Rabbits visit every home; of the rich and the poor
And collect stories, to be stored in a house
Came a storm breaking the house.’
Where the stories were locked by the Rabbits.
I am narrating the stories
Collected by Rabbits, dispersed by the Winds
An African Folktale

1The sense of identity is the propelling force behind the creation, invention and composition of caste histories by various castes and groups in a society. A representation of the origin history and boundaries of the group is one of the key components of identity, either individual or collective (Ferrar 1998: 110). Identity does not happen to be a static or rigid structure as its context cannot demand purity or originality. It contains constructed nature in the formation. Identity is a socially built up and continuous process of defining friend and enemy. It depends on ‘subjective experience of difference’.

2In such contexts whatever ‘facts’ are known of the past are intermingled with myth and fantasy, and a new perception is created of the past as glorious, pure and exclusive. In the context of marginalised groups, the state of deprivation from that glory which they considered to have been part of, is also narrated in such stories.

3The paper focuses on the caste histories among Dalits in Indian society. Although most of the communities have their own caste histories, the specific social location of castes, the changing forms in which their caste histories are presented, transmitted, and disseminated keep alive their multiple diversity. Caste histories among Dalits have special significance due to the fact that in Indian society, the power to define history and transport specific meanings to make it congruent and authentic, ever remained some prerogative of a community that has been socially strong, economically powerful and philosophically hegemonic.

4From an early age of Indian society, the dominance of Brahmanical mode of composing, defining and interpreting history, culture and narratives is explicit, but of no less significance has been the emergence of a historiography that sounds equally canonical and was developed by intellectuals other than those in the Brahmanical orbit. Such a philosophy of history flourished due to some curious mixture of the need of immediacy and colonial hangover.

5In fact, our contemporary historiographical notion of objectivity and authenticity was fashioned by the 19th-century evolutionism and positivism (Kumar 1983; Pande 1990). The positivist historiography that flourished during industrial revolution has a tendency to transform knowledge in the light of the form of material production. The positivist turn of history has given it the socalled ‘scientific status’ which made it assertive in various ways. Both these approaches in defining and interpreting history have served the contemporary purpose of pushing the Dalit sections towards the peripheral domain of history. These conscious attempts have been continuously instrumental in diluting the emergence of their identity. Even history as guided by Enlightenment Reason, which is central to the modernist project of civilizing society, has remained indifferent towards women, ‘dalits’ and many other indigenous groups. Perhaps, due to these factors, downtrodden strata of society received history as a story of a specific form of domination by the ruling section of society (Smith 1990). For them history came to be recognised as the weapon of the powerful to add more to their existing power or make them more purposive in confining them to positions in which they are simply subservient to others.

6To counter such oppressive forms of historical constructions, the oppressed and subaltern groups have continuously engaged in communicating their own stories as compassed by them in multiple forms. It does not only consist in delivering an oral account or a genealogical naming of the lands and events, but in a strong need to provide testimony to and restore a spirit that brings into existence a world previously fragmented and on the verge of collapse. Thus the process of creation and compilation of contesting histories and narratives have continued to be a persistent driving force transmitted in the form of stories, riddles and genealogies, etc.

7Having discussed the philosophical background of the formation of alternative and protesting Dalit stories and narratives, etc., I shall now attempt to depict certain caste narratives which have been articulated verbally, in North India, and also started appearing in written forms.

8The term ‘story’ (katha) as used here, is different from both ‘History’ as established by academic historians and ‘Itihas’ as defined by traditional historians. It is an indigenous way to know the past. In fact the way ‘Itihas’ has been defined by a group bears the influence of the mythologies encapsulated in the puranas (Narayan 2001). ‘Itihas’ in this sense stands for the story of the dominant tradition. On the other hand, the term ‘story’ liberates even marginalised groups in the Indian society and enables them to enter into the meaningful domain of knowing, inventing, creating and telling their past as fit to dialogue with the present.

MULTIPLE STORIES

9Various castes in Indian society have caste stories of their own that, along with being part of oral tradition, have also surfaced in written forms at various times. As has been shown by sociological studies in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamilnadu,1 among the higher castes, the narratives are based on the forms of puranas that create a privileged social space which leads them towards legitimizing their philosophy. Among lower castes, one finds definite protests against such forms, and the effort to go for alternative contents is visible in their parallel histories– although at many places the tendency to accept those forms is also obvious. The reason for that lies mainly in their ambiguous attitudes towards Brahmanical and Pauranic narratives, the level of ambiguities varying among various deprived castes on account of their changing socio-economic, political and cultural conditions.

