Voice of One’s Own: Representing Dalit Women in Contemporary Short Stories

Dalit literature has emerged as a powerful vehicle for expressing the experiences, struggles, and aspirations of marginalized communities in India. Within this literary movement, Dalit women’s writings hold a particularly significant place, as they provide an intimate portrayal of the dual oppression faced by women who are marginalized not only by their gender but also by their caste. The intersection of caste and gender creates a unique set of challenges for Dalit women, who navigate a world that often devalues their existence and stifles their voices. This paper seeks to explore the representation of Dalit women in three short stories— “Mother’s Cauldron” and “Adultery” by B.T. Jahnavi, and “Tip” by Du Saraswati. These stories offer a lens into the lives of Dalit women, revealing the complex realities they face and the ways in which they resist, survive, and assert their identities in a society that continually seeks to marginalize them. Through these narratives, the writers expose the harsh truths of caste-based and gender-based discrimination, while also highlighting the resilience and agency of Dalit women. It will also explore the ways in which Dalit women writers use narrative as a weapon to reach to the larger audience and also create a parallel discourse to the dominant hegemonic discourses. They deal with the short stories on two levels and beautify the Dalit experience by their twin identity – first of being a Dalit and secondly being a Dalit woman.