Famous dalit writers
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അക്കർമാശി | Akkarmashi
My father and his father are Lingayats. Therefore I should also be a Lingayat. My mother was a Mahar. My mother’s father and grandfather are also Mahars. So I should also be one. From the day I was born, I was looked after and reared by my grandpa, my Dada Muhammad Dastagir Jamadar, who is technically my Dada because he lives with my grandma Santa Mai. So can it be said that I am a Muslim? Can’t my grandpa claim that I am a Muslim in lieu of all the love he showered on me? When my mother is an untouchable, how will I be a Savarna? And even when I am untouchable, what about my father? A Savarna?
This is the cry of a soul from India’s casteist hell. Sharankumar Limbale, born of an illicit union between Hanumantha Limbale, a village Patil (head), and Masa Mai, an untouchable Mahar woman, in a village bordering Karnataka and Maharashtra, is having a permanent existence in a twilight zone. Unacceptable (obviously!) as an ‘upper’ caste, he is seen as impure by the Mahars also! Hence the term “Akkarmaashi” – local slang meaning “half breed” – used
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Impact Factor : 5.07 (RPRI)
Caste, Gender, and Performance in Sharankumar Limbale’s Akkarmashi: A Butlerian Reading
V.Siva
Research Scholar
School of English and Foreign Languages
The Gandhigram Rural Institute (Deemed to be University)
Gandhigram, Dindigul
Tamil Nadu, India
&
Dr. S. Balasundari
Associate Professor
School of English and Foreign Languages
The Gandhigram Rural Institute (Deemed to be University)
Gandhigram, Dindigul
Tamil Nadu, India
Abstract:
This article examines the complex intersections of caste, gender, and performance in Sharankumar Limbale’s autobiographical novel, Akkarmashi, through a Butlerian lens. Drawing on the theoretical framework of Judith Butler’s performativity theory, the article argues that Akkarmashi subverts dominant norms of caste and gender through its portrayal of the protagonist’s performance of various social roles. The article analyzes how Limbale’s text destabilizes the traditional dichotomy of the public and private spheres, challenging the normative ideas of Marathi writer Akkarmashi (1984) Towards an Aesthetics of Dalit Literature (2004) Sharankumar Limbale (born June 1, 1956) is a Marathi language author, poet and literary critic. He has penned more than 40 books. His best known work is his autobiography Akkarmashi published in 1984. Akkarmashi has been translated to several other Indian languages and English. The English translation has been published by the Oxford University Press with the title The Outcaste.[1] His critical work Towards an Aesthetics of Dalit Literature (2004) is considered amongst the most important works on Dalit literature.[citation needed] It discusses how Dalit anubhava (experiences) should take precedence over anuman (speculation). Sharankumar Limbale was born on 1 June 1956 at Hennur vil
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Sharankumar Limbale
Born (1956-06-01) June 1, 1956 (age 68) Occupation Writer, poet, literary critic Language Marathi Nationality Indian Genre Dalit literature Notable works Notable awards Saraswati Samman Spouse Kusum Life
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