Contesting Imposed Existence: Re-thinking Precepts of Identity in Bengali Dalit Narratives

Abstract

The concept of identity as a social construct is constantly in a state of flux when applied to a Dalit. In the context of post-Partition Bengal, the Namasudra community migrating from East Pakistan become slaves of constructs, such as ‘caste’, ‘refugee’, and ‘communalism’. The complexity of these imposed identities becomes their common means of visibility that deprives them of both sides of the border subjecting them to recurrent displacement. In such situations, the Dalit expressions of anguish and emotion in their narratives become a significant source and claim towards an individual and collective truth. This article presents an analysis of how Dalit writers from the very confines of caste/communal bondage and slavery reciprocate an emotional identity to produce a different worldview. This will involve interpreting the extent to which expressing emotion carries the value of liberation, harmony and become a silent rebellion breaking from the dominant history associated with refugees. The article addresses this by specifically focusing on two short stories of the Namasudra writer Jatin Bala – ‘Akaipur in Flames’ and ‘The Two Ends of a Broken Bridge’.