story is the American story — values from the heartland, a
middle -class upbringing in a strong family, hard work and educati on as the
means of getting ahead, and the conviction that a life so blessed should be
lived in service to others. ’ This journey from a middle -class African
American to the White House of America was by no means an easy one. He
must have worked harder than his capabilities to prove himself as a man
with strong belief in the value system that was firmly grounded in the ethical
thinking that is reflected in all his later actions both as an individual as well
as a public figure.
Barack Obama’s rise to the Whit e House had its roots in his early life as a
student who supported his education through scholarships and student
loans. He was the first African American president of the Harvard Law
Review. Immediately after graduating from Harvard, he moved to Chicago
and became civil rights attorney and also entered into academics by taking
a teaching job at the University of Chicago.
It was i n 1996 that Obama got elected to the Illinois Senate for the first time.
His stint as the Senator is marked by many significant achievements in the
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39 Critical Study of Barack Obama’s Dreams from My
Father - I finance regulations, expanded health care to poor families, and reformed
criminal justice and welfare laws. This outstanding contribution to the
public welfare enabled him in getting elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004 .
During the next less than four years, Obama proved himself as a strong
contender for the Presidential candidature in the party to which his
colleagues supported and he won the 2008 general elections and became the
first African American t o hold the post of US President in January 2009.
Before becoming the US President, Barack Obama had to overcome the
internal rivalry among the other members of his party to get nominated for
the Presidential post. Though Senator Hilary Clinton was a strong
contender, Obama’s charismatic personality, clea r political vision, strong
sense of social responsibility, and his selfless service to the people helped
him won the nomination .
The next hurdle for Obama was his Republican opponent, John MaCain, a
seasoned politician, who left no stone unturned to prove himself as the better
candidate for the President’s post. He criticized Obama for his stand on
Iraq, on tax reforms, and also for his being inexperienced for the
Presidential job. However, Barack Obama survived all this criticism by
taking on McCain’s obj ections one by one. For example, he selected Joe
Biden to be his Vice Presidential candidate, who had a long experience in
foreign policy. Besides, he also managed to mobilize huge financial support
from his countrymen that enabled him to reach to the peop le by way of
advertising and involving grassroots organizations to work for him. All
these efforts led to his victory in the Presidential election.
During his two terms as the US President, Barack Obama made his mark in
national and international politics. His decision to withdraw American
troops from Iraq helped him win t he Nobel Peace Prize in 2009. His getting
the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed, his attempts to create
peaceful environment at international level, particularly the issues related
to Iraq and Afghanistan, his pumping in more than $700 billion to help the
banking sector to come out of the recession , etc. have helped him become
one of the most successful US Presidents. However, t hough Obama
achieved national and international recognition by his pro -people outlook
and constructive policies, he is also criticized by his opponents for his
failure in addressing the issue of slow pace of economic recovery , high
unemployment rates , not involving the Republicans in policy decisions, and
few others .
4.3 LIFE AFTER THE PR ESIDENTSHIP
Barack Obama’s Presidential term ended in January 2017. But still he is
active in US politics. He took aggressive stand against Donald Trump for
some of his controversial policies. He also actively participated in electoral
campai gn for Joe Biden that resulted in Biden’s victory n January 2020.
Besides politics, Barack Obama kept himself busy is writing and delivering
public speeches. Obama Foundation in Chicago is working for his people
by organizing various welfare activities that include training the future
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40 different skills and the like. Obama also published the first volume of his
memoir in 2018 that became the best seller all over the world and brought
in millions of dollars for Obama.
4.4 INTRODUCTION TO DREAMS FROM MY FATHE R
Barack Obama’s Dreams from my Father : A Story of Race and Inheritance
was published in 1995 . It i s a story that roughly covers Obama’s early
childhood life till his enrollment at Harvard Law School in 19 88. It speaks
about Obama’s parents – a black man from Kenya and mostly an English
woman from Kansas. As a young man, his father, Obama Sr. had won the
Kenyan government scholarship to study in US. During this stay, He
married Ann Dunham. Obama Jr. was bor n in 1961 and the very next year,
Obama Sr. moved to Harvard to earn a Ph.D. in Economics. The following
year, his parents divorced as his father wanted to get back to Kenya to serve
his country. After that the father and son could meet only once in 1971,
when Obama Sr. returned to US for a month’s stay. This was a time when
Barack as a 10 years old boy came in direct contact with his father and has
attempted to recollect those memories in his autobiography. Soon after in
1982, Obama Sr. died in an accident in Kenya. Though after few years,
Barack Obama visited his paternal relatives, there is not much left between
them.
After the divorce from her first husband, Barack’s mother remarried an
Indonesian, Lolo Soetoro, and moved to Jakarta when Barack was just six
years old. There he lived with his step -father and his family for four years
and then returned to his maternal grandparents. After graduating from the
high school , Barack attended Occidental College for two years and then
moved to Columbia University t o earn his degree in Political Science.
Dreams from my Father received several positive reviews for its style of
narration, authenticity of expression, for being ‘ the most honest, daring, and
ambitious ’. It is referred as ‘t he most evocative, lyrical and candid
autobiography ’ and also for being ‘ an affecting personal memoir with grace
and style, narrating an enthralling story with honesty, elegance and wit, as
well as (for the author’s) i nstinctive gift for storytelling .’ Time magazine
has listed the Dream s on its top 100 non-fiction books written in English
since 1923 . Besides these encouraging reviews, Obama’s book brought him
a lot of money. It got translated into several major languages of the world
including German, French, Spanish, Hindi, Marathi, Dut ch, Hebrew,
Chinese, Arabic and many more. Its audio book version won Grammy
Award for Barack Obama in 2006.
4.5 CHARACTERS IN DREAMS FROM MY FATHE R
Dreams from My Father contains numerous characters both major and
minor. These include:
Barack Obama: Narrator and protagonist of the memoir
Michelle: Barack’s wife munotes.in

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41 Critical Study of Barack Obama’s Dreams from My
Father - I The Old Man: Barack’s father
Ann: Barack ’s mother; daughter of While parents, Gramps and Toot
Gramps: Barrack’s maternal grandfather
Toot: Barack ’s maternal grandmother
Frank: Gramps’ friend
Lolo: Barack’s step -father; Ann’s second husband from Indonesia
Maya: Ba rack’s half-sister born of Ann and Lolo.
Obama: Barack’s great -great grandfather from Kenya
Hussein Onyango Obama: Barack’s paternal grandfather
Akumu: Barack ’s one of the three paternal grandmothers; the Old Man’s
mother
Granny: Barack ’s one of the three paternal grandmothers
Omar: Barack’s paternal uncle
Yusuf is one of Barack ’s uncles
Sayid: Barack ’s paternal Uncle; the Old Man’s youngest half -brother
Aunt Sarah: Barack’s paternal aunt; the Old Man ’s sister
Aunt Jane: B arack’s paternal aunt
Kezia: T he Old Man’s first wife and the mother of Auma, Roy, Bernard,
and Abo
Ruth: The Old Man ’s third wife; mother of Mark and David
Auma: Barack ’s half -sister born of the Old Man and K ezia
Bernard: Barack ’s younger brother born of the Old Man and Kezia
Roy: Also known as Abongo; Barack ’s half -brother; Auma’s brother
George: Barack’s younger half brother
Mark is one of Barack ’s half brothers
David is one of Barack ’s half brothers
Reverend Wright: The reverend of Chicago’s Trinity Church in Chicago
Rafiq: The president of the Roseland Unity Coalition
Deacon Will Milton: A Black man who works with Marty munotes.in

