Joothan

An Untouchable's Life

By: Omprakash Valmiki, Arun Prabha Mukherjee

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Hardcover | 10 July 2003 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Hardcover
208 Pages

Age
22+

Dimensions(cm)
2.25 x 1.47 x 0.19

Hardcover

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Omprakash Valmiki describes his life as an untouchable, or Dalit, in the newly independent India of the 1950s. "Joothan" refers to scraps of food left on a plate, destined for the garbage or animals. India's untouchables have been forced to accept and eat joothan for centuries, and the word encapsulates the pain, humiliation, and poverty of a community forced to live at the bottom of India's social pyramid.

Although untouchability was abolished in 1949, Dalits continued to face discrimination, economic deprivation, violence, and ridicule. Valmiki shares his heroic struggle to survive a preordained life of perpetual physical and mental persecution and his transformation into a speaking subject under the influence of the great Dalit political leader, B. R. Ambedkar. A document of the long-silenced and long-denied sufferings of the Dalits, Joothan is a major contribution to the archives of Dalit history and a manifesto for the revolutionary transformation of society and human consciousness.

Industry Reviews

As an editor and writer, Valmiki has done much to stake out a space for Dalit literary expression, well exemplified by this narrative. Fascinating cultural and personal history. Booklist Mukherjee offers English-language readers an accessible translation of Valmiki's engaging memoir that will prove invaluable. -- Maggie Ronkin The Journal of Asian Studies A "must read" for courses in postcolonial, cultural, and South Asian studies. -- Mohd. Asaduddin H-Asia

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Introduction: Authors, Saints and Texts
A Renaissance of Martyrs
The Last Medieval Legendary
The Teacher's Saints
The Spectacle of a Woman's Devotion
The Saint as Author
Conclusion
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Joothan

An Untouchable's Life

At a Glance

Hardcover

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

Other Editions and Formats

ePUB

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