Dalit Subjugation and Intersectionality in Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things (1997)
Keywords:
Dalit, Dalit subjugation, intersectionality, casteAbstract
Discrimination and deprivation is a recurring theme of significance in Dalit narratives and Dalit. Notably, studies on Dalit novels have primarily concentrated on exploring the diverse aspects of the darker side of the experience, emphasizing the social and economic hardships, misery, and psychological and physical exploitation faced by the community. This study examines Dalit victimhood through a critical reading of Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things (1997), focusing on intersectionality as a site of oppression. The novel depicts the inscriptional nature of subjugation and intersectionality of oppression to maintain the hierarchical system in society. In the process, it sheds insights on forms of construction of social identities such as caste, class, and gender that frame Dalit life experiences.
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