
Concealing Caste
Narratives of Passing and Personhood in Dalit Literature
Oxford University Press
Published on 5. July 2023
Book
Hardback
210 pages
978-0-19-286524-3 (ISBN)
Description
The caste system is supposed to be inescapable-you cannot change the caste into which you are born. But are there ways to elude the system? Concealing Caste tells the stories of women and men in India who, though born into communities stigmatized as 'untouchable,' are perceived by others as 'high caste.' Like the literature on racial passing in the American context, the short stories and autobiographical essays in this volume reveal the inner workings of a vicious social order, illuminating the contradictions of caste hierarchy through the experience of those who clandestinely transgress its boundaries. Concealing Caste is the first collection of Dalit writings focused on this public secret. Bringing together Dalit literature from Marathi, Telugu, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, English and Malayalam-including stories and essays never before translated-this landmark anthology illustrates the agonizing choices and at times devastating consequences faced by Dalits who experiment with identity in a society shot through with the principle of birth-based inequality.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 208 mm
Width: 145 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
386 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-286524-3 (9780192865243)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Kusuma Satyanarayanan | Joel Lee
Concealing Caste
Narratives of Passing and Personhood in Dalit Literature
E-Book
01/2023
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€72.49
Available for download
Persons
K. Satyanarayana is a professor in the Department of Cultural Studies at the English and Foreign Language University, Hyderabad, India. He co-edited two volumes of new Dalit writing: No Alphabet in Sight (2011), Steel Nibs Are Sprouting (2013), Dalit Studies (2016) and, most recently, Dalit Text (2020). His research interests are in the fields of Dalit studies, literary history, and cultural theory.
Joel Lee is an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at Williams College, Massachusetts, USA. He is the author of Deceptive Majority: Dalits, Hinduism, and Underground Religion (2021), and his research interests lie in the critical analysis of caste, sensory studies, popular religion, and Hindi and Urdu literature.
Joel Lee is an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at Williams College, Massachusetts, USA. He is the author of Deceptive Majority: Dalits, Hinduism, and Underground Religion (2021), and his research interests lie in the critical analysis of caste, sensory studies, popular religion, and Hindi and Urdu literature.
Editor
ProfessorProfessor, Department of Cultural Studies, English and Foreign Language University, Hyderabad, India
Assistant ProfessorAssistant Professor, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Williams College, Massachusetts, USA
Content
1: Joel Lee/K Satyanarayana: Introduction
2: Baburao Bagul: When I Hid My Caste
3: Omprakash Valmiki: Dread
4: M.M. Vinodini: The Parable of the Lost Daughter: Luke 15: 11-32
5: Ajay Navaria: New Custom
6: Surajpal Chauhan: Raw Deal
7: Sharankumar Limbale: Friend of the Family
8: Jai Prakash Kardam: No Bar
9: Omprakash Valmiki: Sandstorm
10: C. Ayyappan: Madness
11: Ajay Navaria: Tattoo
12: BR Ambedkar: Waiting for a Visa
13: Kausalya Baisantry: Doubly Cursed
14: Omprakash Valmiki: Joothan
15: Jai Prakash Kardam: My Caste
16: Urmila Pawar: Weave of my Life
17: Manoranjan Byapari: Interrogating my Chandal Life
18: Shailaja Paik: The Flood
19: Yashica Dutt: Coming Out as Dalit
20: Pratibha Jeyachandran: In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
2: Baburao Bagul: When I Hid My Caste
3: Omprakash Valmiki: Dread
4: M.M. Vinodini: The Parable of the Lost Daughter: Luke 15: 11-32
5: Ajay Navaria: New Custom
6: Surajpal Chauhan: Raw Deal
7: Sharankumar Limbale: Friend of the Family
8: Jai Prakash Kardam: No Bar
9: Omprakash Valmiki: Sandstorm
10: C. Ayyappan: Madness
11: Ajay Navaria: Tattoo
12: BR Ambedkar: Waiting for a Visa
13: Kausalya Baisantry: Doubly Cursed
14: Omprakash Valmiki: Joothan
15: Jai Prakash Kardam: My Caste
16: Urmila Pawar: Weave of my Life
17: Manoranjan Byapari: Interrogating my Chandal Life
18: Shailaja Paik: The Flood
19: Yashica Dutt: Coming Out as Dalit
20: Pratibha Jeyachandran: In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit