Investigation of the Caste and Gender-Based Subjugation of the Dalit Community

Abstract

The present study focused on the Dalit community in general and its women in particular as a muted group. The Dalit community is one of these marginalized communities who have been muted, deliberately, by society even in this era, the 21st century. Using a Muted Group Theory (MGT) as a conceptual standpoint, the study attempted to problematize the caste system in today’s India and proved the Dalit community as a muted group, which has been strategically muted for centuries and it goes on. The primary texts for analysis are Ants among Elephants (2017) by Sujatha Gilda, and The Weave of My Life (2008) by Urmila Pawar. The Weave of My Life, a memoir, recounts three generations of Dalit women who struggled to overcome the burden of their caste; the untouchables, the poorest class of Dalits, and Ants among Elephants also deals with the fighting of Dalits with the issues of caste system in India. Both of these texts unearth the subjugation of Dalits, particularly Dalit women, due to caste, gender, and language barriers. This study answered the questions of how the Dalit community is a muted group; and what ways are used to subjugate them in modern-day India. The study concluded with a need to write and study Dalit literature and to boost
Dalit women in any possible way.