Volume VI Special Issue II February 2026

Name of Author : Dr. Anuradha Tamme

Title of the paper : From Shame to Statement: Caste Trauma in Valmikis Joothan and Anands Untouchable

Abstract: The current research paper juxtaposes an outsiders Non Dalit depiction of Dalit life with a Dalit subjects testimonial narrative in a comparative analysis of Mulk Raj Anands Untouchable 1935 and Omprakash Valmikis Joothan 1997 respectively. The paper draws on western trauma theory by Cathy Caruth, Kai Erikson, and Jeffrey C. Alexander, and contends for modifying it to caste trauma theory. It enhances the analysis of the persistent, normalized, and institutional violence of the Indian caste system vividly. In Untouchable, Bakhas humiliation is shown as social trauma yet is limited by upper caste reformist viewpoints, therefore restricting Dalit agency. Valmikis Joothan serves as a counter archive of suffering honoring Dalit dignity and historical memory. By presenting trauma as lived, inter generational, and embodied, his life narrative contrastingly transforms shame and silence into statement. In a nutshell, by applying caste trauma as a separate intellectual lens, to study the marginalised issues, the research broadens subaltern, literary, and trauma studies.

Keywords : Caste trauma, Dalit literature, Omprakash Valmiki, Mulk Raj Anand, Chronic oppression, Life writing, Testimony and resistance.

DOI :

Page Number : 126-132