Abstract:
The social framework of caste system in India, especially of the Hindus has led to multiple levels of tensions among the Hindus. The Dalits, who are the integral part of the Hindus suffer immeasurably under the traditional customs and conventions imposed by the supposedly upper caste Brahmins. Unfortunately, the Dalits themselves indulge in sustaining and perpetuating the inhuman treatment towards their own community, not realizing the not-so-easily repairable damage they are inflicting on their own community. The innocent Dalits, drowned in miserable situations, yearn to disentangle themselves from such circumstances. The study explores the sustained conflict between the social conventions and personal yearnings of the Dalits in Baby Kamble’s autobiography, The Prisons We Broke. It also unravels the commitment, perseverance, grit and gumption of the Dalits to break away from the normative governing structures to create a space for themselves.
Key Words: social conventions, Dalits, conflict, misery, religion, women, autobiography
Most of the autobiographies record the personal experiences of the writer. But in Baby Kamble’s autobiography, The Prisons We Broke, she articulates the experiences of the entire Dalit community. This reveals that her major concern was to expose the doleful condition of her community and seek justice not just to herself but to the entire community. Her focus was not to express her sufferings and seek attention, rather to depict the way of life of the Dalits. Her autobiography becomes an irrepressible contrivance to fight against the oppressive forces – the Brahmins, the Dalit male members and sometimes the ‘self’. She conveys the message quite vociferously that it is essential to be mindful of the deprivation of rights and take constructive steps towards the realisation of one’s dreams. Unless the oppressed community takes charge of their lives, it is extremely unlikely that they would be bestowed with the rights they ought to exercise in the society. The autobiography becomes an eye-opener for all the Dalits to raise their voice against the inhuman socio-cultural practices which were prevalent from many centuries. More importantly, it is pivotal to shed a few customs, which they have been practising, that are irrational and unreasonable. They should acclimatise themselves to more scientific and productive activities, in the interest of elevating the Dalit community to a greater level. Although extreme fear impedes them to raise their voice against a few inhuman social conventions, they need to focus on their personal yearnings or learn to aspire for basic human dignity in their life.
The institutionalisation or legitimisation of Brahminical ideologies made the Dalits accept the ridiculous social constructions. It became enormously difficult for the Dalits to oppose the long-held social customs. Unfortunately, lack of formal education and enlightenment made the Dalits to endure certain inhuman practices. Also, it aided in perpetuating their belief in several superstitious practices. The workings of the caste system in India have impacted the social lives of the Dalits enormously. Their disadvantaged position in the country has relegated them to the lowest strata of the society. The treatment of the Dalits by the Brahmins as outcastes or untouchables exposes the mindset of the Brahmins. Maya Pandit, the translator of Kamble’s autobiography expresses, “Dalits’ world is physically located on the margins of the village and also on the margins of the ‘social imaginary,’ it is at once alienated and alienated by being cut off from the village as unclean, impure, polluting and untouchable” (13). True to Maya Pandit’s words, there are several instances in the autobiography which show the way the Dalits were cut off from the social functioning of the society. The concept of inclusiveness was not a part of the Brahmins’ socio-cultural functioning in India for several centuries.
