Women heroes and Dalit assertion in North India: Culture, Identity and politics By Badri Narayan,
Sage, Rs 295

At times, myths can give a new meaning to reality. Collective memory and group consciousness are also capable of developing new, unexpected cultural forms. It has also been seen that memories of the past help in making people aware of an oppressive present, which can then be negated, leading to the creation of a better future.

Today, the political discourse of Dalits is based on such cultural symbols and resources. Badri Narayan’s book examines how cultural repression, social inequity and injustice perpetrated by Brahmins are resisted by Dalit communities through political mobilization. The assertion of identity on the part of Dalits takes place through the nurturing of collective imagination. Hence, heroes and histories become enmeshed in the course of such an exercise. In Dalit history, men and women (known as virangans) who took part in the Revolt of 1857 serve as symbols of assertion. The invention, reconstruction and representation of myths and memories regarding the role of Dalits in the uprising form the central focus of this book.

The Bahujan Samaj Party, which aimed at bringing scattered Dalit units under one political umbrella, was the first political outfit to comprehend the significance of these heroes. Although the ideology of the BSP is based on the philosophies of B.R. Ambedkar and Jyotiba Phule, the party’s clever utilization of cultural icons became equally popular among Dalits. In fact, Mayavati propped up her image among her followers by drawing parallels between her and the women heroes in Dalit lore. The success of the party’s political strategy is borne out by the fact that Mayavati went on to become the first Dalit woman chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Dalit assertion as a political phenomenon has become an important area of study among researchers in social science. However, Narayan is more interested in studying the Dalit population in India’s villages and towns. The author’s focus seems to be not on real, day-to-day life affairs of Dalits, but on the role of collective imagination in shaping their politics. Jhalkaribai, Udadevi and Mahaviridevi, three women who figured prominently in the Revolt, have been used as mobilizational resources by the Dalit community to reassert its demands of benefits, discriminatory protection and a rightful share in on-going development projects.

Narayan and his research team studied members of this community in Awadh, Bundelkhand, two areas in Uttar Pradesh, a state with a sizeable Dalit population. They found that the community’s past is being recreated through agencies such as folk stories, songs and drama. On many occasions, the narratives are even tailored or re-modelled to suit specific socio-political requirements. A united Bahujan-Dalit-non-Brahminic platform, the researchers say, would be of considerable value for a party like the BSP.

New histories of the Dalit culture of dissent, transmitted through oral, print and the visual media, play a critical role in subverting the dominant discourse and in demarginalizing the community as a whole. In the process, Dalits are able to acquire a respectable position in present-day Indian society.

Narayan’s book is the fifth in the cultural subordination and the Dalit challenge series. Rising assertiveness of Dalit castes is widespread today and this book offers valuable insights, which help in understanding this phenomenon. Students of Dalit history, sociology and cultural studies would find Narayan’s book interesting.