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The Poetics of Resistance: The Literary Journalism of India’s Dalit Protest Movement
Book chapter

The Poetics of Resistance: The Literary Journalism of India’s Dalit Protest Movement

David O. Dowling
Literary Journalism and Social Justice, pp.49-65
Springer International Publishing
08/05/2022
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-89420-7_4

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Abstract

The literary journalism of Meena Kandasamy figures prominently in the current social movement of India’s lowest caste known as Dalits or Untouchables, whose 230 million citizens represent one of the world’s largest marginalized and oppressed populations. As one of the movement’s leading Dalit activists, Kandasamy draws on the methods associated with her acclaimed poetry and fiction to protest widespread injustices. Her own personal experience as a victim of abuse and marginalization forms the basis for her critique of caste oppression throughout India. Traditionally defined from the perspective of caste Hindus, Dalits inspired by Kandasamy increasingly project their own experience and testimony onto the global stage through highly personal narrative journalism informed by a poetics of resistance rooted in a larger aesthetic of social movements.
Activist journalism Dalit activists Literary journalism Meena Kandasamy Narrative journalism Poetics of resistance

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