10Among upper and (some) middle castes, such histories are known as ‘caste purana ’ (Das 1977), commonly addressed as Jati biradari ki katha (story of their caste and community) among the depressed castes. Caste puranas are invented and transmitted by ‘genealogist’ castes such as Bhat (for Kshatriyas of Uttar Pradesh) and Geyata (for the Bishnois of Rajasthan).2 Among depressed castes their jatikathas are their own creation. Caste puranas seem to be the replica of Pauranic narratives and rhymes; jatikathas owe their forms to folklores. The caste puranas, being unable to follow the pattern of the pure Puranic narrative system, attempt to snatch space within the brahamanical meta-narratives by giving them a parodic form. Thus, among the lower castes one finds folk songs and stories expressing an acceptance of the social order which runs against the order described in meta-narratives. On Table 1 (next page), is given the differentiating characteristics of the two forms of literature.

11Thus, the forms of the Puranic narrative system, its contents and the designing of the arrangement of the text evolve differently from the text that is created and recorded by those castes which have been pushed outside the history narrated by the dominant sections.

MEANING OF TELLING

12Katha is not only a style of narration but also a vehicle of values, cultures and memories. On the other hand, it is an instrument of social control. Further, it is a ground for depressed communities’ mental preparation that drives them towards identity construction. So it does not consist in an entertainment as is sometimes innocuously supposed. To understand its nature, what is of importance is the underpinning of the contents and also why something is being said and by whom.

13The stories I am discussing, are largely depictions of the social, economic and cultural oppression of Dalits. Such stories are not mere arrangement of words or representation of imaginations, but their forms and contents articulate aspirations, dreams, ambitions, and urge for the reform of identities of these groups and communities. One may discern elements of the narrator’s identity consciousness in the words, metaphors and the entire imaginative structure of the stories. These stories as narrated by the concerned communities are not just fictions but existential articulations that reflect cultural contexts in which their identity can be located.

14Dalit caste stories cannot be said to be coherent but rather fragmented and episodic. A story may be a product of many stories and folklores, depicting the origin and evolution of the community, and reflecting its social needs and struggles. One may also find the ‘narratives of origin’ of more than one caste in a single folklore; but they are born from the panthik discourse, as can be seen among the Chamar castes of Bihar, associated with the Shivnarayani sect.3 After the death of a member of the family of this sect a function, ritualistic in nature, is organized. It is known as Gadi in which songs are sung for the liberation of the soil of the deceased. The language of the transcendent realm communicates the material bondage of the community members. One of their songs sung on various occasions reveals the pathological state of a woman subjected to torture at her in-laws’ residence. However, redemption from the chains of this life lies in the hands of the Guru.4

TELLING AND RETELLING

15Caste stories of Dalits can be divided into two categories:

1. those related with the caste origin; and

2. those centering around heroes of the same caste.

16The former is a description of the circumstances in which they originated; thus, aiming at identifying the social space for that caste. Further, it creates and analyses the situational matrix in which they were coerced to move to the outermost orbit of the social structure. For instance, there was once a Raja who had two daughters, Chamu and Bamu; each of them had a son of great physical power. One day an elephant died in the Raja’s grounds, and, as the latter did not wish to cut the body to pieces, he inquired if there was anyone strong enough to carry the carcass away and bury it. Chamu’s son performed the task, whereupon Bamu’s son declared him an outcaste (Briggs 1920). In eastern Uttar Pradesh the Paasee community derives its origin from Rishi Parsuram who asked their forefathers to be engaged in the protection of cows.5

17In the hero-centered stories, apart from the origin, glory and description of the division of varnas, one also comes across the stories of social struggles. This phenomenon of struggle revolves around the heroes of the caste. The form of the stories is often a love-story, around which there are multiple glorifications of an important socio-cultural role in history. Each caste has its heroes. But in North India, most of the stories that are popular in the folk culture, are related to the oppressed caste heroes. Sobhnayaka Banjara is the hero of a highly popular story of the Banjara caste in North Bihar and the area bordering on Nepal (Das 1994). The Banjaras of Gonda, Bahraich, remember Shobhnayaka as their hero. His story is a love-story. The hero goes to distant places for business with the members of the community. He achieves success in business, overcoming all the difficulties on his way, all the obstacles strewn about a medieval trading route and he succeeds in meeting with his beloved. Thus, he is fortunate to get both wealth and family. Similarly, we find the famous story of Dina-bhadri of the Mushahar caste (a semi nomad community which survives on eating rats). Here is narrated the bravery of two brothers belonging to this community who defeated many armies of higher castes. Both these heroes of backward castes in the medieval period brought great repute for the Mushahar community. In the area of Oudh, one has the popular story of Daldev Paasee-and his brothers Baldev, Kakoran, Bavon– who is believed to have belonged to Rae Bareli district. In his book Paasee Samrajya, R. K. Chowdhury (1997: 28) narrates the story of Daldev, popular among Paasee in Central Uttar Pradesh, as follows:

The district Rae Bareli was at one time a centre of power of Bhar-Paasee (a sub-caste of Paasee) rulers. The founders of this district were Bhar-Paasee rulers, and this place previously known as Bharoli. The word ‘Bareli’ is a distorted derivation of the word ‘Bharoli’. As regards the noun ‘Rae’, it has originated from the word ‘Rahee’. On the west of present Rae Bareli, there is a village named ‘Rahee’. Certainly in the process of time the names of Rahee and Bharoli together became Rae Bareli. In the Rae Bareli district, thee is a place called Dalmau. There is a fort which was constructed by Raja Daldev bom in Bhar-Paasee caste in medieval period. One part of his fort was destroyed during attack by Shirka rulers (Muslim) of Jaunpur. Raja Daldev had three brothers. Their name were Baldev, Kakoran and Bhavon. Raja Daldev had distributed the area under his rule among his brothers and had thus established a strong Bhar empire and defeated Kshatriyas and Muslims rulers many times. On the bank of river Sai was the fort of Raja Baldev, the brother of Raja Daldev who laid the foundation of Rae Bareli City, and inhabited it. On the south-east of Rae Bareli district at a distance of 12 Km. from Jagatpur in Dalmau Tehsil was the fort of Raja Kakoran of Sudamanpur. He was also the brother of Raja Daldev. The rule of the Chivalrous Paasee ruler Raja Kakoran extended up to river Ganga in the south.
The opulence and happiness of Raja Daldev and his brother was thorny obstacle in the expansion of the empire of the ruler of Jaunpur, Ibrahim Shah Shirkee (1402- 1440 A. D.). Therefore, Ibrahim Sharkee attacked the state of Daldev. To face this aggression, Kakoran, the brother of Raja Daldev fought fiercely with the Shirkee ruler at Sudamanpur. Finally, Kakoran became a martyr in the battlefield.
Later on, the Shirkee ruler of Jaunpur proceeded toward Dalmau with his army. [It] was the occasion of Holi and people were in a festive and colourful mood. Raja Daldev and his army were taken by surprise by the attack [...]. The Paasees fought very bravely in this battle, and not even the last person hesitated in laying down his life for his motherland.

18In the memory of martyr Daldev and his brothers, a monument was erected in Pakhrauli village. This place is situated at a distance of 4 kms. in the south-east direction of Dalmau. Even today the people of this area, instead of celebrating the Holi festival on the prescribed day, celebrate it after one week of its expiry. One comes across the narrative of Kunwar Vijayamal who belonged to the Dusadh caste (a low caste who works in the field of zamindar as agricultural labour), and is described as hero in their struggle against the dominant Raja of the area who belonged to Ksatriya caste.

19Thus, many folk heroes are found in the socio-cultural orbit of these castes and their character is essentially a symbolic narration of their constant struggle against the higher castes. Besides, characters are adopted from the epics like the Ramayana and the Mahābhārata, and given a part at turning points in the history of struggle against Brahmanical axiology. In the areas of Kanpur Dehat, Ballia, Allahabad, Ghazipur and other places, Shambook has been given a highly nodal place in Dalit caste stories.6 Similarly the character of Eklavya as described in Mahābhārata has been used by some depressed classes as an effective weapon for the transportation of anti-Brahmanical resentment from the past of the Indian civilization. The refusal of Drona to impart the lessons of archery, and his subsequent action of demanding the right thumb of his hand to deprive him of his potential role in society, has become a popular story among Mallahs of the Gangetic basin in eastern Uttar Pradesh. In Allahabad idols of Eklavya have also been erected, and Eklavya Jayantis are celebrated every year by Nishads (Mallah) of Allahabad and its region.7

20Both, in terms of time and space, the stories of the Dalit caste do not provide any fixed image. On the contrary, they reflect the dynamics of the social process coupled with changes in the community’s social consciousness. The stories depicting the origin of the Chamar caste, as collected and compiled by William Crook in 1880, speak the very language of pathos, anguish and alienation of this caste within the Indian society. But now with the passage of time and subsequent transformation in the socio-psychological realm, the voice of protest, the anxiety to transmit the conspiratorial designs that were responsible for alienation, have acquired new forms. The narratives which are analyzed below provide good samples of that. It is noteworthy that these instances of oral literature have been collected from the same geographical regions as those of Crook, i.e. Oudh and Mirzapur.

TEXT A

In the beginning, there were four brothers in a family. They worked in the fields and followed the orders of the elders. It so happened that a cow died one day, and the body lied within an yard till evening. Since no one could be found to remove the carcass, the three older brothers agreed that their younger brother should carry away the body, and, that, afterwards, when he had bathed, they would receive him on the same old footing of equality. To this he agreed. After much pulling and pushing, he managed to drag the carcass to the jungle. When he returned after his bath, his brothers refused to receive him, but rather compelled him to live at a distance from them. He made great protests, but these were of no avail. They told him that henceforth he was to do the work of a Chamar, that is, take out the skin of the animals that died, make items from the leather. The brothers promised to take care of him in return for these services. Thus the Chamar caste originated. The origin reveals the nefarious design of the elders. [Crooke, as quoted in Briggs 1920]

