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An Enquiry into Subaltern/Dalit Question from Gramscian Perspective


Affiliations
1 Department of Political Science, A.N.S. College, Barh, (Patna) -803213, India
     

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This paper is an attempt to suggest ways to recover and put to good use a Gramscian methodology that recognizes the presence of the subaltern in new contexts and at times different from those analyzed by Gramsci himself, especially in the context of India. During the past few years a major change has been taking place: the emphasis seems to have shifted from Dalits‟ mere awareness of their “oppression”, towards the mobilization of consciousness as a “transforming agents” of subalternity, and hence toward a new path taking them from “desperate cries” to liberating action. In this paper, we have tried to shed some lights on the questions; 1) Why are Dalits a proto-type of Gramscian Subalterns, 2)Whether with Gramscian methodology, is it possible to recover those “traces” present in the fragmented history of these groups so as to detect the vital elements that will assist them in overcoming their subalternity.

Keywords

Critical, Post-Colonial, Subaltern, Dalit, Bourgeoisie, Historiography.
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  • Cosimo Zene- Gramsci and the religion of the subalterns (untouchables) in south asia-eprints.soas.uk, p-3

  • Guido Liguori- Conception of Subalternity in Gramsci in Marck McNally (edited)- Antonio Gramsci.(e-book) Springer, pp.118-133

  • Marcus Green- Gramsci cannot speak: Presentations and Interpretations of Gramsci‟s concept of the subaltern, Rethinking Marxism, vol-14, No-3 (Fall 2002), pp. 1-24

  • Cosimo Zene op.cit, p-4

  • Ibid

  • Marcus Green op.cit

  • Ibid

  • V.Gheeta- Bereft of Being. The Humiliation of Untouchability, in G, Guru (edited) Humiliation: claims and context, OUP, New Delhi, 2009, p-107

  • Guido Liguori op.cit

  • Shodhganga.inflibinet.ac.in, p-9

  • Stephen Morton- Gayatri Spivak: Ethics, Subalternity and the critique of postcolonial reason, Wiley.com,2006,p-46

  • Ranjit Guha - Preface and Some aspects of the historiography on colonial India, in Ranjit Guha (edited) Subaltern Studies, No-1, Writings on South Asian History and Society, Preface and Some aspects of the historiography on colonial India, OUP, New Delhi, 1982, pp.vii and 1-8

  • Kancha Ilaiah- Why I am not a Hindu, Bhatkal and Sen, 2005, p-72

  • Ibid, p-91

  • Shahid Amin- Remembering Chaura- Chauri: notes from historical fieldwork in Ranjit Guha (edited)- Subaltern Studies Reader No-IX, (1986-95)Writings on South Asian History and Society, University of Minneapolis Press, Minneapolis, 1997, pp 179-239


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  • An Enquiry into Subaltern/Dalit Question from Gramscian Perspective

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Authors

Binod Kumar Jha
Department of Political Science, A.N.S. College, Barh, (Patna) -803213, India

Abstract


This paper is an attempt to suggest ways to recover and put to good use a Gramscian methodology that recognizes the presence of the subaltern in new contexts and at times different from those analyzed by Gramsci himself, especially in the context of India. During the past few years a major change has been taking place: the emphasis seems to have shifted from Dalits‟ mere awareness of their “oppression”, towards the mobilization of consciousness as a “transforming agents” of subalternity, and hence toward a new path taking them from “desperate cries” to liberating action. In this paper, we have tried to shed some lights on the questions; 1) Why are Dalits a proto-type of Gramscian Subalterns, 2)Whether with Gramscian methodology, is it possible to recover those “traces” present in the fragmented history of these groups so as to detect the vital elements that will assist them in overcoming their subalternity.

Keywords


Critical, Post-Colonial, Subaltern, Dalit, Bourgeoisie, Historiography.

References