• Sangeetha J

Abstract India has seen tremendous progress over the years. But has this progress really achieved the true liberation of people. Even today in a country with diverse languages, cultures, religions and economic status, we live in unity. To a great extent this unity is limited to books alone. Considering the communal riots, honour killing, and the caste inequalities in our country, it creates a curiosity to know the past and the present outlook of caste system in India. In the traditional Indian caste system a member of the lowest caste Dalit is also known as ‘Untouchables’ and considered the lowest social group in the Hindu Caste system. The word Dalit means ‘oppressed’ in the 1930’s.Such people are the marginalized, who post independence also have not seen major progress. Even in the 21st century, an entire population in India and Hindu regions of Nepal, Pakistan, Srilanka and Bangladesh is often considered contaminated from birth because they are ‘Dalits’, they face discrimination and even violence from members of higher castes or traditional social classes, particularly in access to jobs, education and marriage partners. This paper intends to find out the real life of Dalits as depicted in literature the life of women of this caste group, both in the past and present. If India speaks of unity then why is half of the Dalit population living below the poverty line and more than 60 percent still illiterate.

Resistance, Depressed Classes, Discrimination, Dalit literature, Untouchability

"POST-COLONIAL LITERATURE OF THE MARGINALIZED", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 5, page no.373-377, May-2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1905E56.pdf

"POST-COLONIAL LITERATURE OF THE MARGINALIZED", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 5, page no. pp373-377, May-2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1905E56.pdf