A Subaltern Study on Dalit Women, Sangati: Culture of Silence

Abstract

Dalit males are at the bottom of the pyramidical caste system in Indian culture, while Dalit women are allocated a place much below. Because they are at the bottom of the social hierarchy, Dalit women are often mistreated and exploited by Dalit men and higher castes. The women of the lower castes are well aware of the helpless situation in which they find themselves. In Bama's book Sangati: Events, Dalit girls and women are described as constantly remaining mute while being humiliated and reduced to the status of non-human beings. These silences are much more significant to them than words, and they use them as a weapon against all kinds of negativity until they reach adulthood. This essay builds on Bama's Sangati: Events by looking at Dalit women's situation and the manner in which they absorb, maintain, and combat the culture of silence.