A Critical Evaluation of the Counter-Culture Narrative in Dalit Autobiographies and Literature of Resistance in Indian Context

Publication Details

Publication Date

10/09/2026

Volume / Issue

Vol 1, Issue 4 (2026)

Article No.

028

Journal

British Journal of Contemporary Research

DOI

https://doi.org/10.67693/BJCR-V38A4E85

Received

21 Aug 2026

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8

Downloads

1

Abstract

Dalit literature is one of the most prominent counter-discourses about caste in modern Indian literature. It highlights the suppressed experience and seeks to undermine the credibility of caste hierarchy and the historical legitimacy of any particular caste to hold its superior position over the others. One of the most prominent genres of Dalit literature is autobiography, which is a highly personal narrative of the oppressed Dalit who was humiliated on a daily basis. The objective of this paper is to assess the themes and tools of resistance used in the counter-culture narrative of selected Dalit autobiographies and poetry. This paper aims to examine the accounts of caste oppression in Annihilation of Caste by B. R. Ambedkar, Baluta by Daya Pawar, The Prisons We Broke by Baby Kamble, The Outcaste by Sharan Kumar Limbale, Joothan by Omprakash Valmiki, and Karukku by Bama, as well as more recent forms of Dalit resistance poetry. The analysis will be conducted using the theoretical framework of cultural hegemony, counter-culture, subaltern, testimony, and Dalit aesthetics. It will be argued that Dalit literature and especially autobiography represent a true counter-culture discourse. Firstly, because Dalit writers transform the individual “I” into a collective “we”. Secondly, because they turn the humiliating Dalit experiences into testimony and a call for action. Additionally, the paper will explore why Dalit literature should not be viewed through the lens of one concept only despite being one of the most remarkable cultural practices of the oppressed caste members who seek to re-establish their place in society.

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This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License . Free to read, share, and adapt with attribution.