Sharankumar Limbale Analysis

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Sharankumar Limbale is a popular Dalit writer, activist, editor and critic. His contribution to the field of Dalit literature is well acknowledged. He has written extensively on Dalit literature. His autobiography The Outcaste (Akkarmashi) portrays rural Dalit life as well as sketches an account of Limbale’s life from birth to maturity. Limbale was born as an illegitimate child from a high caste father, a Patil, and lower caste mother, a Mahar. Being born as an illegitimate child, he suffered a lot in his Mahar community. This stigma of ‘Akkarmashi’ gave him intolerable humiliation and disrespect among in his own community and it followed him everywhere as a disgrace on his forehead. In an interview with Shiva Nagaiah Bolleddu he stated the purpose of his autobiography Akkarmashi: The span of my autobiography is my childhood…I want write about my pains and pangs. I want to write about the suffering of my community. So I cannot give importance to mypersonal life. I am writing for social cause… My autobiography is a statement of my war against injustice” Limbale, through his autobiography, narrates socio-economic dependency, class, caste discrimination and untouchability that are common issues within his community. A Dalit writer, Sukhdeo Thorat explains his own views on the issue in the following words: The Hindu social order, particularly its main pillars, viz., the caste system and untouchability, presents a unique case. As a system of social, economic and religious