Richa Sharma Ph.D Scholar Department of English, University of Jammu

Transcription

1 13. VALMIKI SJOOTHAN: A CATHARSIS OF PITY Richa Sharma Ph.D Scholar Department of English, University of Jammu Abstract The origin of Dalits can be traced to a deep rooted and age long Hindu Varna System, based on four hierarchically arranged varnas viz., Brahmins, Kshatriyas (Rajanyas), Vaishyas and Shudras.TheSudras were given the lowest status in the social ladder as they were believed to have sprung from Purusha s feet. But placed even below the Sudras and on the margins of the social order were the Panchamas or the fifth or the fifth varna or Asprishya or Untouchables who performed the onerous and defiling tasks of others.the Untouchables, who were working for the above said four varnas are totally neglected.they were not allowed to live and even enter the villages and towns inhabited by the higher castes except to do scavenging.they were prevented from entering and worshiping in the temples as it was believed that the temples would become impure by their touching them. Their main duty was to execute the criminals, and to carry and cremate the corpses.after the independence of India, our political leaders attempted to eradicate the ominous practice of untouchability. However, the scope of eradication of untouchability remained limited only to be put pen to paper. Although legal changes were made but mind sets of people were infected with germ of obnoxious Caste System.Gandhi ji gave the name Harijans meaning children of God to the untouchables. The Untouchables or Harijans embraced the term Dalit, which is derived from a Sanskrit word meaning oppressed or broken.literature became an effective tool for the Dalits to express their unheard words,trauma, unfelt emotions as well as anger against the exploitation and ill-treatment meted out to them.to convey the excruciating pain and their traumatic and harrowing experiences, the Dalits have articulated the reminiscence and disseminated them mainly through the medium of autobiographies called as Dalit autobiographies or Dalit discourse, which acts as distinctive part of Dalit Literature.This paper focuses on Valmiki sjoothan: A Dalit s Lifeto show the harsh realities of caste system.it also demonstrates the sufferings and humiliations of an untouchable in India.Valmiki voices the suppressed feelings of the marginalized Dalits of India in Joothan. Keywords: Panchamas,Untouchables,Dalits,Identity crisis, Joothan, Caste System,Dalit predicaments Introduction I do not ask For the Sun and Moon from your sky Your farm, your land, Your high houses or your mansions. I do not ask for Gods or rituals, Castes or sects, Or even for your mother, sisters, daughters I ask for my rights as a man (White Paper) is the only desire of a Dalit. The origin of Dalits can be traced to a deep rooted and age long Hindu Varna System, based on four hierarchically arranged varnas viz., Brahmins, Kshatriyas (Rajanyas), Vaishyas and Shudras.TheSudras were given the lowest status in the social ladder as they were VOL. 4 ISSUE 7 JULY

2 believed to have sprung from Purusha s feet. But placed even below the Sudras and on the margins of the social order were the Panchamas or the fifth or the fifth varna or Asprishya or Untouchables who performed the onerous and defiling tasks of others. The law books referred the members of this varna as Panchamas. Although an unenviable position was allotted to the Sudras in society, they still have all along a better status than the Panchamas. The Panchamas were not considered good enough by the other varnas even to serve them. Even the Sudras considered their touch as defiling. According to Manu, Children born to a Brahmin women by a Sudra male are Chandalas, that lowest of mortals (Indian Caste System, p. 26). This way, even the Sudras exploited atishudras or Untouchables. The Untouchables, who were working for the above said four varnas are totally neglected. According to D.N. Majumdar, The untouchable castes are those who suffer from various social and political disabilities, many of which are traditionally prescribed and socially enforced by higher castes. (Races and Cultures of India, 326). In India, Untouchables were subjected to various religious disabilities. They were not allowed to live and even enter the villages and towns inhabited by the higher castes except to do scavenging.they were prevented from entering and worshiping in the temples as it was believed that the temples would become impure by their touching them. Their main duty was to execute the criminals, and to carry and cremate the corpses. According to the law books the candala should be dressed in the garments of the corpses he cremated, should eat his food from broken vessels, and should wear only iron ornaments. No man of higher class might have any but the most distant relations with a candela, on pain of losing his religious purity and falling to the candala s level (Indian Caste System, p. 73). After the independence of India, our political leaders attempted to eradicate the ominous practice of untouchability. The Constitution of India declares the equality of all citizens of India.Many governmental and non-governmental efforts have been made to eradicateuntouchability and improve the conditions of the untouchables. However the scope of eradication of untouchability remained limited only to be put pen to paper. Although legal changes were made but mind sets of people were infected with germ of obnoxious Caste System. The segregated untouchables have remained downtrodden and are forbidden by the upper castes to climb up the social ladder. The identity crisis resurfaces with a lunge along the lines of precariousness. Gandhi ji gave the name Harijans meaning children of God to the untouchables. The Untouchables or Harijans embraced the term Dalit, which is derived from a Sanskrit word meaning oppressed or broken. The word was first used by JyotibaPhule in the context of caste oppression and further popularised by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar who chose the term broken men an English translation of Dalit in the Untouchables published in Subsequently, the wider use of the term led to the formation of a political group in Maharashtra called Dalit Panthers. The Dalit Panthers expanded the term to include all those who are being exploited economically, politically, socially and in the name of religion. Thus, the term Dalit isused to describe nearly one hundred and eighty million Indians signifying suppression, oppression, humiliation, exploitation, helplessness, crushed, ground down, and defeated and broken people. VOL. 4 ISSUE 7 JULY