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42 Literature of Protest
42 Marty Kaufman: Barack ’s boss in Chicago
Harold Washington: The first Black Mayor of Chicago
Sadie: A young mother, who works with Barack in the Chicago pare nts’
group
Regina: A Black student at Occidental College
Dr. Rukia Odero: A professor of History; the Old Man’s friend
Mr. Foster: T he former head of a Chicago neighborhood Chamber of
Commerce
Tim: Barack’s friend and classmate
Mr. Anderson: The project manager of Altgeld
Dr. King: T he principal at Asante’s school
Jeff: Barrack’s w hite friend in school
Scott: Barack’s friend
Hasan: Barack’s college roommate
Salina: Billy’s mother
Besides the above mentioned characters, Angela, Billy, Shirley, Mona,
Smitty, Marcus, Ms. Alvarez, Reverend Smalls, Reverend Reynolds,
Reverend Philips, Miss Omoro, Asante, Amy, Elizabeth, and few others
keep coming in the course of various incidents that are narrated by Barack
Obama in his memoir.
4.6 DREAMS FROM MY FATHE R: BRIEF SUMMARY
Dreams from My Father begins with the author’s telling his readers about
the educational adventures and achievements of his father, Barack Obama,
Sr., who was a Kenyan by birth. As a child, Obama Sr. had won a
scholarship to study in Nairobi . Then he became the first black student in
Hawaii University and completed a course in Econometrics. His winning of
another scholarship enabled him to get enrolled and complete his Ph.D. in
Economics from Harvard . During these years he had got acquainted with
Ann Dunham, an English young woman from Kansas whom he married.
The marriage resulted in the birth of Obama Jr. However, after two years,
Obama Sr. left his son and wife back in America and returned to his
home land, for Kenya to serve his country as an economist. Soon after
Barack Obama’s mother marr ied an Indonesian and shifted to Indonesia
with her son.
During his stay in Indonesia , Barack ’s schooling started. Barack’s mother
definitely had thought about the hardships Barack and she would have to
face in Indonesia. But it was for Lolo’s kind and considerate behaviour that
the life for her had become more tolerable than she expected. She was happy munotes.in

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43 Critical Study of Barack Obama’s Dreams from My
Father - I to notice that Lolo had developed an emotional bond with Barack and was
always concerned of his well -being even if Barack was not his own son.
Indonesia was a country with large population divided in hundreds of tribes
and their d iverse culture s, languages, colonial history, the W ar and the
freedom struggle. Obama’s mother had taken up a job of teaching English
to rich Indonesian businessmen in American Embassy. However, it was not
enough for a woman with a small child to fall upon on a foreign, war -ridden
land. Though everything seemed fine between her and Lolo till the birth of
Maya, Barack’s sister he became more and more engaged with his job, and
she felt lonely. Corruption was rampant and everybody was trying to grab
his share in it. Education at local Indonesian school was not qualitative and
she could not afford to send Barack to International school where the
children of other foreign nationals usually study. So she was worried about
his future. She was so much concerned of Barack’s education that she had
enrolled him for a U.S. correspondence course. She hersel f taught him
English before she left for her job. She wanted her son to imbibe some
values which will help him to move ahead in life. To instill those values in
her son, she used to tell Barack stories of Black children in the South who
became doctors, law yers and scientists reading from their second hand
books. She used to present her first husband, Barack Obama Sr. as an
epitome of good values which he had carefully acquired by educating
himself in the best schools. From the stories which Barack’s mother used to
tell Barack about his fathe r, he remembers how his father ‘ had grown up
poor, in a poor country, in a poor continent; how his life had been hard, as
hard as anything... He hadn’t cut corners, though, or played all the angles.
He was diligent and ho nest, no matter what it cost him. He had led his life
according to principles that demanded a different kind of toughness,
principles that promised a higher form of power. I would follow his
example... I had no choice. It was in the genes .’ These deliberat e attempts
on the part of Barack’s mother to give her son lessons on value education at
early age enabled him to think of him differently than other children of his
age. At later stage he could gauge the significance of those values in one’s
life.
The nar ration of such events from the life of Barrack’s father and also from
the lives of other successful black professionals presents Ann as an idealist,
who wanted her son to tread on the path of moral and ethical values and
better himself as a human being. Bu t when she saw that there is a lot of
corruption in Indonesia, she felt that it was not a fit place for her son to
grow. Therefore, she sent Barrack to her parents in Hawaii. Barrack’s
grandfather, Stanley “Gramps” Dunham was a salesman and his
grandmother , Madelyn “Toot” Dunham was an executive with a bank. After
some time, Ann and Maya also joined Barrack in Hawaii. Barrack was
enrolled in an elite Punahou School. It was mostly an all -white school
except a couple of black students. The kind of racial envi ronment at school
made Barrack feel misfit for the place.
It was during this time that Barrack met his father who had come to Hawaii
for a short period of time. Until now, Barrack had heard many stories about
his father from his mother and grandparents. Ho wever, he realized that his munotes.in

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44 Literature of Protest
44 father was little authoritative and wanted to treat his son strictly particularly
in matters of his studies. He was impressed by the brilliant talk his father
delivered in his school and also by his dancing skills. After a month ’s time,
his father left for Kenya.
Barack’s mother wanted to be an anthropologist, hence she went to
Indonesia for the related fieldwork leaving behind Barack to take care of
himself in the company of his grandparents. As a growing boy in the racist
atmos phere, Barack made friends with the coloured students in and outside
the school. It became difficult for his tender mind to accept the different
conditions at home and outside the home. When he was being told by his
friends that all whites are racists, it was difficult for him to consider his
grandparents as the racists as they had treated him in much kinder way. But
his closeness to other angry black young people took him towards
experimenting with drugs and alcohol as his reaction to the racist realities
of his life.
The second part of Barack Obama ’s autobiography deals with his life at
Occidental College in the suburbs of Los Angeles. It was here that, Barack
came in close contact with a large number of coloured students. This
association with these colo ured students attracted the young Barack to get
involved into various movements related to African American community.
In those days, he himself was not sure to which race does he belong because
of his peculiar racial status as both of his parents had thei r origins in mixed
racial roots. It was in such a mental condition that Barack went to study at
Columbia University , New York . He started attending the religious
activities in the church. The charging conditions at and around the
University campus influenc ed the young man to a great extent making him
take a decision to de dicate his life to the servi ce of the African -American
community. This second part comes to an end with news coming from
Kenya about the accidental death of his father.
In the last part of this book, the readers are told about Barack’s decision to
visit Kenya to get reconnected with his father’ s family. After reaching there,
he met many of his half -brothers, half -sisters, aunts, uncles, and other close
and distant relatives. His stay with t hese people made him understand about
the real nature and character of his father. During this short stay in Kenya,
Barack also learnt many details about his family's history from the time of
Kenyan colonization to the present. Barack Obama’s autobiography comes
to an end with the event of Barack’s marriage with Michelle Robinson , a
lawyer working with the same Chicago Law firm where Barack himself was
connected as a summer associate .
4.7 CONCLUSION
Thus Dreams from My Father is one of the best written and equally well -
received African American autobiographies that throws light on the life of
Barack Obama and brings out multiple facets of his personality. As he
himself has said that many of the people whom readers meet during the
course of his life -story are the real -life people; however , there are also some
of them whose identity is not revealed by way of giving them fictitious munotes.in

