The Warp and Weft of Dalit Lives
The Stepchild
Joseph Macwan
New Delhi: OUP, 2004
pp. 240 Rs. 295/-
The importance of Dalit history as well as Dalit literature and their power to act as an effective counter-narrative to canonical methods of documentation and creative writing are being increasingly appreciated everywhere in India today. The space occupied by Subaltern Studies in the academic field and the accommodation of the Dalit perspective in Indian historiography are evidences of a growing sensitivity to non-mainstream discourses. And when creative exercises are undertaken by Dalits themselves, their accounts generally gain in immediacy and authenticity. The Stepchild -- a translation of Angaliyat (1988), the first Dalit novel originally written in Gujarati by a Dalit writer on a Dalit community -- is a self-conscious attempt by its author Joseph Macwan to do what mainstream Gujarati literature has never done -- to present the warp and weft of Dalit lives. This book won him the National Sahitya Akademi Award.
Its historical significance is explicated in the Introduction by the translator Dr Rita Kothari. Gujarati Dalit writing is still in its infancy. In fact, its genesis can be traced to a reaction to the strong anti-reservation agitations that shook Gujarat in the early 1980s. Macwan’s creative output is actually a direct and immediate product of the wounds inflicted by the violence and orthodoxy of the anti-reservationists. As he admits in his note, the novel seeks to ‘acknowledge and sing of’ the strength and character of a culture that has been pushed to the periphery. It also articulates the pain of a people who are treated as stepchildren by their society.
The Stepchild tells the simple tale of the weaver community of Vankars in a Gujarati village and the shame of ostracism they bear because of the chauvinism of the powerful high caste Patels. Even as the administration changes hands from the British colonialists to the democratically elected native leaders, the Vankars’ fate of subjugation continues. Their timidity, the story suggests, comes from the ages of suppression they have suffered. Such has been the might of the higher castes that it has effectively removed every trace of legitimate self-assertion from their psyche. While not presenting the Vankars as going up in arms against the elite class, The Stepchild dramatizes the incipient realization among the younger generation of the Dalits that the situation is unjust and demands an immediate remedy.
The protagonist, the idealistic and industrious Teeha represents the first of the enlightened Vankars who has the courage to stand up against the unprincipled Patels. But the tragedy is that it is a losing battle because most of the other Vankars are either foolishly resigned to their fate or too ignorant to anticipate and forestall the cunning traps laid by their superiors. They can only waste their energy in wishing ‘If only there were ten people like Teeha we’d do what we wish’.
The novel may not be valued for its high literary qualities. But it will certainly leave an imprint in the readers’ minds because it unfolds a heart-warming tale of strong emotional ties between the members of the Vankar community and the sufferings they undergo as much due to the exploitation of the higher castes as by their own lofty ideals. The fraternal bond between Valji and Teeha is no ordinary friendship; in different ways, each sacrifices his life and joys for the other. The romantic love between Teeha and Methi is no common sensual attraction; it evolves into a purer, platonic love where each sacrifices his/her desires out of respect for a cause. Macwan presents other major and minor Vankars -- the philosophical Bhavaankaka, the tender Kanku, the gentle Dano, the noble Gokal and so on -- as if to show that with their integrity and high ethics, the so-called untouchables are far superior to their oppressors and exploiters.
P. Radhika
Contributor:
P.Radhika :Teaches English at the Fatima Mata National College, Kollam. Has contributed articles to numerous research journals. Interested in translating. She is at present Assistant Editor, Samyukta.