History of a Community, Myth of a Nation: A Study of Sharan Kumar Limbale’s The Outcaste
Abstract:
Humans have since time immemorial tried to study the origin of their roots through the spectacle of the past. History has ever been the domain of elites. Dalits in India stood at the lowest rung of society and hence they lacked the necessary tools to present their history. With the arrival of Dalit writers Dalit literature emerged and lent a voice to their plight. Sharan Kumar Limbale is a Marathi Dalit writer who brought the history of Dalits of post – independence India. Limbale has used the myths from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and other Indian oral tales to equate the plight of the humble and downtrodden characters with the epic characters of mythologies. He has used these myths to show the affinity of socially subjugated characters across class and caste. The present paper aims to discuss, through Limbale’s Akkarmashi or The Outcaste (1984), how history has been denied to a community. In the novel Limbale has revealed all the different layers of dalit life. The present paper aims to study the novel not from an individual perspective but seeks to revisit it as the history of an entire community (maharwada). It also aims to draw analogies between the dalit characters and the epic characters. It seeks to desensitize caste prejudices. The myths are metaphorical tools in the hands of Limbale.
Keywords: history, myths, dalits, suppression, denial, distortion and disillusionment.
History has been monopolized by the elites for long. The voices of the weaker forces are nipped in the bud. Limiting the discussion to Indian cultural and political arena, the rubric of the underprivileged is very broad. India has witnessed repression based on caste, class, gender, etc. Centering the discussion on the Dalits of India, the paper aims to study how the dominant myths of India are employed by the author to study the history of a marginalized community. Research has been conducted on the myths employed in the novel but it does not refer substantially as to how the myths are related to the history of the entire community. The paper aims to challenge the hegemony of the elites representing history of dalits either with pity or ignorance.
India has a rich fund of oral and mythic folktales. These tales and mythologies are like allegories which voice the history and its lessons in an implicit manner. Myths and oral tales have a unique characteristic; they never trust an assertion. It is up to the individual to gauge the underlying truth or implicit idea from the tales. The myths and oral tales emphasise upon rethinking and thus allow subjectivity. Limbale (1996) in his book on Dalit aesthetics explains why Dalit literature refrains from “Hindu religious literature. Despite the fact that epics are literature, Dalit society is not accurately portrayed in them.” Limbale incorporates the epics in his novel to serve his purpose. “When the Dalit writers did employ religious symbols, it was to deconstruct them, infusing them with new meaning and purpose.” (Limbale, 34). Hence the myths employed in the novel serve in the deconstruction of the ancient Hindu texts.
The history of a community and its culture can be best described by someone who breathes and lives in that community. Philip Vinod Peacock (2010) says, “Dalit folklore offers us a wider spectrum for the origins of the caste system.”(88). Dalit literature aims to bring to the fore the various threads of Dalit lives by incorporating different elements. In this connection Limbale writes, “The central concern of Dalit literature is how best to represent the ‘authentic experience’ of Dalits.” (10). Autobiographies of Dalit writers serve the purpose of exposing the inner quarters of the community without inhibition. It brings the real description of the community which could not be described by an anthropologist or a sympathetic author. Limbale tries to show the history of his community in an exhaustive manner which echoes the frustrations of the Post – Independence India. The dalits have been pushed to the lowest rung of society.
Manusmriti is the book which talks about caste based categorization of the society. Limbale challenges these hegemonic discourses by invoking the dominant cultural myths and epics to elaborate upon the lives of dalits. In dalit literature the frequently employed mythic characters are “Shambuka, Eklavya, Ravana, and Shurpanaka from Hindu religious literature, and use them in portraying contemporary Dalit experience”. (12). These mythic characters either belonged to the lower castes or were demons that were constantly in war with Gods for equal power. Limbale instead employs some of the mythic characters who belonged to the mainstream cultural discourses. He attempts to bring a pragmatic change in dalit literature.
History of the Community
Limbale says that his history is his “mother’s life, at the most my grandmother’s. My ancestry doesn’t go back any further.”(The Outcaste, ix). This is the line with which the ‘Author’s Note’ to The Outcaste begins. It shows the cruel game that the upper caste and feudal lords have played with the Dalits. The oppression in India is caste and class based. Why was Limbale, or Dalits, denied a history to which they could lay a claim - was it because there is no repute in repeating a history which has been trampled or because the history of Dalits for the past thousand years had been more or less same so it is in a way a chronicle of each generation or because the Dalits lacked the voice to represent their history from their own perspective.
There are various Dalit authors who have ventured to represent their history in form of short stories and autobiographies such as Shantabai Kamble, Daya Pawar, Namdeo Dhasal, Shankarrao Kharat, and others. Sharan Kumar Limbale is a Marathi Dalit writer who was born of a Mahar mother and a Patil (upper caste) father. In his highly acclaimed autobiography, Akkarmashi or The Outcaste, Limbale ventures to show the history, culture, tradition, tales and the inner quarters of Dalit community with extreme boldness and assertion. He writes, “My agony was not limited to myself alone. Injustice done to me was not just today’s phenomenon but had a long history. The roots of this injustice went deep into history, for many thousands of years….This, my history, made me restless…” (79).