TEXT B

In a village lived four brothers. The youngest among them was most powerful and talented. The eldest brother was cunning. Without doing any thing he used to dominate his brothers. Also, he was jealous of his youngest brother because of his physical strength. Another reason of his jealousy was that the youngest brother often used to protest against him. One day the eldest brother hatched a conspiracy. He bought a dead cow from somewhere, and put it in front of the house. He said that as the youngest brother was physically stout, he should throw away the dead cow. The other younger brothers were not ready for this, but the eldest brother used his other two brothers also to put pressure on the youngest. The three of them persuaded or rather coerced him to throw the cow way. They further assured him that on his return he would be accepted among them after bathing. He yielded to their pressure and went to throw the cow away. After taking a bath, when he returned, he was denied his natural right as a member of the family. On this, the youngest brother lost his temper and rebuked them–but of no avail.8

21Texts A and B depict a story of four brothers in which the eldest brother conspires with his two elder brothers to pursue the youngest brother so that he throws the dead cow away. In text A the youngest brother is shown to be a passive recipient of the conspiratorial commands of the elders. In text B one comes across metamorphosis in his consciousness. Text B shows him to be a rebel who intelligently analyses the subtle layers of the hegemonic consciousness of his eldest brothers and also bemoans his other brothers’ shifting of alliance and their subsequent collision with the eldest to outcaste him.

22Whereas text A shows helplessness and misery of the youngest brother, text B depicts resistance of a resembling member of the family. Passive receptivity has been replaced by protest and a conscious desire to overthrow the hierarchical social order. But it is noteworthy that the parameters of both the origin stories have Brahmanical elements in their exploration, i.e. in both narratives in their natural form can be perceived the foundations of purity and pollution which are ‘brahmanical notions’. Touching a dead snake or cow makes a person declared untouchable. This is the basis of both the narratives.

23Although founded on the same Brahmanical ground, both these stories successfully articulate the Dalit voice of identity. In many instances, the Brahmanical notion is quite evident in the forms and content of the Dalit caste narratives, yet they negate the values of their own origination ambit. Thus there is great ambiguity in affirmation and negation with regard to Brahmanical social philosophy. In a nutshell, there is absence of cyclicity, i.e. returning to the point of origin while concluding. Rather, conclusion negates the premise.

CONTESTING NARRATIVES

24Narratives centered around the heroes are specific to the Dalits of North India, and this gains greater significance in the context of contemporary emergence of their assertions. Along with the unbroken glorification of heroes who were part of the past oral tradition, a new trend has surfaced in which new heroes are invented during interpretation and reinterpretation of the same tradition. The recent upsurge of assertion among lower caste communities in contemporary Northern India cannot be understood exclusively in terms of their effort for self-definition but also within the framework of attempts to acquire social respect through this. The search for historical, traditional and iconoclastic heroes is the result of this movement. The tendency to identify heroes belonging to these communities is not confined to oral culture but extends to written realms as well. The writing, publication and popularity of booklets around such heroes in Hindi Patti (Hindi-speaking regions of India, especially Bihar and Uttar Pradesh) is an aspect of this new trend.

25Through remembrance, constructions and popularization of these heroes, the Dalit communities weave their identities. In fact identity does not happen to be a static and rigid structure, as its context cannot demand purity or originality. It contains constructed nature in its formation. Identity is socially built up, and is a continuous process of defining friend and enemy. It depends on subjective experience of difference. In the process of its construction, consciousness continually creates, as well is created by it. Consciousness is not merely defined by present experience, it contains echoes of the past.

26There is a form of protest of ‘dalit’ and subaltern communities against dominant sections of the society that becomes visible in the dynamics of construction and reconstruction of their myths. The myth-making process of subaltern communities uses a mechanism different from the elites’ (Kelien 1995). Some of the characters established as evil by the great Tradition were adopted as gods by the subalterns, and worshipped as such. In central Bihar, Chuharmal (a hero of folklore and goddling of Dusadhs) is decried as a thief in the psyche of the dominant Bhumihar caste; but defying all forward caste’s impressions, the name of Chuharmal is an auspicious remembrance which is repeatedly addressed and communicated among the Dusadhs. This psychological process of protest finds its most eloquent expression in the worship of Chuharmal by the members of this community (Narayan 2001).

27Whereas in central Bihar, the story of Chuharmal is popular in the form of a love-story, among the Dusadhs it is a weapon of supremacy vis-a-vis the Bhumihar caste. Now in the light of the emergence of new consciousness among the Dalit castes, the same memory is extended to link it with Ambedkar for their project of liberation and social justice in the contemporary context.9

28Most of the folk stories popular among the depressed communities use the language and idioms that are pre-modern and medieval, and send a message of violent confrontation with the oppressive communities. Whereas we generally come across certain expressions reflecting the conflict between small landlords and dispossessed heroes, in some hero-centered folk narratives, there is also an attempt to locate them back in the history of ancient times. This is visible in such expressions as ‘in old times’, ‘during satyug’, ‘much before’, etc.10

