Dethroning
Institutional Oppression: Voicing Out the Female Concerns in Bama’s Sangati
Reddy Divya
Bhavani
Ph. D. Research Scholar
Department of
English
Andhra
University
Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Works
Cited:
Casteism
has rightly been regarded as one of the pivotal social evils which plague a
particular society to the core. The Indian societies, since a very long time,
have always been divided into different categories based on the power politics
and the dominance of patriarchy. The identity of the women, in this regard,
appears to be a very far cry because apart from the institutions, they also get
oppressed by the male members of their own group of people. The Dalits of the
Indian societies have been the worst possible sufferers with them getting
relegated to the extremes of the societies with no authoritative assertion of
their own. Bama, the stalwart of Dalit writings, blatantly voices out the
concerns pertaining to the females in her literary females. Her
thought-provoking novel Sangati deserves a place alongside the classics of
literature with its portrayal of the de-structuring of the power structures by
the females in order to establish the identity and position of Dalit females in
the society. This paper argues that Sangati not only shatters established
structures of power in the society but also epitomises female concerns to grant
them a position of authority to them. It conceptualises the positivity of Bama
in her hope to dismantle the oppressions leading to the pathway of
self-identity of the Dalit women.
Keywords:
casteism, Dalits, Dalit-feminism, power-structure, self-identity
The construction of the
identity of an individual calls for a probing attention to the various roles of
the society which, directly or indirectly, plays its part in granting one’s
identity. The identity of the females, particularly in the context of the
societies in India, has always been under the radar as the male-dominated
societies always construct their identities by attributing them a position of
relegation. With regards to Dalit women, the combination of the power politics
exerted by the male members of the society along with their class, it becomes
next to impossible in order to attain an identity of note for the Dalit
females. The primary function which they are generally associated with in the
society is to carry out tasks which are generally considered as “impure” in the
society. Thus, one can well comprehend the unimaginable plight of the Dalit
females who are marginalised both by the society and their own caste. Paul
Ricoeur makes a valid point regarding the roles played by the different acts of
the society in the creation of the identity of a person as he remarks
self-understanding
is an interpretation; interpretation of the self, in turn, finds in the
narrative, among other signs and symbols, a privileged form of mediation; the
latter borrows from history as well as from fiction, making a life story a
fictional history, or if one prefers, a historical fiction, interweaving the
historiographic style of biographies with the novelistic style of imaginary
biographies. (114)
“Sangati,”
which literally represents “events,” with the help of different local tales and
anecdotal articulations draws the attention of the readers to the plight which
Dalit women undergo in their lives in the village of Puthupatti. The novel very
painfully recounts various experiences which Dalit women have to encounter in
their lives every day while carrying out their living in the society. Through
the eyes of Bama, the readers, too, can associate themselves with the secondary
position of the females in the society who get converted into mere objects
meant for manipulation and objectification. Bama, by turning the tables,
showcases almost a reversal of narration in the novel by raising her voice for
the emancipation of the Dalit women so that they can rise up the ladder in the
society by breaking free from the shackles of dominance. Bama showcases that
the distinction between the males and the females start right from the
respective households where boys are given a superior position even in games
which were played. As she recounts,
when
we played ‘buses,’ there were always boys at the start and finish of the rope
as driver and conductor, who allowed the girls to enter in the middle, and
shouted at them. And when we played husbands and wives they were the ones in
authority; they took the roles of policemen and shop owners. (Bama 31)
What
was even more pathetic than the depiction of games based on gender
discrimination is that the situation which the Dalit women faced in her actual
life was even more worse. Bama opines that her patti always had a special
liking for the grandsons more than the daughters. The boys, as the narrative
indicates, were always given the preference and were allowed to play in the
field out in the open unlike the girls who were meant for the accomplishment of
the different kinds of chores associated with one’s home. Bama recalls the
indifferent attitude of her patti towards the plight of the women in the lines
below
As
Patti said, though it is quite true that the women in our street led hard
lives. That is how it is from the time that they are very little. When they are
infants in arms, they never let the boy baby cry. If a boy baby cries, he is
instantly picked up and given milk. It is not so with the girls. Even with
breast feeding, it is the same story: a boy is breast-fed longer. If the boys
catch an illness or a fever, they will run around and nurse them with the
greatest care. (Bama 7)
Bama
portrays the character of Pathima in order to question the politics associated
with marriage as it bogs women down. She remarks, “I am sure that god doesn’t
want us to be living like slaves to the day we die, without any rights or
status, just because of a cord around the neck. Don’t you agree?” (Bama 95).
Her character is a blatant realisation to the entire Dalit females as she
introspects that men have always been subjugating them and have never allowed
them to prosper in the society. The following lines by Pathima are very
significant in this context
It
is by repeating that to us that they have made us as useless as rotten eggs.
Nowadays women can take up all sorts of responsibilities. But just as they
fooled us and took away our rights within our homes, they have also
marginalized us in the world outside. (Bama 104)
Bama
reiterates that there lies an indomitable spirit in the Dalit women to overcome
any kind of hardships in their lives and this is one of the significant
positives which can help them break the shackles. She also urges that the Dalit
women need not necessarily depend on their male counterparts for the
accomplishment of different kinds of tasks in the society as they are also very
much capable of executing a particular work themselves. “Somehow or other, by
shouting and fighting first thing at dawn and last thing at night, if need be,
our women survive without going crazy” (Bama 86). The identity of the females
which the novel portrays can be called as what Alexander Wendt calls “social
identity.” In his words, “Social identities are sets of meanings that an actor
attributes to itself while taking the perspective of others, that is, as a
social object” (395).
Sangati
showcases the act of dethroning numerous so called obstacles in the way of the
establishment of the identity of the Dalit females by the narration of numerous
tales which epitomise their strength. The basic feature related to the
establishment of the identity of the females is the act of observation which
Bama carries out in the society in order to uncover the hidden talent of Dalit
women. The different anecdotes which are seen in the text act as ample
testimony to the inherent subjective essence which the Dalit women possessed
within. Thus, the language plays a key role as well in understanding the
essential position of the self of the Dalit women. It can, then, be stated that
the entire narration which Bama pens down in the novel is the indirect process
of the creation of a different world- a world of the subjective individuality
of the Dalit females where are no boundaries to curb their instinctual desires.
The following use of proverb is quite apt in illustrating the inherent zeal of
Bama to showcase the identity of the Dalit females
It’s
like the proverb that says, if a man sees a terrified dog, he is bound to chase
it. If we continue to be frightened, everyone will take advantage of us. If we stand
up for ourselves without caring whether we die or survive, they’ll creep away
with their tails between their legs.
Works Cited
Faustina,
Bama. Sangati. Trans. Lakshmi
Holmstrom. OUP, 2005.
Ricoeur,
Paul. Oneself as Another. Trans.
Kathleen Blamey. Chicago University Press, 1994.
Wendt, Alexander. “Collective Identity Formation and
the International State.” American
Political Science Review, vol, 88, no. 4, 1994, pp. 384-96.