6. INDIAN PERSPECTIVE

Homi K. Bhabha: He is one of the most important figures in contemporary post-colonial studies. One of his central ideas is that of "hybridisation," which, taking up from Edward Said's work, describes the emergence of new cultural forms from multiculturalism. Instead of seeing colonialism as something locked in the past, Bhabha shows how its histories and cultures constantly intrude on the present, demanding that we transform our understanding of cross-cultural relations. His work transformed the study of colonialism by applying post-structuralist methodologies to colonial texts.

In several essays, Homi Bhabha, a key thinker within postcolonial thought, emphasizes the importance of social power relations in his working definition of ‘subaltern’ groups as “oppressed, minority groups whose presence was crucial to the self-definition of the majority group: subaltern social groups were also in a position to subvert the authority of those who has hegemonic power.” Here, the term subaltern is used to denote marginalized and oppressed people(s) specifically struggling against hegemonic globalization.

The terms ‘subaltern’ and ‘dalit’ are used as synonyms in general by many scholars in their recent writings. Yes, there are similarities between these two terms, but ‘dalit’ is the term much popularized in Indian context by Indian social activists of several dalit movements of recent past. Both terms indicate subjectivity - objectivity and superior - inferior differences between people and their faiths, religions, traditions and so on. Simultaneously this term is used to people and religion of lower class/caste and called subaltern people and their religion - subaltern/dalit religion; hence, we are identifying now distinctiveness of dalit/subaltern religion/faith, which is distinctively different to that of so called now in protest of low class/caste people and also against gender discrimination, hence, dalit protest movements came into existence fighting against the oppressive social hierarchical structures and inhuman attitudes of dominant sections. The Poor: The poor are the destitute, the disposed, the displaced, and the discriminated who form the bulk of Asian people. Here in India, the term dalit is employed to describe the poor. Dalit, the term Dalit is derived from the root dal which means to crack, open or split. When used as a noun or adjective, it means burst, split, broken or torn asunder, scattered, crushed, destroyed. Outcaste, the term dalit today is specially used for those people who, on the basis of caste distinction, have been considered “outcaste”. They were “outcaste”, because they were not according to the architects of the system fit to be included in the fourfold graded caste structure of Indian society.

7. SUBALTERN MOVEMENTS AND CULTIC TRADITIONS

There are several movements and cultic traditions developed in the history of religious traditions in India related to subaltern perspective either directly or indirectly. Atheistic movements like Charvaka, Lokayata, Jainism and Buddhism developed against the oppressive structures of Brahmanic Hindu ritualism. Bhakti movements are another source of interpretation from subaltern perspective, which contain resources for inter-faith dialogue form inter-religious point of view. Thirdly dalit movements, of course aimed at the liberation of dalit folk from the oppressive structures in Indian society, directly connected to subaltern movements. There are several folk/popular cultic-traditions in our country providing better position for dalits and giving wider place for inter-faith relations. There is possibility to relate Neo-Vedantic and Neo-Buddhist movements to subaltern perspective.

Neo-Vedantic Movement of Ramakrishna Mission is another example working for the poor irrespective of Hindu caste discrimination. “Service to humanity is service to god” is the motto of Ramakrishna Pramahamsa and Swami Vivekananda. Swami Vivekananda established “Ramakrishna Mission” with bold vision to revive/reform Hindu ritualism and made this as a “movement” of service oriented to meet basic needs of people – education, health, shelter, food and other rehabilitation and philanthropic activities, of course, copied many from Christian Missionary activities of his time, but still Ramakrishna Mission continue these activities with the spirit of social service. Both stood for ideal values of social integration of various castes, including subaltern people and communal/religious harmony of people belong to different faiths/religions. The services of Ramakrishna Mission are available to all people irrespective of caste, gender, religious discrimination.

Another recent one worthy of mention is “Neo-Buddhist Movement” of B.R. Ambedkar, which rightly considered as subaltern socio-religious movement developed during second half of 20 th

century in Maharashtra among Mahar community. This movement is, indeed, a protest movement against oppressive structures of Hinduism, especially, “caste and untouchability”. Ambedkar vehemently opposed Hindu dharmasasthras for their caste hierarchical structures and inhuman attitude of upper castes towards dalits, hence, he rightly pointed out that there is no liberation to subaltern people as long as caste system existed in Indian society. Therefore, B.R. Ambedkar has taken a bold step to get rid of Hinduism and joined Buddhism on October 14, 1956 seeking new identity and human dignity for dalits. On the same day nearly 3, 08,000 dalits took initiation into Buddhism. From then onwards Buddhism attained revival spirit in India increasing its number and Ambedkar made this movement as Neo-Buddhism improving human values and dignity of dalits. And finally there are the contributions of Christian Missionary Movements for social transformation of subaltern people in India.

HERMENEUTICS STANCE OF VARIOUS SUBALTERN PERSPECTIVES

IntroductionSubaltern is a term that commonly refers to the perspective of persons from regions and groups outside of the hegemonic power structure. In the 1970’s the term began to be used as a reference to colonized people in the South Asian subcontinent. Subaltern is now regularly used as a term in history, anthropology, sociology and literature. In India itself we could identify various subaltern perspectives let us see one by one.

Dalit perspective Feminist perspective Tribal perspective Religious perspective

(A) DALIT PERSPECTIVEDalit perspective is one of the subaltern perspectives, which is specific to Indian context. This perspective aims at empowering the Dalits to come to the mainstream of the society by re discovering their philosophy, history, religion and values. As such, it is process, which involves a paradigm shift from the center to the periphery. In order to understand the Dalit perspective it is imperative to have general understanding of caste system.

General understanding of caste system: originEarly written evidence about the caste system appears in the Vedas, Sanskrit-language texts from as early as 1500 BCE, which form the basis of Hindu scripture. The Rigveda, from c. 1700-1100 BCE, rarely mentions caste distinctions, and indicates that social mobility was common. The Bhagavad Gita, however, from c. 200BCE-200CE, emphasizes the importance of caste. Some believe that the caste system was originally based upon color lines between the conquering Aryans and the darker, native Dravidians. The higher castes, Brahmans and Kshatriyas, were composed of Aryans whereas the Vaisyas and Sudras were composed of native peoples. In addition, the "Laws of Manu" or Manusmriti from the same era defines the rights and duties of the four different castes or varnas. Thus, it seems that the Hindu caste system began to solidify sometime between 1000 and 200 BCE.

Etymology of the Word CasteThe word ‘Caste’ is derived from the Portuguese (also Spanish) word ‘casta’, meaning lineage, breed or race. The Sanskrit words varna and jati are commonly translated as "caste". These terms refer to ranked groups of various sizes and breadth. The four primary castes are: the Brahmins: scholars and clergy, the Kshatriyas: warriors and administrators, the Vaishyas: agriculturists, artisans and merchants, the Shudras: laborers. Some people were born outside of (and below) the caste system. They were called "untouchables." The definition of caste system usually refers to the system of stratification in Hinduism or else a social structure in which classes are determined by heredity. In practice, too, this caste denotes the hereditarily imposed social status on an individual, family, group or community in a highly stratified Indian Society. It is essentially historical, hereditary, exclusive, discriminatory, inequitous and inhumane in nature and has been sanctified by the Hindu religious scriptures and has been accepted and regarded by Hindus.

Difference between Varna and JatiThe terms Chaturvarna (general classification based on occupation) and Jati (caste, community) are two distinct concepts. In Sanskrit ‘chatur’ denotes four and ‘varna’ means a caste, color, form, group, appearance. Varna (from Sanskrit, literally "arrangement") is usually a unification of all the Hindu castes or jatis into four groups as the Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Shudra. The varna system of Hindu society is described in the Manusmriti. In terms of caste, jati is the social stratum in which one is born. One is fixed in a jati (community) by birth and there are sets of rules governing acceptable occupations, foods, marriage, and association with other jatis. A person's surname typically reflects a community (jati) association: thus Gandhi = perfume seller, Dhobi = washerman, Srivastava = military scribe, etc. Jāti is the term used to denote communities and sub-communities in India. In Indian society, each jāti typically has an association with a traditional job function or tribe.