29In the Puranic Ittivriti, time is conceived as a process which is eternal, in perpetual motion, uninfluenced by and uninfluencing on human events. This philosophy derives its description from a transcendental notion. But unlike this, in the narratives of Dalits, time is perceived as a spectator that some times is conducive to human action while at other times it is obstructive. Thus, in their orality, time is said to have a dual character, and the failure and depression of the community is attributed to the nature of time. Here actions are contingent upon the character of time. Time as a transcendent category within which the entire phenomenon is seen to be marching towards its teleology is denied. The concept of time among Dalits is construed as an external phenomenon, objective and strongly connected with the events of social life. It obliquely reveals the impact of the Buddhist philosophy that takes time to be a river in which no one can step twice. But, in the Dalit philosophy, time is a small river repeating itself, unlike the oceanic time towards which all the cosmic reality is moving to finally merge. Mornings and evenings, summers and winters, autumn and rainy seasons are crucial to their interpretation of day-to-day events, unattached to the notion of eternal time which is an essential component of the Brahmanical philosophy.11 In other words, Dalit communities do not concern themselves with Time which emerges from Eternity, marches on Earth influencing events and is finally absorbed in the very source it sprang from. Whereas in Brahmanism time is a continuous flow, according to Dalits time is fragmentary, divided into units fitting their everyday life experiences. This allows them to invent of circumvent time as per their experience. Although, at some places they relate themselves with the eternal time which helps in locating their identity in the past; they take some heroes from the past and weave many attributes suited to them around those heroes, which helps them in articulating the emerging identity of their community: they narrate their present stories through past heroes.

30How the story that is centered around a specific hero, uses him to describe their social history and construct their identities through his identity and carry them in collective memories is evinced from an excerpt of a story, Shambook Katha, which is narrated in scheduled-caste dominated areas of Gajipur:

At a time in this country most of the land was covered by forests and people of all communities lived there. Brahmins and Thakurs came from outside, and on their arrival, they established their supremacy over the entire society of this country, and formulated laws according to which people belonging to the lower castes were prohibited from worshipping, reading, and the practice of meditation and yoga.
In Our Caste [emphasis mine] was bom a seer (saint) named Shambook. He used to meditate on the banks of Godavari river in Dandakaranya and preach people belonging to the lower caste. The name of his wife was Tungbhadra. Once the land of Rama was hit by famine. There was pain and distress all around. At that time, Vashistha told Lord Rama that the cause of the famine was Shambook who was reading Vedas and spreading messages for tribals and imparting knowledge of Vedas among them. Therefore, Shambook had to die. The mind of Lord Rama was not prepared for this heinous act, but on the advice of Vashishtha and other saints, he with his brother Laxaman reached the ashram of Shambook, situated on the banks of Godavari, to kill him. Shambook on seeing Rama and Laxmana coming, proceeded to welcome them. Lord Rama said, “Shambook! You have broken the laws of Brahmanism; hence, I have come to kill you.” Shambook Muni replied, “O Lord! I have not done any crime neither theft nor murder. I have been a devotee, and have preached people in the lessons of devotion. Then what is the reason for my being punished?”
Lord Rama said, “O Muni! This crime is greater than all other crimes. People of the low caste are not entitled for acquiring knowledge and propagating them among their brothers as they are to serve the people of high castes.” Saying this, Sri Ram killed the Great Seer Shambook.

31The story of Shambook has been narrated by an old person who identified Shambook with his own caste. He traces his origin to Gunishaiv who was the father of Shambook and belonged to the Chamar caste12–although in Uttarakand of Ramayana said to be written by Valmiki and Uttar Ram Charit of Bhavbhuti, only Shambook is mentioned and not his father. Here might be a case of an invented genealogy which helps in weaving a counter-identity for the Chamar caste, and almost ceases to be a story of Shambook. This is tailored to describe the oppressive character of Brahmanical religion, the corollary of which is said to be deprivation and marginalisation of the lower castes. This story is narrated many times, by people of the Dalit community in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar so as to popularize it among their community members, and serve the purpose of identityformation in the newly emerging consciousness of the caste.

32The earliest mention of Shambook’s story in Dalit written tradition in North India is available in the book Rajya Nyay (Natak): Shambook-Muni Balidan written c. 1946 (published in 1950) by Swami Achhutanand, who was born in the Jatia caste in Farrukhabad district, Uttar Pradesh. But the story of Shambook was popular in earlier oral tradition in the area of Shahabad district in Bihar, as evinced in an unpublished manuscript by Nirghina Ram, entitled “Nirghina Ram Ka Ramayana” [Ramayana written by Nirghina Ram] (1929).13 How this philosophy from oral tradition came to be the focal point of written texts is a complex phenomenon because which tradition borrows from which tradition, is difficult to be ascertained. But Achhutanand came to be recognised as a social reformer and propagator of Dalit consciousness in modern times in North India.

