Name of the student: V. P.
Lakshmitha
Course of the student: B.A. (Hons.) English
Subject: DSC 15- Dalit Writings
Roll number: 566
Date of submission: 30.9.25
Name of the teacher: Antara Datta
Question
Discuss the role of trauma and humiliation in the making of Dalit autobiography with
reference to Valmiki’s Joothan. (10 marks)
In the preface to Joothan, Valmiki's own words were “I suffered a deep mental anguish
while writing this book.” Unlike other autobiographies where generational trauma might or
might not take precedence, Dalit autobiographies are always, in the words of the author, a
reliving of “all those miseries, torments, neglects, admonitions." And Joothan is filled with
them.
A Dalit experience is complex in its own way because of the position that they hold in a
predominantly Hindu society. The caste system which is rooted in Hinduism makes a Dalit,
part of that religion. Yet, a Dalit is treated as an outcast of the Hindu religion. Valmiki’s own
community, for example, are physically, spatially and socially outcast. Their customs, gods
and occupations are “different” in the bad sense.
So the Dalits are simultaneously originating from Hinduism but are also not part of
Hinduism. What is worse, the identity of a Dalit transcends religion when one is still called
“Dalit Christian” or “Dalit Muslim” even after rejecting caste by leaving behind Hinduism.
Automatically, Dalit writers have nothing ‘aesthetically pleasing’ to share in their accounts.
In the book Dalit Personal Narratives, Raj Kumar states that the “main thrust of Dalit
literature” becomes “exposing the conditions under which they lived, as well as directly
rebelling against the Hindu institution which has brought to them their perpetual
subordination in the varna order.”
Valmiki’s Joothan can be divided into the parts: i) Valmiki’s adolescence, ii) him as a
young adult and finally as iii) a writer and activist. Looking at the adolescent stage, where
Valmiki is in school, one comes across various instances of casteism, most of which leaves a
permanent scar in the mind of the author.
When Valmiki’s friend, Sukkhan Singh is thrashed by their teacher, the first hit lands on his
boil and it bursts. Seeing him cry and scream in pain, Valmiki starts crying as well. Coupled
with the abuses hurled that would “smear the nobility of Hindi,” this moment becomes a
traumatic experience for the author. Moreover, all this humiliation and abuse happens in a
space which functions beyond the differences of caste, creed and gender. This suggests that
the treatment in social spaces would definitely be at its worst.
1
Evidently the Dalits face everyday violence in the society and are psychologically and
economically deprived. Each family gets about twenty five seers of grain in a year for all the
work that they do. Not to mention the unsanitary conditions they work and live in. Life for a
Dalit becomes a living hell. Robbed of rights, dignity and resources, sucked dry of all the
labour and paid back with all types of abuse.
Valmiki is also subjected to more kinds of abuse himself, in addition to what he notices
happening to the ones around him. His experience with rawhide, the sheer violence that goes
into the preparation of hides, traumatises him to such an extent that his mother decided he
will never again be exposed to it. A Dalit autobiography is an account of their immediate
reality that entails its own aesthetics, the Dalit aesthetics.
Whatever he endures as a poor Dalit growing up in a casteist society, he continues to
grapple with for the rest of his life. Even after becoming a famous figure, Valmiki is still
triggered by the events of his childhood with the slightest stimuli like an appreciation. This
happens when Sukhdev Tyagi’s grandson compliments the food at Valmiki’s and he is
reminded of the time when his mother refused to take anymore of their joothan after Sukhdev
rudely dismisses her.
All of this struggle, exploitation, abuse, hunger and humiliation that Valmiki faces in his
life, he tries to incorporate into the autobiography. This is what results in a counter-narrative
which shatters any preconceived notions of the village that is pure, innocent and full of peace
loving people. In addition, such accounts help create social awareness and bring issues with
the caste system to the forefront.
To conclude, the role of trauma and humiliation in Dalit autobiographies is immense
considering their lives are a series of traumatic events and humiliation. Said trauma is worse
in the case of Dalits because it is generational. It becomes excruciating as the writer goes
through the entire process of dealing with the trauma, once again when they try to document
their life. Valmiki is no exception to this, since he himself talks about “how terribly painful
was this unraveling of my self, layer upon layer.”