Limbale has written the autobiography to awaken the readers to “the woes of the son of a whore” (ix). Sharan, the protagonist, is branded a bastard even by his own community. The pre – Independence India saw the vilest form of human injustice which was a result of feudalism, casteism and class domination. The Outcaste shows how caste and feudalism were part of the same coin which was meant to keep the Dalits at the lowest rung of the social ladder with force and orthodoxy.
He raises questions addressing the plight of his community, “What sort of a life was this? Drag dead animals, skin them, and then eat their flesh” (53). He belongs to the community of Mahars who were assigned “odd jobs”, for example, if a calf died in the village it had to be dragged, skinned and sold by the Mahars all in exchange of a handful of grains. Limbale has given an unbiased and true account of the skinning of dead animals. They had been doing this work for the past thousand years. Mulk Raj Anand in the Untouchable has referred to the scavenger job that the Dalits performed. His depiction of the toilet cleaning work of the community brings to fore the gruesome lives of Dalits. While Anand and other elite writers have tried to depict the history of the untouchables, their depiction appears mechanistic and shallow.
History in the Garb of Myth
Myths are largely transferred to the other generations in oral form. These myths are concretized through orality. “Myths are the reflections of a profound reality. They are the greatest falsehoods which tell us the greatest truths'', states M.S. Nagrajan (2006c: 141). The major source of myths in India is the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. There are also other regional and folk tales both in written and oral forms. These tales function as allegories to express things in metaphorical manner. These texts were restricted only to the upper caste people. The Varna system deprived the untouchables from reading these texts owing to their caste. With the Dalit uprisings and Ambedkar’s efforts to uplift his community and the right to education granted by the Constitution of India, Dalits were exposed to both Indian and world literature. The myths that Limbale has used to present the history of his community are underlined below.
The Myth of Sita- Sita is the apostle of female virtue whom the Hindus revere for her morality. Limbale incessantly compares his mother, Masamai, with Sita. The two are poles apart and yet this ironic comparison? Why does Limbale elevate his mother’s character to the level of Sita- is it an attempt to resurrect the fallen character of his mother or an attempt to equate the plight of womankind who suffer inevitably, irrespective of their social standing. To answer these questions it is essential to understand the history of Masamai and Sita.
Masamai stands as the symbol of every Dalit woman who endures the vilest of Fate. She became homeless and fatherless the moment she was born, on the other hand, Sita was born fatherless but because of her Divinity she was fathered by the wisest King of the time. Here an analogy between the Untouchables and the Savarnas can be drawn. Like Sita was sired by the mighty King owing to her divine birth, the Upper caste people are branded as sacred owing to their birth. Like Sita Savarnas are bestowed with divine caste and the Dalits are branded as untouchables.
Why does Limbale make the audacious attempt of comparing a dalit, immoral, alcoholic woman to the apostle of female virtue? Sita was married to the mightiest King Ram. She was the queen of Ayodhaya. She appeared all powerful and protected within the four walls of her mansion. She was a liberated woman since she chose to accompany her husband to the forest exile. She dared to step out of the protective space and ventured a new, difficult and alien life. The myth of Sita has various connotations attached to it. Some view her stepping out from the protective space as a violation of the social mores. The predicament of Sita reflects that women have since time immemorial been eyed by predatory men.
There is one point of departure of Sita from the other dalit women. Sita was kidnapped by Ravana but owing to her divine power she could protect her reputation. Masamai and the likes of her fail to save their repute and because of their vulnerable positions fall into the trap of patriarchy. There is one connecting link between the two factions that patriarchy always questions the modesty of a woman. Sita is also questioned about her modesty and so is the case of dalit women who are subjected to the trials of society.
Many critics view women under the canon of dalits owing to the definition of the word “dalit” which means one who is oppressed and suppressed. The other critics may disagree with women being clumped under the rubric of dalits. In the present analysis it appears clearly that women of all class, age, caste, and creed can be called dalit owing to their age old oppression and suppression.
The autobiography of Limbale is an echo to the woes of Dalit women who undergo sexual harassment. The myth of Sita employed by Limbale can be seen as an attempt to elevate Masamai and Dalit women to the other women and to restore their lost pride.
The Myth of Karana symbolizes children born out of wedlock, children craving for recognition and belongingness. Limbale has used the myth of Karana and Kunti with a new perspective. Karana is an epic example of a wanton child who is deserted by his mother and is unsure of his paternity. “I was growing like Karana in Mahabharata…. I never received her wholehearted love” (37), Limbale wails. The myth is an echo to the wailings of numerous illegitimate children born in the dalit ghettoes. It also points to the helplessness of dalit women who have to conceive and rear children involuntarily. They remain callous and indifferent to the children probably because they remind them of life’s injustices. Both their conception and rearing is a heavy load on their bosom.
