Abstract:
Centuries passed; still a large portion of the largest democratic country is witnessing discrimination and atrocities. The present paper is about the voice of the suppressed. It also talks about the voiceless cries of the Hindus, deprived of rights and still away from the main stream Hindu society. Dalit literature advocates and projects the torments and development of the untouchables including women of Indian society. After independence, the Dalits took the initiative in the fields of politics and education. Indian Constitution formally put an end to the practice of untouchability, but the classification by caste still exists in India. Despite rigid traditions and caste system, the Dalits became aware of politics, gained education, and started writing literature about their pangs and afflictions. No one can find any distinction between Dalit literature written in Gujarati and other regional languages of India. Dalit writing as a whole is an account of untouchability, caste based discrimination, Dalit protest against inequality, and about their oppression and exploitation by upper caste Hindus. Dalits in Gujarat became aware of their rights during the early twentieth century, but their literature fully flourished after the 1970s. Gujarati Dalit writers like Joseph Macwan, Dalpat Chauhan, Harish Mangalam, and Mohan Parmar portrayed a realistic picture of Dalit life in rural Gujarat. The Gujarati Dalit short stories unfold everyday life of Dalit families and their struggles. The present research paper offers to study and analyze social realism described in Gujarati Dalit short stories. Social realism in fiction is used to describe the everyday life of working-class and poor people in a realistic manner. Eclipsed Rotalo is the story of Raghu and his family. It talks about the daily life of a Dalit family in rural Gujarat. In this story, Raghu being a Dalit is ill-treated by his classmates at school. Raghu's parents hope that he might get proper education in a reputed school. The family becomes victim of the caste system. At the end of the story, the writer unfolds that the caste system is the cruel reality of the society. Dalit is touchable when his/her help is needed, but as soon as the need gets fulfilled, he/she becomes untouchable. Harish Mangalam describes the unpleasant experiences and untouchability felt by a Dalit widow Benima in his story The Midwife. Benima is a midwife, and the upper caste exploits her. In his story, Eternal Thirst Mohan Parmar portrays a leather-bucket maker Manna's routine life realistically. It is a graphic account of society where Manna and his wife Lakhi experience caste discrimination and untouchability and their protest against it. The stories of Raghu, Benima, and Manna come to the conclusion that untouchability and caste become the poison that ruins the lives of the Dalits. The present research aims to study the social reality and Dalit awakening expressed in Gujarati Dalit short stories. The short stories by Gujarati Dalit writers present an exciting account of rural Gujarat. The stories narrate untouchability and caste as a cruel reality of society.
Keywords: untouchability, inequality, exploitation, social realism, education, poverty
Introduction
Gujarati Dalit short stories present a realistic picture of Dalit life and society. The stories of Harish Mangalam, Mohan Parmar, and Joseph Macwan draw a perfect illustration of community and issues between the Dalits and the upper classes. The present paper aims to study social realism in Harish Mangalam’s The Midwife, Mohan Parmar’s Eternal Thirst, and Joseph Macwan’s Eclipsed Rotalo. Social realism signifies a medium for painters, writers and filmmakers to convey a social or political comment. The stories attempt to portray the picture of cruelty of and in society and how it affects their development. It presents the poor people who work on daily wages on farms. It also showcases characters facing an identity crisis. The social status of such is affected. Social realist texts cover contemporary social issues. Social realist artists use literature and other art forms to present society as it is. One can use the term social realism in many ways. Gujarati Dalit writers use the term to portray inequality, untouchability, and exploitation of the Dalits by the upper-class people. Social realism aims to reveal the issues between the oppressive force and the oppressed victims. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines social realism as "a theory or practice of using appropriate representation and symbol to express a social or political attitude (Merriam-Webster)."
Dictionary.com as, “….the style of painting, especially of the 1930s in the U.S., in which the scenes depicted typically to convey a message of social or political protest edged with satire” (Dictionary.com)
Collins dictionary as,"…a use of realist art, literature, etc. as a medium for social or political comment" (Dictionary)
The present research paper aims to examine exploitation, untouchability, and inequality as social realism. Gujarati Dalit writers attempt to depict the life of Dalit families as it is. In their works, Dalit writers select the characters from the poor Dalit families who struggle throughout their life because of social attitudes. Using the characters, writers attempt to comment on society and its traditions.
