| Publication |
2010.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Uttar Pradesh, this article explores low-caste women political activists' self-representation. Low-caste communities have been mobilised to supra-local ideologies that posit 'classic' forms of subalternity such as the Dalit condition - and the rights and entitlements attached to it - as their rallying symbols. This article offers a counter-intuitive example to expressions of the burgeoning Dalit identity in north Indian society. In particular, it shows resistance to the usage of the Dalit label for self-representation by a number of low-caste women activists within the Bahujan Samaj Party. From women's narratives it emerges that 'Dalit' - implying a caste-laden ontological condition of subalternity - is denied on the grounds of its disempowering connotations. These narratives are all the more salient in consideration of the layered structure of gendered, socio-economic, cultural and political marginalities that low-caste women usually experience. While these findings unearth the discrepancies between subaltern pasts and cultures vis-a-vis their appropriation by low-caste women in contemporary north Indian society, they also point to vernacular understandings of 'Dalit' in circulation in the Uttar Pradesh public sphere. Moreover, these findings point to the need to de-link caste identity from agency, and to ethnography as a tool to (re)construct their nexus. Finally, by foregrounding the historicity of the Dalit label, this article encourages reflection on its widespread use.
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