Joothan - An Untouchable's Life (Paperback)

Omprakash Valmiki describes his life as an untouchable, or Dalit, in the newly independent India of the 1950s. "Joothan" refers to scraps of food left on a plate, destined for the garbage or animals. India's untouchables have been forced to accept and eat joothan for centuries, and the word encapsulates the pain, humiliation, and poverty of a community forced to live at the bottom of India's social pyramid.

Although untouchability was abolished in 1949, Dalits continued to face discrimination, economic deprivation, violence, and ridicule. Valmiki shares his heroic struggle to survive a preordained life of perpetual physical and mental persecution and his transformation into a speaking subject under the influence of the great Dalit political leader, B. R. Ambedkar. A document of the long-silenced and long-denied sufferings of the Dalits, Joothan is a major contribution to the archives of Dalit history and a manifesto for the revolutionary transformation of society and human consciousness.

General

Imprint:	Columbia University Press
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	July 2008
First published:	July 2008
Authors:	Omprakash Valmiki • Arun Prabha Mukherjee
Translators:	Arun Prabha Mukherjee
Dimensions:	140 x 210 x 11mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - Trade
Pages:	208
ISBN-13:	978-0-231-12973-2
Languages:	English
Subtitles:	Hindi
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > General Books > Fiction > General & literary fiction > Modern fiction Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social groups & communities > Social classes > General Books > Biography > General
LSN:	0-231-12973-4
Barcode:	9780231129732

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!