Introduction Chapter- Joothan by Omprakash Valmiki B.A PROGRAM SOL DU FIRST YEAR

Omprakash Valmiki’s Joothan is an autobiographical account of his growing up years as an untouchable in a village in UttarPradesh in the newly independent India of the 1950’s. Joothan. I hope everyone known ,  I hope you all know, literally means left overs from a meal. Omprakash Valmiki is an important figure in the Dalit movement in India. His own struggle made him realize that the condition of the Dalits can only change through revolutionary transformation of society and the human consciousness.He gives a brief description of the physical as well as the psychological space occupied by the Chuhras in the village as a matrix of their social existence. b He describes, very briefly, the day to day struggle of the untouchables to arrange two square meals for themselves. At the same time he is able to demonstrate that the economic deprivation of the untouchables is the consequence of the Hindu caste order.  He chronicles his own struggle to get an education in the village school. His story demonstrates that it is indeed possible for the untouchables,despite the hardships and deprivations, to emancipate themselves by persistent struggle and determination  . Joothan, a self conscious Dalit literary text, makes a powerful statement against the oppressive caste system still prevalent in most parts of India. Valmiki`s use of autobiography helps him to occupy a vantage subject position from which he presents a Dalit’s lived experience. The ‘true to life’ format of the autobiography helps him to lay bare the brutality inherent in the caste system, which consequently becomes a powerful argument in favour of dismantling this undesirable form of social organization. At the same time, Valmiki’s own struggles and success, acts as motivation for others to struggle and achieve their goals. Joothan symbolizes the struggle for dignity and human rights and demonstrates that a revolutionary transformation of society is not just desirable but possible as well.