The acrimonious cycle of slavery and suppression reduced the lives of the Dalits to the state of animals. Kamble mentions with extreme pain that, “There was no difference between us and the animals. They destroyed our reasoning, our ability to think. We were reduced to a condition far worse than that of the bullocks kept in the courtyards of the high castes. We were imprisoned in dark cells, our hands and feet bound by the chain of slavery” (57). Unfortunately, the harsh realities of this inhuman treatment affected the psyche of the individuals so immensely. The Dalits would lose out their reasoning skills due to the continued treatment of the Dalits as animals. It becomes highly essential to liberate the Dalit community from such a rancorous cycle of trauma and drudgery. It is mainly through good education can one attain freedom from vassalage. Nevertheless, it becomes exceedingly challenging to revolutionise the age-old socio-cultural customs. As S.K. Thorat and R.S. Deshpande express,
The Hindu social order has been characterised by a high degree of inter-group inequality in the economic and social spheres of community life. The tenets under the Hindu social order were also effectively used to perpetuate inequality in income, employment and education between the castes, more so between high castes and low-caste untouchables. (44)
The pervading hierarchy in the caste system created a terrible gulf between the Dalits and the Brahmins and also among the Dalits, which invariably hampered the development of the country. The caste system is so embedded in the socio-political framework of the country, the Dalits do not even realise the unfair systematic practices. It is mainly through the Dalit writings, they become conscious of their appalling condition and direct themselves towards a journey from suppression to deliverance; obliviousness to self-realisation and more importantly from self-depreciation to self-esteem. The innumerable experiences they have had in the process of this journey gives the Dalit an identity which he/she has established for himself or herself through many generations.
Kamble also focuses on the concept of gender discrimination which was practised among the Dalits. The women had no role in the public affairs. As Baby Kamble expresses in her book, “In those days, it was the custom to keep women at home, behind the threshold. The honour enjoyed by a family was in proportion to the restrictions imposed on the women of the house. My father had locked up my aai [mother] in his house, like a bird in a cage” (18). The imagery of a bird in a cage is a clear indication that women did not enjoy any social status due to the irrational patriarchal ideologies which were instilled among men over the spans. The Dalit men tried to prove their masculinity by adhering to the patriarchal norms prevalent in the society. They tried to exercise authority over women to prove their domination and superiority. Unfortunately, masculinity is highly regarded in place of femininity in most of the cultures. As Nivedita Menon expresses, “Societies generally value ‘masculine’ characteristics more highly than ‘feminine’ ones and at the same time, ensure that men and women who do not conform to these characteristics are continuously disciplined into the appropriate behaviour” (62). Both men and women continued to perform the unwritten social rules to be a part of their community. They did not try to reason about the advantages and disadvantages of the established social and cultural norms and customs of the country. Due to ignorance and lack of education, even women accepted their plight as a normative practice. However, Kamble’s father supported her education, which invariably changed the entire course of her life. The education and exposure to the outside world, gave Kamble and her friends to retaliate against the traditional practices. The Dalit girls, though they were humiliated in the classrooms by the teachers and other Brahmin girls, they continued to educate themselves, without giving up. Their courage to enter the temple, which was completely restricted for the Dalits, would not have been possible without their exposure to the outside world. This act, without any doubt, enraged the Brahmins as they believed that the temple was defiled by their blasphemous act. However, this defiance gave the young girls the courage to fight against any repressive forces in the society. Shibu Simon and Sarojini Sudha express that, “The oppression of women and women’s perspectives are restructured by the women writers, diverting it from the male cultural paradigms in an effort to change the tradition that has silenced and marginalised women.” (22). The writings of the Dalit women writers act as catalyst in the lives of the Dalit women to fight against the irrational socio-cultural practices which were detrimental to achieve a respectable social position in the society. The emergence of many writings by the Dalit women writers pave way for the budding young women writers to voice out their terrible experiences.