Sharan tries to draw his mother’s attention all through his childhood, but she appears indifferent. He feels a close kinship with Karana who was flown into the river by his mother. Kunti gave away her child to save her repute. She chose the easier way to save herself from maligning her name. Masamai and Dalit women like her do not opt for these easier ways; rather give birth to children who are a result of rape or a compromise that they make for survival. The children are a result of force whereas the child Karana born to Kunti was a product of naivety. Limbale grew up not only without a father but also without a mother “Masamai always treated me as if I were her stepson” (42) just as Karana did in The Mahabharata.
India is a country where a child is named after its father. It reduces the child to a taboo if it is without a father’s name. “At such moments I felt a kinship with Karana. I felt we were brothers. Many times I felt I was Karana myself because, like him, I too was drifting with the flow of the river.”(60), wails Sharan. Karana spent a futile life pining under the unresolved question of his identity. He had every relation in the world but was denied entrance into their lives like an untouchable whose presence might taint the lives of the people sitting on high pedestals. Limbale, too, was the son of a village Patil who did not call him his son and like Karana he kept wallowing for recognition.
The myth of Jarasandh is extracted from the Mahabharata. Brihadrath was married to two twin sisters who could not conceive. The remedy to their barrenness was a mango fruit given by a sage. He sliced the fruit into two halves and gave it to his wives resulting in the birth of half children. The horrifying look of the incomplete children prompted the King to abandon them in the forest. There the demon, Jara, brought them close together and formed a single child. Hence the Sanskrit word Jarasandh means ‘joining’. His vulnerable part was the point where he was joined by Jara.
Three important implications can be drawn from the above myth. First, the birth of Jarasandh – he was born partially by the two women. Thus the question is - to whom he should owe allegiance as a son? He was also given life and form by Jara. Jarasandh could not claim any of them as his mother. Similarly, Limbale and the likes of him suffered from an identity crisis.
My father and his forefathers were Lingayat….How can I be high caste when my mother is untouchable? If I am untouchable, what about my father who is the high caste? I am like Jarasandh. Half of me belongs to the village whereas the other half is excommunicated. Who am I? To whom is my umbilical cord connected. (38-39).
The second implication can be drawn from the abandonment of the two halves of the child to a forest by the King. The abandonment of innumerable illegitimate children born out of promiscuous relationship in the Dalit community can be compared with Brihadrath’s abandonment of his child who was not suitable for the likes of Kings. It is thrown to the winds without scruples. Similarly most of the illegitimate children are left to fate.
The third implication can be drawn from the demon Jara who gave life to the two discrete parts. She brought the two parts together and made one human. She did not do this out of pity but to consume the child, however, she could not muster the courage to eat it. This holds true of Dalit mothers who are forced to have children out of wedlock and rape. They might not feel the inherent motherly love for these children owing to the way they are conceived, nor could they muster courage to nip them in the bud. Just as Jarasandh was named after Jara; the Dalit children live within the shadow of their mothers.
The Oral Tales associated with Hunger and Exploitation- Limbale refers to the history of hunger and starvation associated with the dalit community. He employs an oral tale which points to the perennial nature of hunger. The tale goes thus: Man thought that since God has given us so much to eat then why has He given us one stomach? God has given us hunger which is perpetual and perennial; it is born with us and dies with us. It is the harrowing history of Dalits in India. Anna Bhau Sathe’s story “Gold from the Grave” in which a man makes a living out of the dead bodies’ points to the severity of hunger and the extent to which one stoops to quench hunger.
The regional myth of the goddess Satwai- Satwai is the goddess of Destiny. When a child is born it is believed that the goddess writes destiny on the baby’s forehead. Limbale writes “Can we know the fate that Satwai is supposed to write on our foreheads on the fifth day of our lives? Suppose we remove the skin and muscle from our foreheads can we find it written there? Or is it all a myth?” (87). It shows how deeply ingrained is the pain of discrimination and denial.
Conclusion
The history of one’s life cannot be seen in isolation. Human life is a combination of social and psychological forces. Myth and history are part of social and psychological figments which complete human life. The struggles of an individual might be as grave as of a warrior from the epics or myths. Thus these myths and oral tales point to the microcosm in the macrocosm. The author dares to employ these myths which have been reserved by the upper castes. Limbale’s effort to equate his people with the mainstream dominant culture is a defense mechanism through which he is asserting the legitimacy of his community. He employs the dominant cultural tales and myths to narrate the story of a community which lives on the periphery and is ousted from procuring these tales. Limbale redeems his community by bringing the two factions on the same pedestal.
References