Redefining Postcolonial Theory through Dalit and Adivasi Literature

This book critically assesses the limitations of postcolonial theory and positions Dalit and Adivasi literary texts within a caste framework in order to analyze how caste has been the central force in the marginalization of these voices within the South Asian literary and cultural paradigm.

Drawing on major theoretical works, including those of Spivak, Bhabha, Said, Loomba, Ashcroft, Young, and the subaltern historians, the book argues that the Brahminical caste system operates as a central mechanism of dispossession, displacement, and dehumanization for Dalit and Adivasi communities. Through close analysis of Dalit and Adivasi narratives, the chapters examine the textual and lived realities of these groups as structurally marginalized communities. The book further demonstrates that caste functions through processes of Hinduization and homogenization, revealing the inadequacies of postcolonial and subaltern theoretical frameworks in explaining why postcolonial countries around the globe often share similar structural traits, and how Indian upper-caste elites (such as Gandhi and Nehru), are erroneously represented as “subalterns.”

Strengthening the argument that, without Dalit and Adivasi epistemologies, postcolonial theory remains complicit in reinforcing elite narratives, this book will be of use to scholars, postgraduate students, and academics in the fields of South Asian literature, post-colonial studies, and literature more broadly.