Main Features of Caste SystemPractices associated with caste had some common features. The three key areas of life dominated by caste were marriage, meals and religious worship.

* Marriage across caste lines was strictly forbidden; most people even married within their own sub-caste or jati. Breaking the caste-rule was accompanied by excommunication and death penalty

* At meal times, anyone could accept food from the hands of a Brahmin, but a Brahmin would be polluted if he or she took certain types of food from a lower caste person. Untouchable were forbidden to draw water from a public well, because the water would be polluted and nobody else could use it.

* In terms of religion, as the priestly class, Brahmins were supposed to conduct religious rituals and services. This included preparation for festivals and holidays, as well as marriages and funerals. The Kshatrya and Vaisya castes had full rights to worship.

* But in certain places Shudras (the servant caste) were not allowed to offer sacrifices to the gods. Untouchables were barred entirely from temples, and sometimes were not even allowed to set foot on temple grounds.

* If the shadow of an untouchable touched a Brahmin, he/she would be polluted, so untouchables had to lay face-down at a distance when a Brahmin passed.

* In this way a sense of highness and lowness or superiority and inferiority was associated with this gradation or ranking. The Brahmins occupied the top of the hierarchy and are regarded as pure or supreme.

* The degraded caste or the untouchables have occupied the other end of the hierarchy. The status of an individual is determined by his birth and not by selection nor by accomplishments.

* There is also some correlation between ritual rank on the caste hierarchy and economic prosperity. Members of higher-ranking castes tend, to be more prosperous than members of lower-ranking castes.

* Many lower-caste people lived in conditions of great poverty and social disadvantage, like temple entry, educational facilities, legal rights and political representation were denied to them for a very long time. The impure castes are made to live on the outskirts of the city.

* Each caste had its own specific occupations which were almost hereditary. There was no scope for individual talent, aptitude, enterprise or abilities. The caste system imposes restrictions on marriage also. Thus Caste was identified as an endogamous group.

* The caste system is credited to ensure the continuity of the traditional social organization of India. Each caste has its own customs, traditions practices and rituals. It has its own informal rules, regulations and procedures. The caste panchayats or the caste councils regulate the conduct of members.

The Untouchables

Untouchables were those who were outside the four caste groups. Untouchables were considered so impure that any contact with them by a caste member would contaminate the other person. The caste-person would have to bathe and wash his or her clothing immediately. Untouchables could not even eat in the same room as caste members. The untouchables did work that no-one else would do, like scavenging animal carcasses, leather-work, or killing rats and other pests. They could not be cremated when they died. In this way the caste system promoted untouchability and discrimination against certain members of the society. The status of women was affected and they were relegated to the background. The caste system divided the society into mutually hostile and conflicting groups and subgroups. Today the outcastes are known as

dalits. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and jyotirao phule were the ones who championed the cause for the liberation and emancipation of dalits.

Meaning of the term DalitEtymologically, the root of the term ‘Dalit’ can be traced back to two of the most important and ancient linguistic families: the Semitic (headed by Hebrew) and the Indo- European (headed by Sanskrit). In Hebrew the root is ‘dall’ meaning: poor, low, helpless, etc., and in Sanskrit the root is ‘dal’ , meaning: to crack, to split, to crush, to destroy, etc. It is highly probable that the term Dalit, with its derivative forms, must have been in use by the people of Indus and Babylonian civilization.