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45 Critical Study of Barack Obama’s Dreams from My
Father - I names so as to maintain their privacy. The translation of this book into
dozens of languages shows its immense popularity among the readers all
over the world.
4.8 IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
1. Draw a short bio -sketch of Barack Obama .
2. What features of Barack Obama as a politician helped him occupy the
position of the US President?
3. Do you think that Barack Obama has succeeded in bringing out all the
necessary personal, social and political details from the life of the
protagonist of his autobiography? Give suitable textual examples in
support of your argument.
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46 5
CRITICAL STUDY OF BARACK OBAMA’S
DREAMS FROM MY FATHER - II
Unit Structure
5.0 Objectives
5.1 Analysis of important Character in Dreams from My Father
5.1.1 Barack Obama
5.1.2 The Old Man, Barack’s Father
5.1.3 Ann Dunham
5.1.4 Gramps Dunham
5.1.5 Tutu Dunham
5.1.6 Lolo
5.2 Theme of education in Dreams from My Father
5.3 Theme of race and identity in Dreams from My Father
5.4 Conclusion
5.5 Important Questions
5.6 References
5.0 OBJECTIVES:
The objectives of this unit are to:
x Know the characters of Dreams from My Father
x Understand the relationships among the characters
x Look into the thematic concerns of Dreams from My Father
5.1 IM PORTANT CHARACTERS IN DREAMS FROM
MY FATHER
Dreams from My Father being the life story of Barack Obama has enabled
him to draw some really life-like and memorable characters . It is also seen
that during the course of the delineation of his characters though the
autobiographer knew all of them from very close quarters, he has attempted
to present them as much objectively as possible. Many of these characters
have com e to the readers with their real names, but there are also few who
have been given imaginary names so as to protect their privacy. Though
there are more than two dozen characters in this book, an attempt is made
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47 Critical Study of Barack Obama’s Dreams from My
Father - II Barack’s personal and socio -political life. These characters include: Barack
Obama Sr., the writer’s father, Ann Dunham, his mother, his grandparents,
Gramps and Tutu, and his half -father from Indonesia, Lolo. So it will be
worthwhile to look into the lives and personalities of these characters so as
to better understand the personality of Barack Obama.
5.1.1 Barack Obama
Barack Obama is narrator and the protagonist of the memoir whom readers
keep meeting on almost every page of his life -story. He is the son of a white
Hawaiian woman and a black Keny an man. The readers realize very early
in the book that Barack could not get company of his biological father for a
long time because his parents got divorced when he was just two years’ of
age. After this divorce, his mother, Ann married Lolo, an Indonesi an and
moved to Jakarta. After living there for some years, he came back to Hawaii
and lived with his grandparents, who enrolled him in one of the best
educational institutes of the place.
It was in this school that Barack realized his being ‘black’ as he witnessed
discriminatory behaviour of his schoolmates towards him. After graduating
from the school, Barack got admitted to Occidental College. Here he came
in contact with many black students, who tried to teach him the black’ ways
of behaving with the w orld, particularly the white one. Though initially,
Barack found it very difficult to digest such thoughts as he had been in care
of his white grandparents and their white friends and acquaintances, who
had treated him quite differently than what he was wi tnessing around him
now. This emotionally charged atmosphere made him turn to alcohol and
drugs for some time. To come out of it, Barack managed to get transferred
to the Columbia University. Then he took a job of community organizer in
Chicago. It was dur ing this time that he dedicated all his time and energy to
help his people to come out of the life of violence and drugs. He developed
better connections with the local church that enabled him to get closely
connected with his people.
After some time, he got enrolled for his law degree at Harvard Law School.
He actively participated in academic and extension activities of the school
and soon became the first black president of the Harvard Law Review.
When he was working with Chicago law firm as a summer associate, he got
acquainted with Michelle Robinson, a lawyer working with the same firm
and married her.
5.1.2 The Old Man , Barack’s Father
The readers meet the Old Man in the very first part of the memoir as he is
the father of the autobiographer. He is Kenyan by birth and nationality who
had come to the University of Hawaii to complete his higher e ducation. It
was during these years that he got acquainted with Ann Dunham, a young
white woman and married her with the permission of her parents. The
couple had the first and only child, Barack born in 1961. Immediately
afterwards, the marriage came to a n end as he wanted to return to his home
country to serve his people. Barack was less than two years’ old at that time.
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48 Literature of Protest
48 form of stories he had heard from his mother, grandparents an d other
relatives. It was only once, when Barack was about ten years’ old, when his
father visited them for a month. And it was during this visit that Barack
learnt dancing from his father. Of course, there was some communication
through letters between th e father and the son, but it was not frequent.
The readers come to know that he was a married man before he came to
Hawaii to get western education. He had left behind his first wife, Kezia
and their two children, Roy and Auma . After completing his education from
University of Hawaii, he left his second wife, Ann and their son, Barack to
take care of themselves and moved on to Harvard to earn his Ph.D. in
Economics. During his stay in Harvard, he got acquainted with Ruth, a
white woman, who followed him to Kenya and got married with him there.
The couple had two sons from this marriage. During this time, he was also
in contact with his first wife, Kezia, who gave birth to two more sons.
The Old Man worked with the government of Kenya but failed to adjust
with the government and its policies. He openly criticized the government
and spoke against its corrupt ways leading to his getting blacklisted. It
seems that he failed to understand how he can utilize his western education
to suit his Kenyan roots. With reference to his responsibilities as the son,
husband and father of many children, it can be said that he miserably failed
to keep his familial ties intact perhaps due to his loose emotional
connections with the members of his fa mily. There are multiple incidents in
the memoir, where the readers come across negative comments about his
behaviour by the members of his own family. It is reported that he meets
his end in a road accident in Kenya.
5.1.3 Ann Dunham
Ann Dunham is the mother of the writer, Barack Obama, who is found
playing an important role in the personal and educational development of
her son, Barry. She is the daughter of white parents, Gramps and Toot . Her
family was originally from Kansas but now they had settled in Hawaii. Her
parents had great love for education and they encouraged Ann to study
whatever she wanted. It was during a class in University of Hawaii that s he
met a black student from Kenya whom she married. But the marriage came
to an end shortly after th e birth of their son, Barack, who was just two years
old.
Undeterred by this emotional shock, Ann moved ahead in her life and
married an Indonesian man and left behind her native land and her parents.
After reaching to the unknown place like Indonesia and meeting strange
people there, Ann realized that it was not the fit place for her growing son.
She took a job of a teacher with the embassy to keep connected with her
homeland. She taught Barack English and also enrolled him in
correspondence course. By th e time she had given birth to Maya, her
daughter. It seems that she knew the value of good education in one’s life
and hence sent Barack back to Hawaii, where her parents enrolled him in
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49 Critical Study of Barack Obama’s Dreams from My
Father - II After some years, she joined her par ents in Hawaii. Her first husband, whom
she really loved a lot, visited her for a short time with an intention to get
reunited. But this attempt failed and she led her future life taking good care
of her children and their education. As she wanted to be an anthropologist,
she enrolled for her Ph.D. and received it shortly afterwards. She was very
much concerned with the well -being of Barack. So when she came to know
that he is not much serious about his studies and has got involved into
alcohol and drugs, s he made utmost efforts and succeeded in diverting him
towards good behaviour. Thus, Ann sincerely played the roles of faithful
wife and caring mother to her children.
5.1.4 Gramps Dunham
Gramps Dunham is the maternal grandfather of Barack Obama. He is a
salesman by profession, who allows Barry to stay with him and sees to it
that he r eceives the best of the education. Gramps’ family originally
belonged to Wichita, Kansas. But it moved to different places in America
to avoid the racist atmosphere around. He had married Toot and had Ann as
their daughter. After getting settled in Hawaii, Gramps was now working as
an insurance agent, the work he disliked. There are many incidents in
Barack’s memoir, which make it clear that Gramps and Toot believed in
humanitarian principles treating all people on equal terms. It is quite evident
from the fact that he allowed his daughter, Ann to marry Obama Sr., a black
Kenyan and felt proud of having a black son -in-law. But it is also observed
that they failed to understand what it really means to be a black person in
the racist American society. That is why sometimes Gramps is found
cracking racist jokes.
He was kind and considerate with Barack and all his needs. For him,
education was the means of climbing the ladder of social hierarchy and
moving ahead in life. That is why, he enrolled Barack in Punaho u School ,
an elite school in Honolulu when he was sent back by his mother, Ann from
Indonesia to live with her parents. It is also seen that he encourages his
daughter, Ann to pursue her higher education even after getting married and
having two children. Barack had high opinion of his grandfather even
though sometimes he disliked his behaviour.
5.1.5 Tutu Dunham
Barack Obama’s maternal grand -mother and Gramps’ wife, Tutu Dunham
had a great influence on the life and personality of Barack. She is introduced
to the readers as an executive working with a local bank and earning more
that her husband, which had been a reason of her fights with Gramps. She
was a woman with high morals and work ethics that made her work long
hours so that she can really contribute to the growth of her bank.
Toot’s was a respectable family that led quite a com fortable life in the
neighbourhood. When Toot fell in love with Gramps and announced her
decision to get married with him, they did not like it as Gramps’ family was
not considered socially good as his mother had committed suicide. But
finally, they allowe d Toot to get married with Gramps and lead her life as
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50 Literature of Protest
50 Toot played a supportive role when she realized that her daughter, Ann had
made up her mind to get married with a black man from Kenya. She
welcomed her black son -in-law in her house and tre ated him as kindly as
possible. However, after her daughter’s marriage came to an end, she felt
little disturbed. But even after the divorce, she did not much object to
Barack’s father’s coming and staying with them and trying to make the
things better.
Toot was absolutely kind and considerate with Barack. When Ann realized
that Indonesia is not the right place for Barack to get his education, she sent
him back to her parents. On this occasion, Toot strongly supported her
daughter’s decision and saw to it that Barack gets admitted in one of the
best schools there. She took good care of his emotional and educational
needs. As a growing child living away from his parents, Barack sometimes
felt lonely and lost. As a mother Toot usually understood Barack’s sta te of
mind and helped him to come out of it. She used to tell him stories of his
father; how he took great efforts to educate himself and become successful
in life. Naturally, Barack had developed a close bond with her that made
him to use very kind words while writing about her in his memoir.
5.1.6 Lolo
Lolo is Barack Obama’s step-father whom Ann married after her divorce
with Barack Obama Sr. It was Lolo who took Ann and Barry with him to
his native country, Indonesia. Though during their initial visits, Lolo tried
to convince Ann that he loved his country and wanted to serve it by getting
better education in the US, she afterwards came to know that it was, in fact,
the Indonesian government that did not want him to continue to stay in the
US and eventually forced him to return by seizing his passport. When Ann
joined Lolo in I ndonesia, she found him a changed man as he was
disillusioned with the government and its authoritarian attitude towards the
people. These conditions led him to the alcohol that became a cause of
concern for Ann.
Ann gave birth to Lolo’s daughter, Maya and lived with him for next few
years. It was during this stay that Barack developed cordial relationship with
Lolo. Whenever he faced any difficulty, Barack sought advice from Lolo,
who was kind enough to take care of the growing child. It was Lolo, who
taught Barack how to make his place outside the family by confronting all
those who came in his way. But as Ann was worried about the future of her
children in this foreign country, she decided to send Barack to her parents
so that he could get better educatio n. Taking into account her concern for
her son, Lolo whole -heartedly supported her decision and arranged for
Barack’s travel to his grandparents in Hawaii.
Lolo was a responsible husband to Ann, who always cared for her
wellbeing. He was equally good fath er to both Barack and Maya and is
found taking good care of them. But his professional life working with the
government was far from satisfactory that took a toll on his personal and
familial life. He got heavily addicted to alcohol leading to medical
comp lications. After some time, Ann left him and returned to live with munotes.in