Social realism in Joseph Macwan's Eclipsed Rotalo
Eclipsed Rotalo is a story of Dalit family in which Dhanji and his wife Heta work hard to secure good education for their son Raghu. It gives a picture of the everyday life of Heta and her son Raghu. Heta wants her son to become a barrister. The story presents poverty and hunger as social realism. Dhanji and his wife Heta work hard and believe that by providing excellent education to their son will eradicate their poverty. Raghu resumes his day with eating rotalo and takes half with him for lunch. Extreme poverty is witnessed when Raghu refuses to eat more rotala. He doesn't want to take his mother's share, “No matter how hungry he was, he would never demand more than he had given, not even when Heta coaxed him lovingly. He knew that he would be taking away his mother’s share of rotala” (43). Raghu eats and chew each bite forty times and lies to his mother, "Our schoolmaster has taught us to chew each morsel forty times as it is more satisfying, helps the body to make more blood and quickens digestion…" (44). Heta takes it as her son’s wisdom. It shows the extreme level of poverty that they don’t have any other thing to eat other than rotala. In recess, Raghu feels hungry and is fascinated by the talks of his classmates about other tasteful food. No one praises his rotala. His ears wait to hear praise of his rotala. Raghu is not treated well by his classmates. Inequality is portrayed when his classmates ask Raghu, "Stay away. Move aside… you are not our equal. How dare you sit among us? The sight of your dirty rotala makes us retch" (45). After this painful incident, Raghu is annoyed and feels irritated hearing the name of rotala. In irritating tone, he asks his mother, "Why can’t you think of anything else but rotala; rotala in the morning and rotala in the evening?" (49). This act of Raghu leaves Heta horrified. It is unbelievable for as Raghu loves to eat rotala, and sudden change is not digested. She asks Raghu, "You loved to eat rotala before. Has anything happened? Why don’t you like it now? See, I also have given you some jaggery" (49). Raghu is fascinated by his classmates’ talks about food and desires to eat that food. The talks keep echoing in his ears, which compels him to steal Mintu's lunch box. Heta wants her son to become a big man and works hard for it. She doesn't want him to be weak. She wants to give him a good life. In her words, "At least our son will have a bright future. We are fated to sweat it out all our lives, but we don’t want our son to have a similar life" (47). Heta is worried about her son when he denies eating rotala. Raghu steals Mintu's lunchbox. After taking his lunch box, Raghu feels guilty and resolves never to do wrong. Based on Mintu's complaint, Raghu is found guilty. The story ends with Dr. Amin's words that Raghu must get dismissed because a kind of theft can affect others. The story shows that poverty and hunger can demolish lives. Macwan draws a realistic picture of the Dalit family and their struggle to provide good education to their son. Hunger and poverty are the two working factors in this short story. The two derails the lives of the entire family.
Social Realism in Harish Mangalam’s the Midwife
The Midwife is a story of a Dalit widow Benima. The story is about an older woman who is artful in midwifery through which she makes efforts to save people’s life. The story presents exploitation and untouchability as a theme. Pashima, Baldev's wife, is in labor pain and wants Benima's help in delivering the child. When Benima’s help is needed, she is not untouchable, and after the task is accomplished, she becomes untouchable. The story of Midwife presents exploitation and untouchability as social realism. The central character Benima is exploited by the upper class when her help is needed, but from the very next moment, she is untouchable. In the beginning, Manek Doshi, an upper-caste older woman asks Benima for help and save lives of Pashi and baby. She asks, "Benima Bhagwan will bless you. Save her somehow" (46). Benima instantly, without hesitation helps Pashi. Pashima gives birth to a boy. But Pashi does not give any credit to Benima; instead, she believes that luck and Ramkabir saved her life. Partiality governs the human psyche. People live in darkness and not respect each other. When Pashi and her son meet Benima after one and a half years, they forgot their savior. Untouchability is there in words and actions of Pashi when she stops her son to touch Benima, "Dear, don’t touch Benima" (46). Human dignity is affected by this act of Pashi. Benima, who saved her life, is of no importance to her. After the death of her husband, before twenty years, Benima is wasting her life. Benima, after finishing her mango, leaves for home. The story also unfolds the notion of pollution by touch, one of the cruel realities of society. This incident is realistically portrayed in the story. On the way to a home near the banyan tree, some little boys were playing when Benima passed a boy shouted, "Hey, you scavenger woman, go away. You’ll pollute us. Can’t you look where you are going?" (47). Listening to this, Benima recognizes Daylo, Dali's son, and said to herself, "Death had almost got him… four years ago. I saved him." (47). These words of a little kid hurt Benima. It shows the hollowness of the society. How does a little kid know anything that a man can be polluted by touch? Harish Mangalam, in this story, comments on the selfishness of society. They use a person when required and after fulfillment of their work, forget the person. In this way, Harish Mangalam presents social realism in the Midwife and satires on the thinking of society. The story is in fact a mockery of the society.