33Let us note that meditation by Shambook (a Shudra) to reach heaven (swarga) was mentioned as the cause for killing him in Valmiki Ramayana. According to Uttar Ram Charit of Bhavbhuti, Vedadhyayan (reading of Veda) by a Shudra was the reason why he was killed. In contemporary Dalit narratives, Shambook is said to have been killed because of his attempt to impart ved Shiksha (knowledge of Veda) among tribal students. It seems that the “Shambook” episode in Valmiki Ramayana is adopted by Dalits according to their contemporary socio-political requirements. While the Shambook in Valmiki Ramayana was eager to go to heaven, in contemporary Dalit narratives, he is depicted as a martyr devoted to the cause of imparting education among tribals.

34In the Dalit caste stories, four kinds of expressions regarding their origin or the origin of their heroes are traceable: (1) Strong sense of socio-cultural deprivation and marginalisation; (2) Remembrance of being duped at the very beginning of history; (3) Ambiguity towards some of the Brahmanical values in which it is difficult to draw a line of demarcation between acceptance and negation and; (4) Strong Non-Brahmanical overtones for creating alternatives to build up their own history of identity.

STORIES IN PRINT

35In recent times a trend is visible in which stories are selectively taken from the oral tradition and are used in the description of the Non-Brahmanical Movement in South and West India. The tone and tenor of these stories are tied up with the intellectual contributions of Ambedkar, Phule, Swami Achhutanand (founder of the Adi-Hindu movement in North India) and other various socio-political movements to form a new and alternative history, disseminate and popularise them among the Dalits of the North. In recent past, in the districts of Eta, Bahraich, Ballia, Gazipur, etc., small publications have cropped up which entertain and publish the writings of grass root intellectuals who in modern parlance cannot be said to be intellectuals of a high calibre but are rather semi-literates. Such writings are in the form of booklets. Cheap-priced, they are sold in lacks. Most of them are history-centered booklets.

36This phenomenon is substantiated by the details given in tabular form below (Table 2). Most of these booklets deal with the myths, legends and the history of Chamars, Dusadhs, Nishads (Mallah) and Paasee caste. The history of common Dalit identity, i.e. Adi-Hindu history, comprising of lower-caste myths and legends against dominant Brahmanical Epical meta-narratives are discussed in these texts. Whether there is any history of many marginal Dalit castes–i.e. Chhipi (Dyer), Mali (Gardener), Badhai (Carpenter), Lohar (Iron Smith), Kumhar (Potter Man), Nai (Barber), and Bhangi (Sweeper)–is difficult to say because no texts related to their myths and history have been traced. Muslim Dalit identity–such as Rangrej (Dyer), Julaha (Weaver), Dafali (community which sing songs at the Marriage Ceremony), Lalbegi, Chikwa (Butcher)–is not also available in this printed written discourse.

37It is noteworthy that many Dalit castes have not yet got entry in the written world as well as in the discourse of political representational power in Indian society. Most of the booklets I came across were published during the period of the late seventies and early nineties. The movement and linkage with the written tradition was a major turning point in the history of their protest against social and cultural discrimination.

READING AND WRITING

38Modern education in India was initiated by the Christian missionaries in the 18th century, by opening schools in various parts of the country and inviting children of all the sections of society to attend it. It had a subterranean design of creation of a culture based upon reason and experience, a reason that is sceptical of the given truth, individual or collective. Further, it aimed at Anglicisation of Indian culture and proselytising of people into the fold of Christianity adding to it the lessons of individual freedom and liberty, equality and role of individual in moulding the given phenomenon and ascertaining social ontology through cause and effect methodology and develop solutions to rectify the inconsistencies therein. It was for the first time in the history of modern India that a platform was erected where children from all castes could sit together and acquire knowledge. William Adam in his report prepared around 1835-38 has shown that in the villages of Bihar and Bengal students belonging to the higher castes as well as Untouchables and the backward section of the society could be observed sitting together in the schools run by the missionaries. However, it was not a smooth sailing. Violent protests against such an egalitarian educational system erupted and some schools even failed to register or enroll the Shudra students in their schools, as evinced by G. W. Briggs (1990: 237-38):

The public schools are virtually closed to the Chamars. Both teachers and pupils in the schools make it most difficult for low caste borns to sit in the class rooms. The result is that boys of the lower castes are not found in any numbers in the school.

39However, with all stiff oppositions and social constraints disfavouring the educational acquirements of the Untouchables and Backwards, the number of Untouchables successful in obtaining education in United Provinces alone was 46,000 in the year 1917. Consequently, the section of Shudras that were now educated, attempted to re-read history and analyse it from a different perspective. The coming of the print media further effectuated the articulation of their voices of dissent and popularization of a different framework of history, and a new analytical way to understand the process of history. The first entry of the Dalit intellectuals in the print world with is visible in a poem composed by Heera Dom in Saraswati, published from Allahabad and edited by Mahabir Prasad Dwivedi. The poem entitled ‘Achut Kee Shikayat’ (The Complaint of the Untouchables) reads as follows:

Babhne ke lekhe hum bhikhiya na mangab ja
Thakure ke lekhe nahin lauri chalaibe
Sahua ke lekhe, nahin dardein hum marav ja
Ahira ke lekhe nahin gaiyya charabee
Bhatha ke lekhe nahin kavit hum jorab ja
Pagrin bandhikai, kachaharee nahin jayibe
Aapane pasinva ke paisa kamiab ja
Ghar bhari mili juli, baanti choti khaebi
Dom jani hamanee ke chuye se deraylee

We shall not go to beg for the sake of Brahmins
We shall not take up arms for the sake of Thakurs
We shall not manipulate in weighing for the sake of Banias
We shall not take the cows for grazing for the sake of Ahirs
We shall not compose poems for the sake of Bhats
We shall not go to courts putting turbans on our head
We shall earn by the labour of our sweat
And eat with the members of our family distributing whatever there is
They fear to even touch us as we are Doms.