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51 Critical Study of Barack Obama’s Dreams from My
Father - II Barack and her parents in Hawaii. However, even after her divorce with
Lolo, she helped him travel to America and get proper medical treatment
for the complications in his liver, though he could not survive. Thus, Lolo
can be remembered as a lovable person, who played a responsible husband
and caring father.
5.2 THEME OF EDUCATION IN DREAMS FROM MY
FATHER
Barack Obama’s life -story, Dreams from My Father , begins with Barack’s
early childhood and ends with his moving out of the Harvard Law School,
which gener ally is the period of education both formal and informal, for
many of the children. Naturally, there are numerous incidents in which
Barack is seen speaking about his ventures and adventures as a student.
However, it is also found out that he not only spea ks about his own
education, but also about his father, mother and other siblings.
To begin with Barack’s father, the readers are told that Obama Sr. was a
serious student all his life. He was a Kenyan who had won a scholarship to
study in Nairobi and then moved to America and enrolled for a course in
Econometrics in Hawaii University as its first African student. He was a
bright, hard -working student who won another scholarship to complete his
Ph.D. from Harvard before he left for his native country.
Once Ann was a divorcee, she married an Indonesian and went to Indonesia
with Barry. She took up a job of teaching English to rich Indonesian
businessmen in American Embassy. However, it was not enough for a
woman with a small child to fall upon on a foreign, w ar-ridden land. She
was so much concerned of Barack’s education that she had enrolled him for
a U.S. correspondence course. She herself taught him English before she
left for her job. She wanted her son to imbibe some values which will help
him to move ahe ad in life. To instill those values in her son, she used to tell
Barack stories of Black children in the South who became doctors, lawyers
and scientists reading from their second hand books. She used to present her
first husband, Barack Obama Sr. as an ep itome of good values which he had
carefully acquired by educating himself in the best schools. From the stories
which Barack’s mother used to tell Barack about his father, he remembers
how his father ‘had grown up poor, in a poor country, in a poor contine nt;
how his life had been hard, as hard as anything... He hadn’t cut corners,
though, or played all the angles. He was diligent and honest, no matter what
it cost him. He had led his life according to principles that demanded a
different kind of toughness, principles that promised a higher form of
power. I would follow his example... I had no choice. It was in the genes.’
These deliberate attempts on the part of Barack’s mother to give her son
lessons on value education at early age enabled him to think of him
differently than other children of his age. At later stage he could gauge the
significance of those values in one’s life.
Barack Obama’s life -story shows that Barack was provided better
educational opportunities by his mother and maternal parents by s ending munotes.in

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52 Literature of Protest
52 him to the best of educational institutes available in the country. It is even
observed that after graduating from the school when Barack showed the
signs of negligence with respect to his education, his mother reminded him
of the legacy of his fath er and motivated him to do the best in college. Since
his early childhood, she had paid close attention towards his education by
sending him to school in time and helping him to improve his English by
teaching him the subject at 4.00 O’clock in the morning . She even endured
the pangs of separation from her son by sending Barack to her parents in
America where, she believed, he would get the best of education.
So leaving back his mother and sister in Indonesia, Barack Obama came to
America to have good educa tion. Accordingly, with the intervention of his
grandfather’s boss, who was an alumnus of the same school, Barack was
admitted to Punahou Academy, one of the best prep schools of the country.
His grandparents were very much proud of Barry’s attending such a
prestigious school
The educational career of Barack Obama shows that since his early school
days – both in Indonesia and America - he was good at learning, doing his
homework in time and most of the times keeping himself engaged in his
academic activitie s. Both of his parents have commented that education was
in Barack’s blood. It was during his visit to Barack, when his father was
told that Barack was doing very well in school, he said that his brothers and
sisters in Kenya have also excelled in their sc hooling and added that ‘it’s in
the blood.’
The passion for best education on the part of Barack Obama Sr. can be
judged from a story which Barry’s mother narrates him. This incident was
very much important for the Obama family that included Obama Sr., his
wife and a small son. Actually, it was his sacred duty as the head of the
family to give preference to the welfare of his wife and son. But instead, he
preferred his own education at the best educational institute of America. She
tells Barry, “When your f ather graduated from UH, he received two
scholarship offers. One was to the New School, here in New York. The
other one was to Harvard. The new School agreed to pay for everything -
room and board, a job on campus, enough to support all three of us. Harvard
just agreed to pay tuition. But Barack was such a stubborn bastard, he had
to go to Harvard. How can I refuse the best education? He told me. That’s
all he could think about, proving that he was the best....”
This was the approach of Barack Obama’s father towards education. This is
further underlined from an incident that happened during his visit to
America when Barry was attending Punahou Academy. Though he had
come to America just for a month’s stay with his son, he was very much
concerned about his stud ies. During this stay, he observed that though
Barack was doing well in school, he felt that he was not much serious about
his studies and was wasting his time in watching the television. He did not
like it and picked up the very first opportunity to remin d his son the need of
education in his life. It was Christmas vacation and Barack was spending
much of his time in merry -making. One evening when he was watching his
favourite programme on television, his father told him that he had watched munotes.in

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53 Critical Study of Barack Obama’s Dreams from My
Father - II enough televisi on and now he should go to his room and study. When
Barack’s grandmother switched off the machine and asked Barack to go and
watch the show in the bedroom, his father objected saying that Barack had
been watching television constantly which was affecting h is studies. When
Barack’s mother tried to explain by saying that it was Christmas and Barack
was waiting for that programme for the last one week, Obama Sr. was
irritated to see that they did not understand his point, so he exploded, ‘...this
is nonsense. If the boy has done his work for tomorrow, he can begin on his
next day’s assignments. Or the assignments he will have when he returns
from the holidays... Barry, you do not work as hard as you should. Go now,
before I get angry at you. ’
This was Obama Sr .’s attitude towards education. He himself was an ideal
example in the field of education for Barack Jr. to follow. He had succeeded
in completing his education with flying colours. He started his education in
his own country and then at University of Hawa ii followed by a Ph.D. from
Harvard which is a proof of his outstanding educational career that he
wanted his son to emulate. His knowledge can be gauged from his
interaction with the students of Barack’s school where he was invited to
deliver a special ta lk on his country. Though initially Barry was not sure of
his father’s abilities, after the talk, he was really impressed and proud to
attend such a session conducted by his father. This brilliant talk of his father
enabled Barry to improve his own image a mong the students and the
teachers of his school. It led Barack to change his whole outlook towards
education which, he realized in his later years, was the most powerful
instrument in the development of his personality. It was not only with
reference to B arry’s classroom studies that Obama Sr. was concerned but
also about other skills which his son was required to master to be a
successful person in his life. That is why he taught Barry to dance by taking
steps and swaying his body back and forth even thou gh he had a bad leg.
But along with the incidents of Barack’s formal education, there are also
few of them that throw light on Barack’s informal schooling. For example,
Lolo, his step -father tried to train Barack to face his immediate surroundings
as it w as necessary for a black boy to survive in the foreign country. So Lolo
bought two pairs of boxing gloves and taught Barack how to protect him if
somebody bothers him. Lolo had realized the need for a Black boy in an
unfamiliar country to master the skill of fighting in the street to protect
himself from the gang of street children.
5.3 THEME OF RACE AND IDENTITY IN DREAMS
FROM MY FATHER
Whenever the readers pick up a copy of any African American book, they
are already sure that there might be incidents speaking about the racial
discrimination practiced in America. Barack Oba ma’s memoir, Dreams
from My Father is also not exception to this belief. It is stated in the book
that Barack was the son of a white mother and black man. So he can be
termed as a biracial person having physical traits more of his father than his
mother. W hen he became two years’ of age, his father divorced his mother munotes.in

