Unveiling the Pangs of Dalits in Sharankumar Limbale’s The Outcaste

Abstract

Literature is appraised as the mirror of the society in which it is written. Hence the Dalit writers utilized their words to expose the evils against them. Dalit writers considered autobiographies as the potent weapon to illustrate the dreadful pains of a Dalit’s world. Hence   Dalit autobiographies occupy a unique place in Indian literature. Sharankumar Limbale is deemed as the most prominent writer of contemporary literature. His works aimed to expose the cruelty of the upper-class in Maharashtra. Limbale’s autobiography, The Outcaste portrays the writer’s life as an outcaste. The narrator’s self reflects his life and the life of the community in general. This paper attempts to portray the sufferings endured by the writer and his people for their existence and survival. It also focuses the double oppression faced by Dalit women and their longing for a better life with love and care. Further it deals with the question of identity of Dalits, their humiliations, feelings of hatred, hardships and humaneness.