3 Om PrakashValmiki sjoothanoriginally written in Hindi in 1997has been translated into English by ArunPrabha Mukherjee and published as Joothan: A Dalit s Life in Joothan literally means scraps of food left on the plates, destined for the garbage or for the family pet in a middle-class urban home and Valmiki gives a detailed and realistic description of collecting, preserving and eating Joothan. He quotes an incident during a wedding, After the baratis had eaten, the dirty leaf plates were put into the Chuhras baskets which they take home to save the joothan sticking to them. The little pieces of puris, bits of sweetmeats, and a little bit of vegetable were enogh to make them happy. The joothan was eaten with a lot of relish (Joothan, 9). The titlejoothan encapsulates the humiliation, pain, and poverty of the untouchables, who have lived at the bottom of India s social pyramid for millennia. Valmiki sjoothanis a memoir of growing upuntouchability in a village near Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh. At the outset, Valmiki states bleakly, Dalit life is excruciatingly painful, charred by experiences....only he or she who has suffered this anguish knows its sting (Joothan, 1). Told as a series of piercing story, Joothan is a remarkable record ofvalmiki sjourney filled with hardshipspertaining to his belongings in the Chuhra community whose traditional professions have been defined by the caste system in India as sweeping and manual scavenging. Valmiki starts to narrate his own experiences with the life s encounters, agony, pain, struggles and suppression through these words Untouchability was so rampant that while it was considered all right to touch dogs and cats or cows and buffaloes, if one happened to touch a chuhra, one got contaminated or polluted. The chuhras were not seen as human. They were simply things for use. Their utility lasted until the work was done. Use them and throw them away (Joothan, 2). Valmiki was often called by upper caste children specially Tyagi Brahmins as AbeyChuhre or Chuhreka which reflects hate and disdain.the Chuhras of Punjab and western Uttar Pradesh widely adopted Valmiki or Balmiki as a caste name or surname, which is a protest against the inhumane Caste System. However, Valmiki confesses that some people made pejorative comments about his surname and some admired it as an act of courage. He says, They argued that when an untouchable, a person from a caste considered low, uses his caste name as his surname, with a feeling of self-assertion, he is being very brave. One gentleman has ripped this argument to pieces: what is so brave about that? After all he is a Chuhara, his surname spares us the hassle of asking what his caste is (Joothan, 124). Dalits were not allowed to get educated but Valmiki violates the community s convention by going to school. Even in school he was allowed to sit only near doors from where he could not even see the board clearly. He was not at all properly treated by teachers also in school. Often he was beaten by teachers without any reason. Valmiki recounts his experiences at school where he is insulted and then physically abused by his headmaster: I had begun to shake uncontrollably. The headmaster had pounced on my neck. The pressure of his fingers was increasing. As a wolf grabs a lamb by the neck, he dragged me out of class and threw me on the ground (5).He describes his state as fear stalking [his] heart (7). Similar instances of abuse, especially the physical trauma, in the school are recounted in detail elsewhere too. One such incident he narrates as If I got thirsty in school, then I had to stand near the hand-pump. The boys would beat me in any case, but the teachers also punish me. All VOL. 4 ISSUE 7 JULY

