Identities and Assertions

Identities and Assertions attempts to capture the construction of self in Dalit women's oral narratives. Their spontaneous revelation of their selves, their assertion of identity, their negotiations with multiple identities, and their constant struggle to achieve social and economic mobility are analysed in the context of Dalit feminism, feminist research methodologies, and non-mainstream critical theories from the West. Based on the fieldwork conducted between 2003 and 2005 in what is now the state of Telangana, it examines the various dimensions of Dalit women's narratives such as how identities are formulated, education is sought for and political representation is perceived as the source of social liberation. It also discusses how education, location, religion, work, family and sexuality emerge as crucial categories for them which are sometimes questioned, sometimes re-defined and sometimes subverted. Dalit women's writing in Telugu is also used as a critical framework to analyse the oral narratives of Dalit women, some of whom are people's representatives, performers, joginis, child labourers, social activists and teachers.