Dalit Movement in Indian society

Abstract

In an age of advancement in science, technology and culture, no significant transformation has been found in the lives of Dalits (untouchables) in India. Social, economic and cultural life of a Dalit has not changed since immemorial. Dalit literary movement, which had started in the early part of the twentieth century, has been an offshoot of the exploitation of Dalits by the upper castes. Through literary works, they have been trying to preserve their self-respect, identity and heritage of their community. „Untouchable Spring‟, a novel and historical document, illustrates the plight of Dalit’s in a post-independence era. The writer G. KalyanRao, a Dalit, who believes in the revolutionary ideology, portrays the lives of Dalit Christians and their humiliation in the hands of caste Hindus. It also highlights how they “discover their humanity through defiance”. The paper aims at providing a historiography of the deprived over several generations paving way for the emergence of powerful voice in subaltern literature.