Cultural and Linguistic Resistance: A Study of Dalit-Feminist Alternative Politics

Diverse resistance mechanism operates within the discourse of Dalit literature, culture and language. Dalit writings in most cases are disparaged for their not subscribing to the established, almost monopolised and hegemonized forms of culture and language. The mainstreamed language and form have a dominating influence over other ‘minor’ dominated culture and language. This process hastens the creation of a discourse of otherization. But when any new form of writing deviates from its established norm, the politics of recognition starts working. Dalit writing is distinguished for its counter hegemonic literary form, cultural practices and linguistic devices. Translation of Dalit writings written in vernacular language into a global language seems imperative to disseminate globally the Dalit consciousness. But in this process of translation the translator who is a mediator from other culture into the Dalit culture may enjoy a privileged location whereas the author may be turned into powerless being. The question of authenticity is a vital point in the translator-translated relationship. The problem of untranslatability may also come to pass. This power dynamic tends to operate in the process of rendering a text from one language and culture to that of another. Writing becomes a political act for the Dalit women who protest against all sorts of injustices with their militant language to destabilize the structure of violence. Translation has an identity of its own. But translation, according to the famous Tamil Dalit-Feminist author Bama is efficacious in some cases as it merges horizons of the author and the translator. The specific local culture has the possibility of globalization. Nevertheless, the process of translation must be freed from the power dynamics and the process needs to be humanizing.