Social realism in Mohan Parmar’s Eternal Thirst
Eternal Thirst is about the life of Mano and his wife, Lakhi. The story portrays a picture of life and the struggle of a Dalit family in rural Gujarat. The protagonist of the story Mano, is an expert in making leather buckets. Manna gives up his study after marriage with Lakhi and, as a substitute, takes up making leather buckets. In this story, the writer attempts to present the social issues of Dalits in rural Gujarat. Mano and Lakhi belong to the poor Dalit family. They try to gain lost human dignity. They want to be free from such humiliation caused because of caste. They believe that caste is the only responsible factor for their plight in the society. Even after independence, the mindsets of people haven’t changed. They still live in stroll in their mental darkness. Mano wants to get rid of such things. Manna doesn't like if anyone call him Chamar. Once the relative of Joitaram simply addresses him, a Chamar and Manna’s anguish is seen in his words, “How is this person related to you? Tell him to hold his tongue.” (31) Manna's wife is brought up in the city, and harvesting is challenging and hard work for her. While Manna and Lakhi are harvesting, Lakhi feels thirsty. Manna fetches water from the well. While making a leather bucket, Manna injures himself, and while fetching water, blood comes out. The cruelty of society is observed when Mangaji said furiously, "You stupid Chamar. Have you any manners or not? You have polluted the well." (34) Mangaji speaks the words that affect the dignity. 'Chamar' is a Dalit sub-caste, and the upper-class people consider them as untouchables because they do the work of making leather-buckets. Mangaji being a Thakor, considers himself a high-born and Manna as low-born. The Dalits of the rural area are treated in this way by the elite classes of society. But by the time Dalits became aware and hearing Mangaji's words, Manna becomes red with anger. The concept of untouchability or pollution by touch still exists in some rural areas. Manna tries to come out of such things but it’s futile. He feels irritated and asks Mangaji, "I have only filled water from the well, nothing else and it makes you polluted, Thakor?" (35). In the words of Mangaji, who considers Manna's act of fetching water from well as sin, "Shut up, you fool. Are you a high-born that you walk up to the well to fill up water. Didn’t I tell you to fill from the canal?" (35). They are considered as low-born persons and not allowed to fetch water from the well. Manna wants to come out of such things, which affects his development and his identity but is not able to, as the society is not willing to come out of it. Hearing Mangaji's words, both the husband and wife gets disappointed. Lakhi wants Manna to take a job in any of the mills in Ahmedabad. Manna, in despair, replies Mangaji saying, "You have made an issue out of my simple act of filling water from the basin of the well." (35). In this way, the thirst of Lakhi becomes the eternal thirst of the Dalits who want to get rid of such practices. Dalits attempt to come out of such practices, but the power always resists their voice. It results in their oppression, exploitation, and marginalization. The characters like Mano and Lakhi attempt to break traditions, but the characters like Mangaji destroy their efforts. Even the most educated and high-class Dalits faces the same discrimination at their workplace. This mindset needs to be eradicated. Even education and modernization have not mashed off the minds of the touchables.
Conclusion
The stories are set in rural Gujarat and present a realistic description of social facts. Through the stories, the authors have presented everyday life of the Dalits in a realistic manner. Social realism is used to describe the everyday life of poor people, which here is appropriately used by Harish Mangalam, Mohan Parmar, and Joseph Macwan to draw a perfect realistic picture of Dalit families and their struggles to come out of social bondages. Manaa is not such a strong character but depicts awareness and Dalit's protest against wrong. In Eclipsed Rotalo, Heta and Dhanji expected a bright future for their son, and they don't want their son Raghu to live a similar life they lived. The story of Raghu marks development but still behind in terms of power and economy. The character of Manaa describes failures in life. Though Manna is a literate man, he didn't get any job, it is the reality, and finding no way takes up work either in any of the factory or in farms. The characters face an identity crisis and fail to defend human dignity. People still live in mental darkness. Mano doesn't like it if anyone calls him a Chamar. Because he wants people to know him as a human being and they must treat him as human. The characters suffer throughout the stories for self-identity, equality, and social status. The stories present inequality, exploitation, and untouchability as social realism. Both Benima and Mana are exploited when their help is needed and becomes untouchable when work is done. They are not treated equally but as inferiors. The void in the society will definitely create more scope among the dwellers. Caste system is the root of all evils and the only solution is a casteless system: a hope that is out of reach for many years to come.
Works Cited