40This poem published in the year 1914 was the first description of alienation and subordination in written form of the Dalit society, governed by Brahminical laws. It was an epoch making event for it marks the first glimmerings of the arrival of written medium for propagation of weals and woes of the Dalit community. The second most significant step was the publication of a newspaper, Achut, by Swami Achutanand, himself a Dalit but a man of great erudition and enthusiasm, a man who was the leader of the Adi-Hindi movement in North India and architect of an anti-Brahminical philosophy mainly based on the Bhakti movement, an indigenous construction for Dalit emancipation. No event in modern times played such a significant role in conscientising the Dalit community as the print media, and Swami Achutanand was its instigator in the Northern Belt of the country.

A SEARCH FOR HISTORIES

41Reconstruction and reinterpretation of the stories transmitted through the oral tradition are the attempts by Dalits to recreate their alternative history . In fact the need of the oppressed to mould and use the past in their favour, leads towards an exploration of the dominant texts of great traditions and the grand history patronized by elites. Local histories appeared as alternative spaces providing alternative historical symbols to the oppressed. In North-Indian rural society, the dominance of the epics and scriptures (Vedas, Puranas, Ramayana and Mahābhārata) was countered with folk histories, the only space for a dialogue with the domin-ant history. But such a space, as existed in the epics was not sufficient, and attempts were made to find local roots especially in the Hindi region. Subsequently, a chain of histories of local Dalit heroes has cropped up. In Marathi Dalit discourse this tendency is less visible, even though dalit communities in Maharashtra have a rich oral tradition.

42On 22nd December, 1994, at the public gathering for 164th birthday celebration of Virangana Jhalkari Bai organised by Virangana Jhalkari bai Mahotsava Samiti, Jhasi (mostly dominated by people of Dalit caste and Bahujan Samajvadi Party’s activists) at Gandhi Bhawan in Jhansi, it was claimed that great personalities among Dalits were not given due respect in contemporary history writings.14 So Indian history must be written afresh, a theme echoed in the booklet Buddhke Bad written by Gajadhar Prasad Bauddh in 1985. To quote:

Unfortunately, the history of the nation has not been written in a systematic way. The Brahminical caste system, and the version that emerged from it, is the main cause of this flaw. Aryans entered India, defeated Non-Aryans, made them slaves and deprived them of the rights of the vidya or gyan (learning and knowledge). Today, when Shudras are being educated, they should make attempts to know, understand, and write a History of their own. [Baudh 1985]

43Another case is pointed to in the introduction of Mool Vansh Katha written by G. P. Prashant about Dalit origin in 1994, wherein it is stated that “to distort the history of our ancestors they have distorted our sense of history, that is why, we are in the grip of forgetfulness of glory of our own past. Now we are in need of becoming educated and united so as to exert a push.”

44History, beginning with these grievances, is in fact the popular history. It is neither academic history nor an in-depth discussion on events. Dalit history has flourished very much in the form of counter-dialogue against (Hindu Pauranic history) which is oppressively hegemonic in Indian social life. In Indian society the lower castes have abundant experience of marginalisation in their day-to-day life. Thus, Dalits have demolished dominant symbols embodied in the Vedas, Puranas, Ramayana, and the Mahābhārata. Gandhi is also rejected. This demolition has created the primary condition for making space for their identities. The Mahābhārata, Ramayana, and the eighteen Puranas are full of fallacies and fictitious narratives, designed to dominate others (Sagar 1987). This popular history is linked only with the discovery of identity. By identity, is meant their self-identity: discovering one’s identity should be the task performed by oneself, not by others (Singh 1994). Historical memories have a important role in the process of identity formation; they are neither innocent nor monovocative. They constitute no passive domain but are broadly guided by the present; on many occasions, they provide the space for protest, resistance and contestation against dominant and hegemonic structures of the past and the contemporary present. History as it emerges from historical memories of the people in the democratic society incorporates another type of struggle around myths and symbols.