4 sorts of stratagems were tried so that I would run away from the school and take up the kind of work for which I was born. Even though he faced the abuses and insults from students and teachers during his school and college life, he pursued his studies with indomitable desire for learning and finally completes his education. It is a fulfillment of a long cherished dream of his father to educate him. To put into his father s words, You have to improve the caste by studying (29). But the writer feels not the same way. As he says: He (the writer s father) did not know that caste cannot be improved by education. It can only be improved by taking birth in the right caste.(58) However, his period of distress got lessened when he got a job. Soon he abandoned his college education when he got admitted to the Ordnance Factory as apprentice. When he informed his father that he had got the job his father responded in a positive way. He said: At last you have escaped caste. (78). But the writer knows very well that no one can escape the intricate labyrinths of caste created by the upper class society. As he says: caste follows one right up to one s death (78). With a job in hand, Valmiki never abandoned his reading habits. Books were my greatest friends. They kept up my morale. (79). Surprisingly Valmiki, a bibliophile, had not heard about Dr.Ambedkar till his admission in DAV College. His friend introduced him to Dr.Ambedkar through the medium of a book. Culturally, he was an enlightened person much ahead of other people in his community. Valmiki s Dalit consciousness reached fruition with Narayan Surve, DayaPawar, VamanNimbalkar,NamdevDhasal, GangadharPantavane, Raja Dhale, KeshavMeshram, YashwantManoharand Baburao Bagul. Valmiki s cultural world had changed completely after his arrival in Bombay. His company had also changed and as a result, his social and cultural development was taking place at a phenomenal speed. It was in this period that he met Savita, the daughterof VinayakKulkarni, who was attracted to Valmiki. Valmiki took initiative and told Savita the truth about him. Valmiki himself has described the effect of his revelation. On this revelation, suddenly the distance between us had increased. The hatred of thousands of years had entered our hearts. What a lie culture and civilization are (Joothan, 98). In villages, the division took place on the lines of touchability and untouchability. The scenario at Dehradun was very bad and it was worse in Uttar Pradesh. Yet in a metropolitan city like Mumbai, well educated people indulged in such discriminating behaviour. He felt a fountain of hot lava erupting within him. Valmiki was always disinterested in the matters of worship. His father would always explain to him the beliefs of his forefathers and ancestors. The development of his consciousness is reflected clearly in the text. He confesses that he wanted to proclaim loudly that he was not a Hindu. In a long attack on Hinduism, he questions, If I were really a Hindu, would the Hindus hate me so much? Or discriminate against me? Or try to fill me up with caste inferiority over the smallest things? Why are the Hindus so cruel, so heartless against Dalits? (41). VOL. 4 ISSUE 7 JULY

5 Valmiki concludes his novel by pointing out the fact that caste still remains an indispensable part of our lives. It is a matter of privilege for the upper classes while it is stigma attached to the dalits and the other low caste people. It involves a lot of courage and strength to shake off the age old fetters imposed on these innocent beings. Thus, injoothan,valmiki raises his voice against the remorseless atrocities committed to Dalits. In his own words he talks about the dispiriting caste system: Caste is a very important element of Indian society. As soon as a person is born, caste determines his or her destiny. Being born is not in the control of a person. If it were in one s control, then why would I have been born in a Bhangi household? Those who call themselves the standard bearers of this country s great cultural heritage, did they decide which homes they would be born into? Albeit they turn to scripture to justify their position, the scriptures that establish feudal instead of promoting equality and freedom. (134) Works Cited Aston, N. M., editor. Literature of Marginality: Dalit Literature and African-American Literature. New Delhi, Prestige Books, Banerjee, Debdulal. Joothan: A Dalit s Life ByOmprakashValmiki: An Embodiment of Dalit Resistant Aesthetics. Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL): A Peer Reviewed (Refereed) International Journal, vol. 3, issue 4, 2015, pp Devi, Vishnu Vandana. Joothan: A Study of Education and Emancipation. Ideas & Ideologies (i&i) e journal: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, vol. 1, issue 3, pp Doniger, Wendy, and Brian K. Smith, translators.the Laws of Manu.Haryana, Penguin Books, Kane, P. V. History of the Dharmasatra. Poona, Ketkar, ShridharVenkatesh. History of Caste in India: Evidence of the Laws of Manu on the Social Conditions in India during the Third Century A.D. Interpreted and Examined. Delhi, Low Price Publications, Krishnaiah, B., editor. Dalit Movements and Literature: Emerging Issues and Challenges. New Delhi, Prestige Books, Kumar, Rajesh, and Pankaj K. Mitra.Voices from the Margin: The Dalit Face in the Indian English Novel. New Delhi, Satyam Publishing House, Mohan, Anjaly. Joothan: A Dalit's Life: The Magical Transformation of Muteness into Voice. International Journal of English Language, Literature and Humanities: Indexed, Peer Reviewed & Refereed Journal, vol. 2, issue 4, Aug. 2014, pp Mukherjee,Alok, translator and editor.towards an Aesthetic of Dalit Literature: History, Controversies and Considerations. By SharankumarLimbale, New Delhi, Orient BlackSwan, Mukherjee, ArunPrabha, translator.joothan: A Dalit s Life ByOmprakashValmiki. USA, Columbia University Press, Pruthi, R. K., editor. Indian Caste System. New Delhi, Discovery Publishig House, Saini, Rajni. Om PrakashValmiki sjoothan: Portrayal of a Dalit s Life Traumatic Experiences. International Journal of English Language, Literature and Humanities: Indexed, Peer Reviewed & Refereed Journal, vol. 4, issue 12, Dec. 2016, pp Sharma, Rajendra K. Indian Society: Institutions and Change. New Delhi, Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, VOL. 4 ISSUE 7 JULY