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54 Literature of Protest
54 and moved to Kenya to serve his native land. So Barack was left in the
company of his mother and grandparents who were whites and hence did
not realize the negative aspects of being black in t he American society at
this stage. When he became six years old, his mother married an Indonesian
man and went to live with him in Jakarta. Barack lived there and took early
lessons till he turned ten. But when his mother realized that Indonesia is not
the right place for her son to grow, she sent him back to Hawaii to live with
her parents.
Barack’s parents knew the value of good education in one’s life; so they put
Barack in Punahou Academy for his school education. Barack was one of
the very few black st udents of this school. He felt little nervous when he
realized that there were not many students who wanted to befriend him or
share his company in the class on the playground. Initially, he could not
understand why he was being treated like that. Even he spoke about it with
his grandparents at home. But as they did not want a small child of Barack’s
age to know about the racist atmosphere, they tried to tell him not to pay
any attention towards those students. However, when Barack befriended
other black st udents in and outside the school, he slowly began to
understand the meaning of getting discriminatory treatment from the white
students.
The similar attempts were also being made by Barack’s mother not to make
him aware of the racial intricacies all aroun d him. To distract his attention
from the discriminatory treatment given to the blacks, she used to narrate
Barack the stories of African Americans who were fighting for the equal
rights in America during the civil rights movement. She strongly believed
that the African Americans were the people having immeasurable ability to
endure, yet the terrible miseries in their lives had made them to revolt
against their oppressor. During her stay in Indonesia, to enable her son to
know what is happening in his home country, she used to borrow books on
civil rights movement from the library of the Embassy. These books helped
Barack understand the lives of African Americans and their struggle for
equality. However, while reading the magazine, Life, Barack’ s whole
outlo ok got altered when he saw a picture of a Black man who was shown
trying to peel off his skin. After reading the article in the magazine, Barack
became doubtful about his own self. He feared that anything can happen to
him even without his own knowledge. H e realized that there was some
hidden enemy that was constantly working against the welfare of the
African Americans. He seemed to have understood the subtle politics of the
racial oppression which altered his vision permanently. In this connection,
he wri tes, “I began to notice that Cosby never got the girl on I Spy, that the
black man on Mission Impossible spent all his time underground. I noticed
that there was nobody like me in the Sears, Roebuck Christmas catalog...
and that Santa was a white man.”
Though he did not let his mother know what he thought about the partial
treatment given to the African Americans, he began to realize what kinds of
problems he might face in his life. He had realized that as he was an African
American, it was not easy for him to get fully immersed into American
culture as the Whites won’t allow him to do so. Therefore the only possible munotes.in

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55 Critical Study of Barack Obama’s Dreams from My
Father - II means available for all African American children including Barack was
equipping them with as much knowledge as possible. That’s exactly Bar ack
Obama did. But confrontation with the Whites seemed inevitable for him.
While sharing his experience of the first day at the new school, Barack was
forced to go through an annoying experience because of the colour of his
skin. Though his teacher, Miss Hefty, did not want to hurt his feelings by
asking him questions regarding his Kenyan father and his tribe, Barry
became the laughing stock for the students of the class as his father belonged
to Luo tribe in Kenya. I t hurt his tender feelings in such a way that Barack
Obama ‘spent the rest of the day in a daze. A redheaded girl asked to touch
my hair and seemed hurt when I refused. A ruddy -faced boy asked me if my
father ate people... a part of me felt trampled on, cr ushed. ’
The sense of humiliation made Obama to keep himself locked in his room
after coming back from the school in the evening. Such kind of treatment
received at school made Barack feel that he does not ‘belong’ to the place.
But afterwards he managed to make some friends at school by telling them
that his father was the prince of his tribe and, if he wanted, he can also
become the prince after his father’s succession to the throne.
Along with the knowledge Barack Obama received from the books he
studied at school on sciences and languages, he also learnt about the
rampant discriminative practices on and around the campus which had
severe effects on his young mind. He noticed that the Black children in the
school, on the ground and in the streets were trea ted differently than the
White children. This was humiliating for Barack. It seemed to him that his
case was a little different from other African Americans as his mother was
White, his grandparents were White and he was adorned by them at home.
They had a lways taken care of his needs. Still somehow he felt that his ‘self’
was being insulted by the kind of treatment the other African Americans
were receiving at the hands of the Whites. The education which he was
provided in the school could not help him und erstand the intricacies of the
racial relationships. Therefore, he decided to supplement his schooling by
reading the books other than those prescribed for his regular studies at
school. In this connection, he writes. “I gathered up books from the library
– Baldwin, Ellison, Hughes, Wright, DuBois. At night I would close the
door to my room, telling my grandparents I had homework to do, and there
I would sit and wrestle with words, locked in suddenly desperate argument,
trying to reconcile the world as I’d found it with the terms of my birth. But
there was no escape to be had. In every page of every book, in Bigger
Thomas and invisible men, I kept finding the same anguish, the same doubt;
a self -contempt that neither irony nor intellect seemed able to deflec t.”
Barack Obama’s attempts to understand the intricacies of racial practices of
White America at an early stage of his educational career present him as a
promising student who had determined to fathom out all the possible
solutions to the problems that surrounded American life. Along with the
books which he read to know about the race problem, he also tried to collect
bits of information from his conversations with the Blacks in the area. It
was during one of such conversations with Frank, a Black friend of his munotes.in

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56 Literature of Protest
56 grandfather, that Barack came to know that peeping into the hearts of Black
people was not an easy task as there lay hidden the dark truths about the
past lives of their people. Frank tells Barack that it was not possible for the
Blacks to trust th e Whites because the Whites had ‘humiliated their fathers
and desecrated their mothers.’ So now, naturally the Whites were scared of
Blacks because they knew that the Blacks had ‘a reason to hate’ the Whites.
This entire racial atmosphere at the school se verely affected the sensitive
minded Barack. That is why he started taking more interest in outside
activities than the school activities in later days of his educational career .
However, it became a serious cause of concern for his mother , who always
want ed Barry to get best of the education . So when s he observed that Barry
was in bad company and recently one of his friends had got arrested for
possessing drugs , she felt perturbed . When Barry told his mother that he
was not much serious about going to coll ege; rather he would take some
classes and find some part -time job to support him, her anxieties increased
manifold and she insisted him to take more ‘efforts’ rather than waiting for
luck to come to him.
After graduating from Punahou Academy, Barack Obam a got admitted to
Occidental College, Los Angeles for the reason better known to him. Even
though Barack was not sure what he would get out of college, Frank knew
that he would get ‘an advanced degree in compromise’ from there. He
warned Barry that he shou ld not be like all other African American people
who meekly accept whatever they are taught at school, take some job
offered to them and get settled in their lives. Frank tried to explain Barry
the prevalent educational system by saying that Barack was “no t going to
college to get educated. You’re going there to get trained . They’ll train you
to want what you don’t need. They’ll train you to manipulate words so they
don’t mean anything more. They’ll train you to forget what it is that you
already know. They ’ll train you so good, you’ll start believing what they
tell you about equal opportunity and the American way and all that shit.
They’ll give you a corner office and invite you to fancy dinners, and tell
you you’re a credit to your race. Until you want to actually start running
things, and then they’ll yank on your chain and let you know that you may
be a well -trained, well -paid nigger, but you’re a nigger just the same. ”
These words of wisdom from an African American person made Barack
Obama aware of the e xisting realities in the field of education in America.
Frank had rightly mentioned that the present system of education used to
provide training to the learners to believe what the powerful policy -makers
want them to believe. There is no scope for indepen dent thinking; and if
somebody tried to think independently, the system employed all the
available means to crush the spirit of that person. Therefore, it was the need
of the hour for the African Americans to be vigilant all the time and not to
accept anyt hing without evaluating it on the principle of rationality and
humanity.
It is observed that this technique of the powerful always worked in their
favour as the weak got driven away by the falsely upheld precepts of the
powerful. It is particularly true wi th reference to the concept of racial munotes.in

