Dalit Men's Autobiographies : a Critical Appraisal

Dalit Men's Autobiographies A Critical Appraisal, an anthology of twentyfour research papers, is an unprecedented scholarly enterprise, by renowned literary scholars and dignitaries in the area of literature of marginality and subalternity in the context of the Indian subcontinent. Dalit Literature is one of the most controversial topics in contemporary India, revealing the socioeconomic structure with respect to casteism and cultural contexts. Just like the sufferings of Dalit women which have been revealed through their autobiographies, Dalit men write about the discrimination, subjugation, suppression and inhibition directed against them in a society dominated by hegemony of caste and class. While Dalit women writers, through their autobiographies, have highlighted their suppressed selves inside their homes and in the society in several layers, being juggernaut in their voice of protest, Dalit male writers also explore patterns of castedriven atrocities in their autobiographies unveiling personal stories within the castcentric Indian society. Dalit writers mark a challenge against a separatist islandish stance where they purposely digress from the mainstream culture and tradition; breaking away from the prevailing structure of orthodox Dalit stories. These autobiographical documents emerge something more than a cry of desperation; it is a scream of the victims of casteism trying to supplant and change the basic fabric of a culture which leaves them no space for fulfillment and selfactualization. This anthology offers an exhaustive exploration of many Dalit men's autobiographies to the most possible extent. The intellectuallygifted contributors for this anthology are Professor D. Amalraj, Dr Manjeet Rathee, Dr D. Murali Manohar, Dr Sakunthala A.I., Dr Archana Bhattacharjee, Dr Sadhana Agrawal, Dr Narendra Kumar, Ramanuj Mahato, Kusum Kanger, Dwaipayan Mitra, Anusha A.J., Suruchi Sharma, Guni Vats, Ashok Kumar, Dipak Giri, Dr Deepika Rani, Dr Deler Singh, Dr Dipali Sharma Bhandari, Dr Prachi Priyanka, Dr Sumitra Singh, Dr Zainul Abid Kotta, Dr M.B. Gaijan, Dr Aparna Lanjewar Bose and Dr S. Chelliah.