International Journal of English Literature and Culture
 

International Journal of English Literature and Culture

Vol. 5(2), pp. 26-29, March, 2017

 ISSN: 2360-7831

DOI: 10.14662/IJELC2017.009

Review paper

Constructs such as nation and nationalism emerge as a result of numerous historical processes and operate at various levels. However, they are generally realized by the masses when there is conflict between two states, or when cultural and social boundaries are changed. The selected Hindi dalit stories “Ghuspaithiye” [“Infiltrator”] and “Aarakshan” [“Reservation”] help in understanding the idea of nation and nationalism through the lens of caste. Om Prakash Valmiki’s story “Ghuspaithiye” within the framework of nationalism reveals that the treatment meted out to dalit students is hostile to the effort being made at the policy level, which can supposedly transform them from the dominated subject, to ‘respectable citizens’ of the nation. Thus the story is a grim reminder of the fact that nationalism as a positive lived reality is outside the bounds of dalits. Ajmer Singh Kajal’s story “Aarakshan” critically looks at the underlying politics behind anti-reservation movements. The ‘political goondas’ disguised as student leaders leading the students, represented these anti-reservation movements as nationalist activities, and labeled the Others or Dalits as anti-nationalists and thus served their own interests. Therefore this paper makes an attempt, by critically evaluating these stories, to see how the policy of reservation and its impact on dalits sustains or vitiatean integrative concept of nationalism.

Keywords: Reservation, caste, nation, nationalism, Dalit.

Cite This Article As: Anu (2017). Inequality, Inequity and Contemporary Education in Hindi Dalit Stories. Inter. J. Eng. Lit. Cult. 5(2): 26-29

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