Joothan

An Untouchable's Life

Nonfiction, History, Asian, India, Asia, Biography & Memoir
Cover of the book Joothan by Omprakash Valmiki, Arun Prabha Mukherjee, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Omprakash Valmiki, Arun Prabha Mukherjee ISBN: 9780231503372
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: July 2, 2008
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Omprakash Valmiki, Arun Prabha Mukherjee
ISBN: 9780231503372
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: July 2, 2008
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

Omprakash Valmiki describes his life as an untouchable, or Dalit, in the newly independent India of the 1950s. "Joothan" refers to scraps of food left on a plate, destined for the garbage or animals. India's untouchables have been forced to accept and eat joothan for centuries, and the word encapsulates the pain, humiliation, and poverty of a community forced to live at the bottom of India's social pyramid.

Although untouchability was abolished in 1949, Dalits continued to face discrimination, economic deprivation, violence, and ridicule. Valmiki shares his heroic struggle to survive a preordained life of perpetual physical and mental persecution and his transformation into a speaking subject under the influence of the great Dalit political leader, B. R. Ambedkar. A document of the long-silenced and long-denied sufferings of the Dalits, Joothan is a major contribution to the archives of Dalit history and a manifesto for the revolutionary transformation of society and human consciousness.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Omprakash Valmiki describes his life as an untouchable, or Dalit, in the newly independent India of the 1950s. "Joothan" refers to scraps of food left on a plate, destined for the garbage or animals. India's untouchables have been forced to accept and eat joothan for centuries, and the word encapsulates the pain, humiliation, and poverty of a community forced to live at the bottom of India's social pyramid.

Although untouchability was abolished in 1949, Dalits continued to face discrimination, economic deprivation, violence, and ridicule. Valmiki shares his heroic struggle to survive a preordained life of perpetual physical and mental persecution and his transformation into a speaking subject under the influence of the great Dalit political leader, B. R. Ambedkar. A document of the long-silenced and long-denied sufferings of the Dalits, Joothan is a major contribution to the archives of Dalit history and a manifesto for the revolutionary transformation of society and human consciousness.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book Deleuze Beyond Badiou by Omprakash Valmiki, Arun Prabha Mukherjee
Cover of the book Fantasies of the New Class by Omprakash Valmiki, Arun Prabha Mukherjee
Cover of the book The Children's Film by Omprakash Valmiki, Arun Prabha Mukherjee
Cover of the book Honoring Elders by Omprakash Valmiki, Arun Prabha Mukherjee
Cover of the book The Celluloid Madonna by Omprakash Valmiki, Arun Prabha Mukherjee
Cover of the book Envisioning The Tale of Genji by Omprakash Valmiki, Arun Prabha Mukherjee
Cover of the book Everyday Reading by Omprakash Valmiki, Arun Prabha Mukherjee
Cover of the book A Communion of Subjects by Omprakash Valmiki, Arun Prabha Mukherjee
Cover of the book Experiencing Animal Minds by Omprakash Valmiki, Arun Prabha Mukherjee
Cover of the book The Cinema of Michael Winterbottom by Omprakash Valmiki, Arun Prabha Mukherjee
Cover of the book The Protestant Ethnic and the Spirit of Capitalism by Omprakash Valmiki, Arun Prabha Mukherjee
Cover of the book Child Welfare for the Twenty-first Century by Omprakash Valmiki, Arun Prabha Mukherjee
Cover of the book Feasting Our Eyes by Omprakash Valmiki, Arun Prabha Mukherjee
Cover of the book The Columbia Guide to Central African Literature in English Since 1945 by Omprakash Valmiki, Arun Prabha Mukherjee
Cover of the book How to Read Chinese Poetry in Context by Omprakash Valmiki, Arun Prabha Mukherjee
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy