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IN HER OWN WRITE
Writing from a Dalit Feminist Standpoint
UMA
CHAKRAVARTI
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IN HER OWN WRITE : UMA CHAKRAVARTI
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lie QUARTERLY
Yes it was better for you in the past. You could employ us for a
rupee or a rupee and a half and we'd eat what grew at the edge of
the fields. Nowadays in this kaliyugam, ploughmen demand ten or
fifteen rupees. The government steps in and sets wages. Would we
have seen or experienced a government in the past that took care of
us like that? (Racine and Racine, 1997: 252)
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IN HER OWN WRITE : UMA CHAKRAVARTI
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lie QUARTERLY
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IN HER OWN WRITE : UMA CHAKRAVARTI
Apart from the spatial difference in the houses of the Dalits and
the upper castes into the ur and the cheri, where the upper castes
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lie QUARTERLY
140
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IN HER OWN WRITE : UMA CHAKRAVARTI
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lie QUARTERLY
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IN HER OWN WRITE : UMA CHAKRAVARTI
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IN HER OWN WRITE : UMA CHAKRAVARTI
NOTES
1. I will also include Karukku, which functions as a part-memoir by the Tamil writer
Bama (2001) with a noticeable slide from the narrative voice of the community to
the narrative voice of the author and back.
2. See Rege (2006) for a discussion on the amnesia that has written out the years of
serious engagements by Dalit scholars and writers on Dalit feminist standpoints
and the critiques of mainstream but also the possibilities of a more incorporative
politics.
3. Personal communication from feminist friends in Delhi.
4. This paragraph is based on debates that have been taking place around women's
groups in Delhi.
REFERENCES
Pawade, Kumud. 1992. 'The Story of My Sanskrit', in Atjun Dangle (ed.), Poisoned
Bread. Bombay: Orient Longman.
Pawar, Urmila. 2003. The Weave of My life: A Dalit Woman's Memoirs. Kolkata: Stree.
Pawar, Urmila. 2002. 'A Childhood Tale,' in Tapan Basu (ed.), Translating Caste.
Delhi: Katha.
Racine, Josiane and Jean Luc Racine. 1997. Viramma: Life of an Untouchable. London:
Verso.
Rege, Sharmila. 2006. Writing Caste/ Writing Gender: Narrating Dalit Women's
Testimonios. Delhi: Zubaan.
Shyamala, Gogu. 2012. Father May Be an Elephant and Mother Only aBasket, But....
Delhi: Navayana Publishers.
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