Dalit engagement with caste and society a study of the nineteenth century subaltern novels in Malayalam

Abstract

This thesis examines Dalit engagement with caste and society in nineteenth-century Kerala, focusing on early subaltern Malayalam novels: Frances Wright Collins' Ghathakavadhom (1877), Archdeacon Koshy’s Pullelikunju (1882), and Potheri Kunhambu’s Saraswativijayam (1892). Drawing from subaltern historiography and Partha Chatterjee’s framework on caste and subaltern consciousness, this study critically analyses how these works interrogate caste oppression and untouchability, exposing the deeply entrenched, dehumanizing nature of the caste system. The novels reveal the intersection of caste subjugation and colonial modernity, illustrating how missionary-led reforms and education fostered Dalit agency, enabling resistance to caste-based inequalities. Situated within the broader framework of subaltern history, the study highlights how these narratives articulate victimization in the name of caste, as well as resistance and the reimagining of social structures. By exploring the dynamic interplay between caste, society, and literature, the thesis contributes to the broader discourses on caste subalternity and the socio-political currents of nineteenth-century Kerala. Anchored in key theoretical positions, particularly Partha Chatterjee’s assertion that caste, rather than class, should be the central lens through which subaltern consciousness is understood in the Indian context, the study also builds on the subaltern historiographical claim that elite and subaltern consciousness exist in constant tension and conflict. Drawing on Chatterjee’s interpretation of Gramsci’s concept of rupture in common sense, this thesis offers a nuanced exploration of caste and social hierarchies in nineteenth century subaltern novels in Malayalam.