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57 Critical Study of Barack Obama’s Dreams from My
Father - II assimilation. The Whites make the people of minority communities believe
that the Whites are superior because of their certain manners and the
minorities can be one with the Whites if they acquire those manners .
Natura lly as soon as the member s of African American community master
those behavioral patterns, they think that they will be accepted in the White
community on equal basis. However, i n their attempt to get assimilated with
the Whites, th ose individuals become a lienated not only from the whites but
also from their own community. Therefore African Americans should
understand the politics of assimilation and try to keep themselves away from
it.
It is so because of the kind of textbooks prescribed in the schools and
colleges. Barack Obama writes in this connection that “. ..the book teaches
me things... About white people... the book’s not about Africa. Or black
people. It’s about the man who wrote it. The European. The American. A
particular way of looking at the wor ld. If you can keep your distance, it’s
all there, in what’s said and what’s left unsaid. So I read the book to help
me understand just what it is that makes white people so afraid. Their
demons. The way ideas get twisted around. It helps me understand how
people learn to hate. ”
As Barack had learned how to read and interpret those books, he seemed to
understand the most probable reasons of hatred between the Whites and
African Americans. It is but natural for a person like Barack Obama to give
a serious th ought to the subtleties of the issue of racial hatred that prevailed
American society for such a long time. And in this kind of discriminatory
socio -political atmosphere, it was very difficult for Barack to understand
who he was and what his identity was. However, the readers easily
understand the peculiar situation in which Barack was trapped in American
society that had forced him to lose his self -identity both as an individual in
his own right as well as the respectable member of the African American
community that had been immensely contributing to the development of
America as a superpower.
5.4 CONCLUSION
The critical analysis of Barack Obama’s Dreams from My Father shows
that the writer has drawn his characters with utmost care paying attention to
all the minute details of their personalities so as to make them life -like.
Though Barack Obama touches upon multiple themes in his autobiography,
the major ones are the issues of educat ion, race and identity that seriously
affect the growth and development of the writer’s personality.
5.5 IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
Q.1: Draw the character sketch of Barack Obama .
Q.2: To what extent d o you think The Old Man, Barack’s father is
responsible for the shaping of the personality of his son, Barry? munotes.in

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58 Literature of Protest
58 Q.3: Write a note on the relationship between Barack’s father and his wife,
Ann Dunham .
Q.4: Compare the characters of Gramps and Tutu .
Q.5: Discuss the theme of identity and racial discrimination in Barack
Obama’s Dreams from My Father .
Q.6: What role does education play in the personal and socio -political life
of Barry in Dreams from My Father?
5.6 REFERENCES
x Obama, Barrack. Dreams from My Father . Times Books. 1995. Print.
x Butterfield, Stephen, Black Autobiography in America , Amherst:
University of Massachusetts Press, 1974. Print.
x Fanon, Franz, Black Skin , White Masks , Tr, Charles Lam Markmann,
New York: Grove Press, 1967. Print.
x Grossman, James R., Land of Hope: Chicago, Black Southerners, and
the Great Migration , Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989.
Print.
x Morrison, Toni, Playing in the Dark: Whit eness and Literary
Imagination , Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1993. Print.
x Tharu, Susie, Oral History, Narrative Strategy, and the Figures of
Autobiography , Narrative: Forms and Transformations, Ed. Sudhakar
Marathe and Meenakshi Mukherjee, Delhi: Chalukya Public ations,
1986. Print.
x Olaniyan, Tejumola. “From Black Aesthetics to Afrocentrism (Or, A
Small History of an African and African American Discursive
Practice.” West Africa Review , Issue 9. Africa Resource Center, Inc.,
2006. Print.
x Turner, Ralph H. International Encyclopaedia of Psychiatry,
Psychology, Psychoanalysis and Neurology . Vol. 9, Ed. Benjamin B.
Wolman, New York: Aesculapius Publishers, Inc., 1977. Print.
Web Resources:
x https://barackobama.com/
x https://www.obama.org/
x https://www.biography.com/us -president/barack -obama
x https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama munotes.in

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59 Critical Study of Barack Obama’s Dreams from My
Father - II x https://www.whitehouse.gov/about -the-white -
house/presidents/barack -obama/
x https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/administration/president -obama
x https://www.britannica.com/biography/Barack -Obama/Life -after-the-
presidency
x https://www.google.com/search?q=videos+on+barack+obama&sxsrf=
ALiCzsa5anBnIYuKg9dxXSDYYeL0d6P8fw%3A1660894064009&e
i=cDv_YvsDsu7aug_nvIy4Cw&ved=0ahUKEwj7 -
8bFsNL5AhUyt1YBHWceA7cQ4dUDC A4&uact=5&oq=videos+on+
barack+obama&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAM6BwgjELADECc6Bwg
AEEcQsAM6BwgjELACECc6BwguELEDEA06BAgAEA06CgguEL
EDEIMBEA06BggAEB4QBzoICAAQHhAIEAc6DAgAEB4QDxAI
EAcQCjoGCAAQHhANOggIABAeEAgQDToECAAQHjoGCAAQ
HhAIOgUIABCGA0oECEEYAEoECEYYAFDFDFjaJGC6J2gBc AF
4AIAB1AWIAeoVkgELMC42LjIuNS0xLjGYAQCgAQHIAQrAAQ
E&sclient=gws -wiz
x https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreams_from_My_Father#:~:text=Drea
ms%20from%20My%20Father%3A%20A,Harvard%20Law%20Scho
ol%20in%201988 .
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60 Literature of Protest
60 6
CRITICAL STUDY OF SELECTED SHORT
STORIES FROM DESPERATE MEN AND
WOMEN: TEN DALITS SHORT STORIES
FROM INDIA
Unit Structure
6.0 Objectives
6.1 About the author B. Rangrao
6.2 Introduction
6.3 Common Theme of the Short -Stories
6.4 Analysis / Assessment of the Short S tories
6.4.1 Death of a Rich Man
6.4.2 When the Sum God Refund to Set
6.4.3 Loneliness of an ex -soldier
6.4.4 Confession of a Graveyard Keelper
6.5 Conclusion
6.6 Questions / Exercise
6.0 OBJECTIVE:
The Movement of Dalit Literature in India is one of the major as sets of
Protest L iterature. Impl ied by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar architect of the Indian
Constitution, it sought to awaken the readers to new social reality where had
never be depicted by the writers of canonical values. Dalit it writers
protested against exploitation of all sorts - social, economic political or
relig ious and speaks for the underprivileged in society. This protest assures
liberation to every individual and transformation of society into a better
place live in.
The objective of introducing there short stories to the three year degree
course in English is to acquaint the students with the social reality where
had never been depicted earlier. Caste in India has always been a dominant
factor. Caste has been responsible for the social divisions that have
prevailed in Ind ia for centuries together. There social divisions offered
innumerable privileges to a few, while a large portion of population suffered
from all sorts of miseries and remained poor, grurant and wretched. This
social imbalanced is theoretically dealt with i n the Constitution after munotes.in

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61 Critical Study of Selected Short Stories from Desperate
Men and Women: Ten Dalits
Short Stories from India Independence, but in practice, the evils of casteism can be observed by and
large everywhere in India even today.
The Short -Stories by B.Rangrao aim to demo nstrate the evils of casteism
and their ill -effect on the dives of individ uals. There short -stories, however,
are not the documentary evidence, but an artistic portrait of the India social
reality.
6.1 ABOUT THE AUTHOR B. RANGRAO
B. Rangrao is the pen -name of Dr. Rangrao J. Bhongle, professor and
former Head, Dept. of English, University of Mumbai. He is a well -know
Dalit writer and has published poetry, fiction, plays and criticism in English
and in Marathi his first language. Ha books have won pvertigions awards in
the state and are discussed among the scholars and lovers of l iterature at
large. The moon at the window is a collection of his poems in English which
was received well by the neaten of poetry. B. Rangrao has edited Marathi
Dalit Kavita for the Sahitya Akademi and has added to it Introduction
offering detailed and sc holarly information about the movement of Dalit
Literature in Marathi.
B. Rangrao writen regularly on the socio -cultural issues, taking
revolutionary stand, opposing socio discrimination and injustice. All his
writing makes the revolutionary spirit in him explicit and evident. The
collection of his Dalit Short Stories Desperate Men and Women. Ten Dalit
short stories from India in a landmark of Dalit writing in Indian English.
The book was discussed in a seminar organized by a Porites University in
2013. B. Rangrao was DAAD Professor at Otto Van Gnevich University in
Germany where he held lessons on Indian English Poetry for the German
students.
6.2 INTRODUCTION:
B. Rangrao is a Dalit writer and Ambedkarita scholar in Maharashtra. He
has published poetry, fract ion, plays and criticism in English and in
Marathi - his first language. He is a farmer professor and Head, Department
of English, University of Mumbai.
The short stories prescribed for the story are taken from Desperate men and
women. Ten Dalit Short Stor ies from India (Now Delhi, Kalpa publication,
2013). The book has Preface and Introduction where explain several issues
that have been dealt with by the anthem in there short stories. The issues
involved are caste, religion, economic condition of the depre ssed classes,
their relationship with the upper castes, miseries and wretchedness that
plague their lives constantly and the ultimate destiny they are lead to. There
in fact, are the general issues which form major them of Dalit literature.
Dalit literatur e is not about economic inequality though penury and poverty
are important factors in the writings of Dalit sensibility. It is not about
religiosity, though evils of Introduction are major concerns of a Dalit writer,
it is also not about illegitimacy in bi rth and social transaction, social though
Dalit writer opposes such discriminatory norms. Dalit literature is about munotes.in

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62 Literature of Protest
62 evils of casteism and their devastating effects on individual and society.
Caste has done irrepairable damage to the nation. In fact, Castes and their
internal contradictions denied the status of nation to India. They never
allowed India to develops into a coherent whole. Consequently, India
population remained scattered into country -wide wilderness. Dr. Ambedkar
elaborates the damage done by castes in India and the reason speech
Annihilation of caste. Castes rendereded a large portion of India population
on untouchables who were compelled to lend the life of sub -human inferior
beings. They were denied education, respectable social existence an d
interaction with the social cultural social groups. Conseqnautly, they remain
ignorant, uneducated and clearless of general respectability . They here,
what Fanon calls the wretched of the Earth. It has mainly due to the efforts
of Dr. Ambedkar that the w hile untouchables raised themselves up above
the social misery and wretchedness, and created social identity for
themselves. This social identity can be traced in the writings of Dalit writers
who speak for their community and the sufferings they have unde rgone.
They revolt against the inhuman tradition that the India. Society nourished
for centuries together. Their revolt does not remain a never verbal protest,
but assumes the form of a revolution that would include within its range, all
that is just and c reative. It rejects all that is canonical, because canoers were
formed by a society which was itself based on inequality of all sorts.
Classicism and all the texts it produced was the product of that
discriminatory nation where asserted – “the best and the rest”, “us and they”
etc. A Dalit writer, therefore denounces the whole tradition itself. Namdev
Dhansal proclaims in one of his poems -
Plato, Einstein, Archimedes, Socrates, Marx, Ashok, Hitler -Bitler, Camus
Satre, Kafka, Baudelaire, Rambo, Ezra Pound Hopkins, Goethe,
Dostoyerky, Mykoevsky, Maxim Gorky, Edition -Medison, Kalidas,
Tukaram, Homer, Vyas, Valmiki Throw them away into the gutter man
hole.
The short stories by B. Rangrao after graphic account of the life of the
depressed classes their sorrows and sufferings, brief rejoicing moments and
the perpetual miseries that follow them everywhere.
6.3 COMMON THEME OF THE SHORT STORIES:
Desperate men and women contains ten short stories. All of them depict
sufferings of the Dalits in India. In Fact, the word ‘Dalit’ has long been
rejected by the writers of Dalit sensibility. They prefer to be called “the
Ambedkarite”, because the term ‘Dalit’ has derogatory connotations and is
no longer applicable to the present status of the urst-while untrehables
Despi te this change in nomenature, miseries of the Dalits in India continue
to be what they were earlier. This is evident in all the short stories in the
book. The four short stories pres orbed for study do so more evidently.
Poverty, ignorance, sentimental att achment, important rage and
haplessness, make are present in all the short stories. This, however, does
not these stories melodramatic rather they come up as presentation of new
realism in Indian literature where had never been depicted by the so called munotes.in

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63 Critical Study of Selected Short Stories from Desperate
Men and Women: Ten Dalits
Short Stories from India main stream writers. Death of a rich man presents the contradiction between
the lives of the poor and the rich society. The poor boys from the untellable
community an a neglected lot. They struggle for survival and perish in the
process. The little Death of A Rich Man has sarcastic overtones, because it
is a poor boy who died in the end it is his death that the writer is really
concerned with. The rich man death, however, pews as a good paradox
where in the Dalit sensibility resides. When the Sun God Refused to set is
perhaps the best story ever written by a writer of Dalit sensibility. It depicts
the plight of a man Raghoba on the called - who has spent all his life in
raising up his two children after his wife does at the young age. In old age,
however, he is left all alone and develops derilium called back the memories
of his wife who has left him alone to suffer. The story covers within its rang
social and psychological realism that make it a readable stuff which in one
criterion of a good short story. Lonel iness of an Ex -soldier offers yet anothe r
example of helplessness of the Dalit in India. Was an ex -soldier, who was
known for his unparalleled courage and heroism, its rendered helpless after
retirement. The evils of centrism and the insensitive government machinery
leaves his nowhere. The brave soldier of an Indian army cannot protect his
young sister who is raped and killed mercilessly by the carteist hoodlums.
The irony in the situation in well brought out by the author. Confessions of
a Graveyard Keeper is a humorous presentation of social reality in modern
India. The protagonist is a graveyard keeper who narrates his experiences
in a manner and style which evokes pathos and humans at the same time.
Like other stories in the collection Confessions of a G raveyard Keeper
depicts the de -humanizing social condition in which the oppressed class
people are compelled to live. This story is marked with sarcasm, humour
and pathos.
6.4 ANALYSIS/ASSESSMENT OF THE SHORT
STORIES:
6.4.1 Death of a Rich Man:
This is the story of a Dalit boy called Satya who is enrolled in school
register as Satyawan Tryambak Meshram. Satya does not like school and
the lessons therein and mostly stays away from it. He spends most of his
time on the bank of the river with his friends who a re from other Dalit
communities. There boys either swim in the river water or wander along the
river bank teasing each other, giggling and indulging in things that really do
not suit their age. They are aware of the fact that whenever someone dies in
the v illage dies, the dead body is either buried or cremated on the river bank.
This offer them a chance to collect a few coins hurled across corpse in the
funeral procession, also a few more left on the place of the cremation or
burriest. This is the time for them to ‘earn’ and help their parents who are
always annoyed and angry at their waywardness. Satya’s case, in particular,
is noteworthy. His parents had enrolled him in school in response to their
leaders on education and his call to “ educate, unite and agitate.” They knew
their son’s dislike for school therefore, they worsted that he should at least
work and help them to run the family Satya, however, was good for nothing. munotes.in

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64 Literature of Protest
64 The village where in Satya lived had all the castes and communities living
peaceful ly together. There were rich Marwaries with huge havelis and
hundreds of acres of fertile land spread across the village. The poor
villagers, men and women from backword communities, worked on these
land and earned their livelihood. Therefore, they respect ed the rich
marwaries and maintained respectful distance from them at the same time.
Seth Jhabalmal a rich Marwari in the village in his late eighties, was sick
for quite sometimes. He suffered from various ailments. The entire village
know about his condi tion and prayed for the old man to live longer, or at
least die in peace. Satya and his friends knew this as well, and waited
eagerly for the marwari’s death so that they could ‘earn’ a few coins. So it
happened. Seth Jhabarmal died at the ripe age. The ne ars spread in the
village like riled fire. A larger number of villagers gathered outside the
haveli in desperate hope of last darshan of the seth. Satya and his friends
were also present at the gate of the haveli and were overjoyed to see the
dead body bei ng taken out on a ladder. A huge funeral procession moved
slowly towards the river bank where the seth’s dead body was to be
cremated. The chant of “Ram Nam Staya Hai” was heard in chorus . Coins
of one rupee or of bigger value were hurled across the corpse . The boys
wanted to collect the coins before they fall down on the ground and earn
their share. A kind of race began to leap in the air and catch hold of the
coins. Men in the processor were accustomed to this and did not really mind
the disturbance. They , however, were insensitive towards the boys falling
or the ground and trampled upon their bodies.
Satya, who was weak compared to other boys could collect none as the
stronger and suffer boys succeeded in their efforts. Satys was desperate and
wanted to earn at learn a few, so that he could please his father who,
otherwise would near allow him to enter the home. He, therefore, made the
last effort - the last and the best. He kept up in the air, aiming at a coin above
the Read of the men in procession. But the missed the coin even this time
and fell down on the ground like a pumpkin dropped down. The men cursed
the boy called him fifty names and walked ahed treading upon his weary
limbs. The procession moved ahead towards the river bank, Satya body,
however, lied motionless on the ground. They were still chanting “Ram
Nam Satya Hai”, but it could not reach to satya’s lifeless ears. Was he dead
? or was he alive ?
The story in this manner, presents that aspect of life in India, which existed
along with pleasa nt ones, but was never recorded in literature. The irony
becomes explicit towards the end of the story when the readers want to
know the condition of Satya and temporarily forget death of the rich man.
The title of the story thus, is ironical and evokes th e memory of Arthur
miller’s play Death of a Salesman where in death is treated in same what
similar manner.
6.4.2 When The Sun God Refused To Set:
Each of the short stories in the collection is an example in itself. When The
Sun God Refused to Set a combination of myth and reality. It offers a good
example of psychological w orking in the mind of a Dalit man, who has munotes.in