Unfortunately, the Dalit women have to undergo twofold ostracism due to her caste and gender. Women in marriage are treated as mere commodities without attaching any emotional value. They are treated as mere objects to gratify the sexual desires of their husbands. They also become objects to vent out the frustrations and inadequacies of men. As Baby Kamble expresses in her interview with Maya Pandit, “In those days, men always wanted to control women. And I wasn’t an exception . . . . We returned and he was so angry that he kept hitting me on the train. Such things were so common. All my life I had to face this violence. Every woman tried to negotiate her way out of these hardships” (148). It must be noted that the trials and tribulations faced by the Dalit women were not considered as impediments to achieve greater success. They braved against the several odds they faced on a day to day basis. Prominent Dalit women writers such as, Urmila Pawar, Kumud Pawade, P. Sivakami, Mukta Sarvagod, Shantabai Krishnji Kamble, Shantabai Dani, Shantabai Kamble and many others have contributed significantly to the Dalit writings and have influenced the minds of the Dalits to move towards equality, progress and dignity of their self. Their writings become a symbol of public demonstration of their inherent frustrations and obstructions by several hierarchical structures. As Gopal Guru in his Afterword to Baby Kamble’s autobiography, The Prisons We Broke, mentions, “Dalit women's autobiographies are the statement of protest against their exclusion from the Dalit public sphere— literary gatherings, academic gatherings, publishing sphere and other spheres of recognition, like political parties” (152). Invariably, it would not be an exaggeration to state that the Dalit writings are one of the major reasons for the Dalit consciousness among the oppressed Dalits. Kamble also points out that the women became the greatest oppressors to other women in Dalit community. This insensitive practice to indulge in torturing another woman only lead to continued practice of stringent patriarchal ideologies among several Dalit households.
In the recent decades, there have been tremendous changes in the workings of the Dalit community due to several awareness programmes and good education. As Sudha Pai has observed, “In the last few decades, India has experienced a strong wave of Dalit assertion. As the product of an upsurge from below, it manifests itself in the socio-economic, cultural, and political realm and has taken many different forms: movements against caste domination, political parties, protest literature . . .” (xiii). As Sudha Pai opines, Baby Kamble’s autobiography, The Prisons We Broke becomes a part of protest literature written by a Dalit woman writer. It becomes a remonstration because as a Dalit woman, suffering double layered oppression, to publish a book, it was an arduous task. Nevertheless, she fought against the deleterious forces in the country and emerged successful through her thought provoking writing.
The Dalits, disadvantaged section of the society had to undergo extreme forms of caste discrimination and were deprived of many opportunities and social recognitions. It is also expressed by Baby Kamble in her autobiography, The Prisons We Broke that the Dalits were not allowed to use the same road or well as the Brahmins, they were not allowed to sit along with higher caste people in schools; not allowed to take up jobs as per their choice; they were encouraged to practise certain superstitious beliefs to uphold the superiority of the Brahmins. Kamble’s autobiography is a critique of the callous Brahminical practices and an appraisal of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s social services in India. Kamble admires Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar as he was primarily responsible for sowing the seeds of new-found ideologies, customs, traditions, education and so on. His social protest against the discriminatory practices related to caste system brought in a new wave of demonstrations, awakenings, and enlightenment in the lives of the Dalits. In strong antagonism against the duplicitous Hindu religion, Kamble voices out, “We have learnt how utterly worthless your religion is. And the one who has taught us this, the one who has transformed us from beasts into human beings, is the architect of our Constitution—that shining jewel of sheel and satwa, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar” (63). The entire Dalit community venerates Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar for the life-changing services he has rendered to them. In Baby Kamble’s autobiography, The Prisons We Broke, there are one hundred and two references to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. This is a testimony to the deep love and reverence the Dalits have for their highly honoured leader, Babasaheb Ambedkar. It is interesting to note that the lives of the Dalits transformed to a greater extent, due to the ideologies, philosophies set forth by their great leader. Ambedkar propagated vociferously for the extermination of caste hierarchies. As Raj Kumar emphasises the tremendous influence Babasaheb Ambedkar has had on the lives of the Dalits, he mentions that,
Ambedkar mobilised a large number of Dalit women to join the various phases of his movements-be it the historic Mahad Saryagraha of 1927, or the Nasik Satyagraha of 1930 or his conversion to Buddhism in 1956. All his movements were targeted to achieve equality and social justice by critiquing the age-old caste practices supported by the Brahmanic law. (214)
The guidance and encouragement received from such a magnanimous person became a beacon of light for the Dalits to thread a tumultuous journey. It is heart wrenching to learn that the Dalits lived a poverty-stricken life as they were either paid extremely low wages for their labour or they were not allowed to take up several high-paying jobs. The Dalits survived innumerable sufferings and atrocities as they were at the mercy of the Brahmins. Due to lack of mindfulness and proper education, the Dalits accepted their lower status in the society. The Dalits had to bear the various forms of violence – physical, psychological, religious, cultural – unleashed upon them at almost every stage of their life. Ironically, the Dalits themselves were largely responsible in sustaining the huge cultural gulf between the Brahmins and Dalits; the latter also propagated the superiority of the Hindu Brahmins. The Dalits believed that it was their duty to display obsequiousness and unctuousness for their survival. Invariably, several generations of Dalits also supposed that they were inferior to the Brahmins and acclimatised themselves to a life dominated by poverty, cold-hearted treatment of the Brahmins, irrational socio-cultural practices and wretchedness. Nevertheless, in the recent decades due to the exposure to the outside world and good education, they have elevated themselves to a better social status. The tussle for freedom from oppressive practices in the country became a part of the Dalits’ daily routine. Their struggles were enormously spread throughout the country.
