Synopses & Reviews
A pathbreaking study of Dalit women’s writings and lives,
Writing Caste/Writing Gender offers a powerful counternarrative to the mainstream assumptions about the development of feminism in India in the twentieth century. Featuring extensive extracts from eight Dalit women’s life-narratives—or testimonios—on issues such as food, hunger, community, caste, labor, education, violence, resistance, and collective struggle, the book brings to vivid life voices that unequivocally show that Dalit feminism, far from being silent as so often presumed, is rich, powerful, and layered—as well as highly articulate.
Writing Caste/Writing Gender contributes significantly to the field of biography and will be welcomed in this paperback format by scholars of caste, gender, and politics in India.
Review
“The women tell it like it is… So riveting is the narration that it is difficult to put down the book until their stories are finished. For a non-fiction academic work this is no small feat.”
About the Author
Sharmila Rege is an Indian sociologist, feminist scholar, and activist.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Debating the Consumption of Dalit ‘Autobiographies
The Significance of Dalit ‘Testimonios
Shantabai Dhanaji Dani (1919-2001)
Ratrandin Amha…
Mukta Sarvagod (1922-2004)
Mitleli Kavaade
Shantabai Krishnaji Kamble (1923)
Majya Jalmachi Chitterkatha
Baby Kondiba Kamble (1929)
Jinne Amuche
Kumud Pawade (1938)
Antasphot
Urmila Pawar (1945)
Aaidan
Janabai Kachru Girhe (1958)
Marankala
Vimal Dadasaheb More (1970)
Teen Dagdachi Chul
Epilogue