INVENTING ALTERNATIVES

45In the Dalit caste stories the narration of caste status in the social hierarchy is undertaken not in any meta-narrative form but in forms of small symbolic narratives concerned with everyday symbol of people’s life. Unlike the meta-narrative of Puranas, that claims for the narrative representation of everyone, Dalits tell their stories through specific characters of their region and caste specific folklore. In Dalit narratives, Purana characters are identified on a selective basis as symbols of Brahmanical oppression to be denounced and rebuked. Conversely, some characters in the epics are also identified who are the symbols of protest and revolt or the victims of hegemonic designs of Brahmanism, the characters that are dubbed as evils in the said meta-narratives. In the eulogies of the hero in Dalit stories, the narrative highlights the features which symbolise resistance to the dominant and upper caste oppressive philosophy.

46Another trait of Dalit story is the construction of counter-narratives. This contesting psyche is found to be active in opposition to the oppressiveness of the dominant forces. Further, by attributing a high religious position to folk mythological heroes, whose brave deeds are anti-social in view of the morality of the great Tradition, the dalit and subaltern question the values and evaluative basis of the dominant culture. Thus a counter-mythological tradition is established in which legends of resistance are assimilated in the genealogy of their narrative symbolism. A long series of such myths are discernible but only some are given below, that were identified earlier.

47This trend may be perceived as a modality for defiance characteristic of subaltern people; it consists in the attempts to destroy or appropriate for themselves the symbols of the authority of those who dominate them. There may be multiple methods of destruction of such symbols. One of the creative methods of destruction of symbolic authority is the weaving of an alternative symbolic authority. A dissenting view of history of the oppressed may be seen as a part of this construction. The lower caste people attempted to defy the religious symbolic ritual system and hierarchy of gods perceived, constructed and transmitted by Brahmanical power.

48It is interesting to note that Doms in Bihar worshipped Gandah, who is said to have been hanged for theft. Dusadhs worshipped famous criminals of their caste under the name of Goraiya, Sahles, Karikh and Chuharmal. Chuharmal, a chivalrous hero of Dusadh caste in central Bihar is worshipped as a god of the lower caste in this region. George A. Grierson (1885) referred to Chuharmal as ‘first thief’. But an eminent folklorist and one of the close associate of William Crook, Ram Garib Chaube (1894), and Mahadev Prasad (1923) mention him as a powerful and courageous hero of Dusadh caste. Reshma, a very beautiful daughter of a local landlord of Bhumihar caste, falls in love with Chuharmal. Reshma would invite Chuharmal to come and see her. Initially Chuharmal would resist her offer. He would tell her that she is the daughter of a high-caste zamindar whereas he himself belongs to Dusadh community. Then Reshma seduces him and he marries her. A clash ensues between Chuharmal and the zamindar’s army. Ultimately Chuharmal defeats the landlord’s army. This very version of the story is believed by Dusadh of central Bihar. Let us mention also Goraiya, a famous dacoit who was hanged for his crime: he is worshipped by the Dusadh caste of Bihar. A temple of his is located near Danapur (Patna, Bihar); Dina-bhadri, two brothers born in the Mushahar caste in the border area of Mithila and Nepal, were chivalrous heroes who fought against oppression of the watchman of Raja (King) of Jay Nagar and his army in the saptaree forest of the border area of Nepal and Bihar.

49Most of the above-mentioned myths establish themselves as predominantly resistive myths; they could not easily be appropriated by the master narrative (Kelien 1995: 45). Dalit narratives create a counter-narrative tradition against Devgatha, a narrative tradition of Rigveda extended by various Puranas. It, is noteworthy here that the archetype of oppression and subversion in the Pauranic narrative are also to be found in the Dalit narratives and these repeat themselves in modified forms in different historical and spatial contexts. Mythical elements from the narratives of the great (classical) Tradition reappear in subaltern narratives, at times by conscious borrowing and at other times through gradual transmissions.

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50A story is not a fixed or dead narrative; its content and message change with time and context. The stories told by the members of the same community change due to both internal and external factors, although, they also carry various interwoven threads of continuity. With the passing of time and subsequent upsurge in their consciousness, changes in their stories are visible which express their identity consciousness and are vocal protests against domination. These changes in the stories are indications of changes in their collective memory. Collective memories are the foundations of collective identity.

51These stories are forms of counter-culture and expressions of protracted protest. This is a quintessential component in the stories that they, on the one hand, repeat the events of everyday life and, on the other, are prolonged recurrences of continuing protests, i.e. mediums of long-term resistance.

52Acquisition of writing has been an important step in the process of Dalit identity shaping. The written mode of their communication provides them with some space of greater assertion. In contemporary context, it is strategically beneficial to transform and reconstruct selective contents of oral tradition, in the written form. Whereas in the oral mode of transmission there is greater flexibility in their caste histories, written modes entail more logical and coherent structures that provide more aggressiveness in their identity formation and new ways of resistance. As some castes of the dalit community are lacking in written form of representation, their political identity yet awaits aggressive political consciousness. In Uttar Pradesh such is the case of the Chhipi (Dyer), Kumhar (Potter), Badhai (Carpenter), Faquir, Jogi, Nath, etc. Either they do not possess any caste history or they could not even succeed in adopting the Brahamanical tradition, through the process of sanskritisation.

53B. N.