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65 Critical Study of Selected Short Stories from Desperate
Men and Women: Ten Dalits
Short Stories from India suffered throughout life, yet freshly the surrounding stoically till he
ultimately succumbs to death.
Raghoba, a Dalit man, has lost his wife when he was young. He refused to
remarry despite unsurmountable pressure from the relatives. He instead
decides to raise his two children - girl and boy - and take proper care of them.
However, he can never forget sweet memories of the day he spent with his
wife. He loved her very much, and he loves his children equally. He lives
in a small hut with his children and is happily settled. Raghoba enrolls his
children in school, and when his daughter - kala- comes of age, he marries
her off to a suitable young man. His Son-Babu -goes to school and reaches
up to tenth standard without difficulties. Raghoba wants his son to continue
education and makes preparation to send him to taluka place for higher
studies. Raghoba’s day starts with praying the sun with folded hands. O ther
things follow only after the prayer. That has become his daily habit. Time
passes on. Age has started telling on Raghoba’s nerves and he always falls
ill. He gets delusion in which he behave improperly. He, however, is
unaware of that and is under the impression that there is nothing wrong with
him. Babu comes to know about his father’s illness and decided to stay
home to take care of his father. He gets a small job in village grampanchayat
and earns enough to make the two ends meet. Raghoba asks his s on to get
married and bring Laxmi in hawse, so that pence prevails and they live
happily together. Babu agrees, unurillirgly though.
Trouble starts on the first night of Babu’s marriage. Raghoba is extremely
happy and is often found talking to his dead wi fe who would have been
equally happy seeing her new ‘bahu’ at home. He gets delusions once again.
When his son and daughter -in-law are together during their wedding night
he enters the room. The girl is deeply disturbed. Babu tries to explain the
situation and his father’s illness to his bride. She is convinced. Raghoba’s
delusion return the next night and he again walks into the place when the
young couple are engaged in love making. Babu is extremely annoyed and
should at his father sending him away. Ragh ob comes back to himself and
realizes the blunder he has committed. He loved his son much that he would
not forgive himself for causing disturbance in his joying moments.
Next morning the sky was overloaded with clouds. The sun did not appear.
Babu did no t see his father moving about as usual. It was late and he went
to wake his father. Raghoba was no more. He passed away during the night
itself.
The story often a beautiful blending of might and reality and opens up the
psychological wiring of the working of the mind of a man who is deeply
drowned in love for wife and children.
6.4.3 Loveliness of An Ex -Soldier:
This is the story of a young soldier called Wasu who has retired from army
after serving it for fifteen long years. Wasu was a brave soldier and well -
known for his courageous acts. He had carried his wounded lieutenants on
shoulders fearlessly amid the shower of bullets from the army camp and munotes.in

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66 Literature of Protest
66 saved their lives. The whole battalion grew sentimental when he retired and
returned home in his village after fi fteen years.
Wasu was mahar by carte and a stanch follower of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. He
decided to teach the Ambedkarite principle to young boys of his
communities and held regular meeting in which he appealed his community
men and women to renounce discrimin atory customised not to celebrate
festivals that are expensive and based on untrue stori es. He also taught them
not to bow down to Brahmins and other caste –Hindus who think
themselves superior.
This disturbed the village atmosphere which, till the arriv ed of Wasu, was
running smoothly. The fellowmen of Dr. Ambedkar who agrled with Wasu,
were ex -communicated. Young boys in the village from Wasu’s community
were framed into false allegation. Caste -Hindu women drawing water free
well refused water to thirst y Wasu when he was returning home from work.
And then – Wasu’s young sister Suman – Sumi – as she was called –
disappeared. She was formed dead the next day walk her young body
mutilated and her clothes tattered. She was obviously raped and killed
merciles sly.
Wasu was dumb formed and awe -struck. Those men and women from his
community, who were his followers. Yesterday refused to side with him.
His lonely struggle began. He went to the police authorities and reported the
matter. The police, however, did no thing to give him justice. The police van
came after two days, discussed the matter with head of the village panchayat
and went away. The matter did not progress beyond the initial stage. Wasu,
the brave soldier in the Indian army was left alone and helple ss, drowned in
loneliness and desperation.
The story, thus, is about the injustice meted out to the Dalits even after
Independence. The soldier who fought for the nation’s security was insecure
in his own homeland. This is the general truth that prevails everywhere in
India after Independence. It is pathetic but true.
6.4.4 Confessions of a Graveyard Keeper:
This is a hum susous story replete with amusing sarcasm. The Protagoras is
a narrator himself who narrator the events in his life in an amusing manner .
His parents were chandals attending the dead in graveyard. They worked on
the bank of river Ganga at Benaras – that holy place where the dead were
hurled out into the river water which Gangamai carried away quietly. The
narrator grew up watching his pare nts attending the dead at the bank rives.
He noticed the boats crossing the river, and watched the women bathing in
Ganga water. He had his first successful masturbation here on the bank of
river Ganga.
The Protagoras lost his father unexpected widow wors t not allowed to touch
the dead and watch the funeral rites. The came to a place called Rampur and
worked a graveyard under the supervision of an old man called Anda Burji.
This Anda Bhurji was drawn toward the young widow and allowed her to
stay in the gr aveyard with her son. The old Anda Burji often visited their munotes.in

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67 Critical Study of Selected Short Stories from Desperate
Men and Women: Ten Dalits
Short Stories from India house and the sent the boy away on some pretext or other. The women did
not mind Anda Bhurji’s approached, because she was in need of support,
and was sure about the old man’s ineffective, dangli ng scrotch. Anda Bhurji
died in course of time, and the entire charge of the graveyard came to the
nattator and his mother. The narrator is married to Anda Bhurji’s youngest
daughter who is very talkative and as dark a tar. The Protagoras narrator
numerous events which are amusing and funny. His mother dies and is not
allowed by customs, to be buried in the graveyard where was exclusively
reserved for the upper cortes. He, however, dares the conventions and buries
his mother’s dead in the graveyard itself.
The time passes on and he continues to be the sole keeper of the graveyard.
He wife loses his front two teeth. That make her keep her mouth shut and
remain silent.
The story is extremely amusing and readable. A Dalit boy, as the Protagoras
is, has no inh ibition references to women bathing in the Ganga water,
leaving their brests uncovered, the mating couple, in the temple coastyard,
elopement of a muslim girl a Hindu boy etc. etc.
The story is also remarkable for the Dalit ethos, the discriminatory Hindu
customs and the sufferings they cause to the untouchables. Humour and
pathos stay together in the short story named Confessions of a Graveyard
Keeper.
6.5 CONCLUSION :
The short stories in Desperate Men and Women. Ten Dali Short Stories
from India are tru e representative of Dalit writings in India. The four short
stories, in the life of oppressed classes in India becomes more explicit here
than perhaps, anywhere else. There stories are set in various parts of India
so that they offer the picture of the nat ion as a whole. Confessions of a
Graveyard Keeper describes life on the bank of river Ganga, while other
stories like when the Sun God Refused to Set depicts the life in remote parts
of the nation. The author’s mam concern in the short stories in social
realism, that aspect of social realism, where had never been depicted earner
and which was, more or less anathema to the so called cultured society.
Dalit writings assumes more included within their range whet Dalit writing
found out and exposed to the new w orld. The short stories of B. Rangrao
are the testimony.
6.6 EXERCISE / QUESTIONS :
a) What Dalit writings in India? How do they surface in the short stories
of B. Rangrao. Answer the question drawing references from the stories
prescribed for study.
b) Satya in Dalit of a Rich Man and Wasu in loneliness of an Ex -soldier
cannot be blamed for the tragey that ultimately strikes them. They, in
fact, are the victim of larger oppressive social set -up which has mutilated
the less -privileged for centuries together. Di scuss. munotes.in

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68 Literature of Protest
68 c) Bring out the elements of myth and psychology in which the Sun God
Refused to set.
d) Humour and pathos prevail everywhere in Confessions of a Graveyard
Keeper. Discuss.
e) Short stories by B. Rangrao are not a social documentation of poverty,
ignor ance, squalor, anger and protest associated with the life of Dalit in
India. They are an artistic portrayal of the social life which had never
been depicted in canonical writings. Do you agress wi th there statements
? Answer drawing references from the sho rt stories you have studied.
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