‘Twice-cursed Lives’: A Feminist Intervention in Tamil Dalit Criticism

‘Emerging’ was the word often used to describe the field of Dalit Literature in Tamil Nadu in the 20th century. Pretty nascent as it was then, the usage now is defunct, as Dalit literature, in its various forms of poetry, novel, drama and life narratives, is no longer merely ‘emerging’ but a well-established and flourishing field in the Tamil literary landscape. Dynamic activity in the translation arena has also added to its visibility and successful reach outside the region. However, the qualifier might still be functional for Dalit Literary Criticism. Unduly caught within the web of regional literary politics and casteist biases, honest evaluations of Tamil Dalit authors and their works have been rare and limited. Critical analyses of Tamil Dalit writings, both in Tamil and English, that are rooted in the socio-cultural history of the land and are attentive to its changing literary and political demands are the need of the hour. Emerging now are such important critical works and B Mangalam’s Dalit Fiction in Tamil 1989-2022–Representation of Dalit Women: A Critical Perspective is one among them.