Kamble also highlights a few age-old cultural practices, which they have delinked themselves. Of the several practices, she mentions, she accentuates that, “Generation after generation wasted away in the senseless worship of stones, in utter misery. Generation after generation perished. But it is a basic human need to hope for change. The tiny seedling of hope was reared in their hearts too. It grew tall, drawing strength from the iron in their souls'' (24). Undeniably, the status of the Dalits has been upraised to a higher level and many are living a sophisticated life. Nonetheless, in several parts of India, the atrocities and violence against the Dalits are still meted out. It is essential for each of us to understand the inevitability of every individual’s anticipation and aspiration to be treated in a humane manner and act accordingly. India as a nation should focus on giving opportunities to every individual irrespective of their caste, class, gender, ethnicity and others to be a part of a developed country.
To conclude, the Dalits strived to work in masses for the advancement of their community with great hope and conviction. Their efforts have contributed in reducing the conflict between social conventions and personal yearnings of the Dalits. Some of them took courage to strike back against the inhuman Brahminical practices. This step of retribution created a sense of Dalit consciousness among themselves as it was not a set of a few individuals who fought but a set of huge masses at various locations in India who rebelled against the unjust system. The distinguished American sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein rightly remarked, “It is not oppression that mobilizes masses but hope and certainty, the belief that the end of oppression is near, that a better world is truly possible” (174). In Baby Kamble’s autobiography, The Prisons We Broke, she delineates about the numerous initiatives taken by a few Dalits to fight against the system of unequal opportunities based on one’s caste, gender, class and other criteria. Nevertheless, it is the conglomeration of the Dalits with one objective to annihilate several injudicious practices, which will ultimately help them to achieve their goals.
Works Cited:
- Kamble, Baby. The Prisons We Broke. Trans. Maya Pandit, Orient BlackSwan Private Limited, 2008.
- Kumar, Raj. Personal Narratives: Reading Caste, Nation and Identity. Orient BlackSwan, 2010.
- Menon, Nivedita. Seeing Like a Feminist. Penguin Random House, 2012.
- Pai, Sudha. Oxford India Short Introductions: Dalit Assertion. Oxford University Press, 2013.
- Simon, Shibu & Sarojini Sudha. “The Genre of Literature of Resistance.” Beautiful Blacks, Dignified Dalits. Sarup Book Publishers Pvt. Ltd, 2012.
- Thorat, S.K and R.S. Deshpande. “Caste System and Economic Inequality: Economic Theory and Evidence.” Dalit Identity and Politics. Ed. Ghanshyam Shah, Saga Publications, 2001.
- Wallerstein, Immanuel. “The End of the World as we Know it.” Social Sciences for the Twenty-First Century. Minnesota Press, 1999.