The Condition of Dalits in India

The aim of Dalit Literature is to rebel against the harsh caste system which is based entirely on injustice. It also sets out to expose the hypocrisy and evil of the upper castes. There is a dire need to create aesthetics for Dalit literature, aesthetics that are based on the real experiences of an individual’s life. The best example for this would be Sharankumar Limbale’s autobiography, The Outcaste: Akkarmashi.

The book talks about the impoverished condition of outcastes in India. It portrays these powerful emotions through the words of those who have actually experienced untouchability and also who are skilled and educated to write about it.
Sharankumar Limbale is a Marathi author, poet and critic. He has written more than 40 books, but he is best known for his autobiographical novel Akkarmashi. Akkarmashi has been translated into several other Indian languages including English. His piece Towards an Aesthetics of Dalit Literature which was published in 2004 is considered to be one of the most influential works on Dalit literature.

The Life of an Outcaste

The caste of a Hindu Indian, very often tells us and determines everything about an individual’s life, the person he will marry, the clothes he will wear and the food he eats. The novel dictates the life a man who has undergone not only the caste system but also the pain of not being included into the caste system: he was an outcaste. The one thing that has overcome every waking