Resistance and Rebellion against the Caste Ridden Society in Baburao Bagul’s Jevha Mi Jaat Chorli Hoti!

Abstract

Baburao Bagul’s stories reject the gods, religions and conventions which support the established caste ridden society and its social order. The voices of dissent are very much reflected in the writings of Dalit writers but the reflection of resistance and rebellion against the unequal social order in Bagul’s Marathi short stories does not remain mere a rejection but it emerges with all its intensity and tremendous power. With this rejection comes protest. The nature of this protest is uncommon. Behind this protest there is a strong inspiration of demolishing the established order to form a new one. This rejection and protest is for ultimately a new society. The present paper explores the resistance and rebellion as projected in Bagul’s stories to highlight how the educated Dalits reject the Hindu religion, its gods and spurious scriptures and refuse to accept its infallible nature. The rejection of Hindu ideologies which comes in Bagul’s stories is for creating the new society and destroying the established social order which denies the equal rights to the depressed classes in India and refuses to accept their existence as human beings. This paper is an attempt to highlight the impact of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s revolutionary thoughts on the Dalits and the society as reflected in the short story collection entitled, Jevha Mi Jaat Chorli Hoti! (When I Concealed My Caste!)