History of the term Although we can trace the root of the term Dalit to the ancient period, the term was made popular in its present usage in the writings of two of the Indian stalwarts, the nineteenth Century Marathi reformer and revolutionary Mahatma Jotirao Phule and the twentieh century intellectual and revolutionary Dr.B.R.Ambedkar. Mahatma Phule used in his writings the term Sudra- Adisudra to refer to Dalits, outcastes (dalitodhar, the uplift of the depressed). Dr. Amebedkar has used the term Dalit for the people of the scheduled castes. However, it is in 1972 with the formation of ‘Dalit panther’s movement’ in Maharashtra that the term Dalit began to be used only for Mahar community; later it was spread to all the scheduled castes. Since Dalit means trampled, squeezed, crushed, broken or reduced to pieces, all those who are in such a situation- scheduled castes and tribes, landless laborers, and those subjected to exploitation under the name of religion- socio-political-economic level, were included under the term Dalit. Professor Gangadhar pantawane expresses the meaning Dalit as follows: Dalit is not a caste. Dalit is a symbol of change and revolution. The Dalit believes in humanism. He rejects the existence of god, rebirth, and soul, sacred books that teach discrimination, fate and heaven, because these have made him a slave. He represents the exploited man in his country.The group of people who are known today as the ‘Dalits’ were originally called by different names, such as ‘ the untouchables’, ‘the last born’, etc. During the British period, this group was referred to as the ‘depressed classes’. Ambedkar opposed to it because of its degrading tone; and so ‘Simon Commission’, proposed a compromise term ‘scheduled castes’, which was officially introduced in the government of India act of 1955. Gandhi introduced another term, ‘Harijan’, to refer to the ‘untouchables’. Nevertheless, they objected to the use of this term as well because of its negative connotation. Today the term ‘Dalit’ has become the most accepted and used term to designate the downtrodden community. Dalit is specially being used for those people who based on caste distinction have been considered ‘outcastes’. They are outside of four- layer caste structure of Indian society. Based on such a status-less status, they were made to bear extreme form of disabilities, because of which they were made to “lose their humanness, and finally they reached the state of being ‘no people’.” Today Dalit is not a demeaning term, but an identity about which one is proud- and identity, which is the product of a long historical process, rooted in a collective conscience.

The dialogical process aimed at the emancipation of Dalits implies a concrete application of the philosophy of liberation. This dialogical process is aimed at bringing the dalits to the mainstream of the society ensuring a just society where there is celebration of human values and

human rights. This dialogical process requires certain pre requistes, which ultimately lead to the liberation and holistic development of the person. Such as;(a) Conscientization through education, which enables them to agitate, organize and realize conscious responsibility.(b) Unconditional affirmation of the other as the other© Letting the subaltern speak for themselves(d) Understanding the significance of developing and ‘I –thou’ relationship where the other is treated as unique human person thus leading to the fuller development of one’s personality.

a) ConscientizationIn a healthy dialogical process, the role conscientization has greater significance. Conscientization is one of the basic conditions in the process of emancipation of Dalits. In the Indian society, most of the Dalits are illiterate and therefore not aware of their debilitating context of oppression and exploitation. Most of the Dalits are not aware of their pathetic situation at the hands of oppressor. Secondly, the popular theology of the dalits makes them to accept their dehumanizing situation as a matter of fate or will of god. As long as Dalits are not aware of their fact of oppression, they cannot come out of the oppressive fetters. Therefore, Dalits need to conscientized of their misfortune through various means of education and awareness programme. This is carried out in various ways. There are various models of conscientization proposed by various thinkers among them Dr. B. R. Ambedkar is worth mentioning. Today what Dalits are to a greater extend is owes to the selfless effort of Ambedkar. “Educate, agitate, and organize: Have faith in your strength”, this is the motto he followed to reform and transform the backward section of the society. Education The first step of this strategy was to educate the Dalits, so that they would know the ills, evils that prevented them from progressing.  He realized that a community that had been totally deprived from acquiring any kind of resources, education would be the easiest way to exploit them.   However, he stressed that Dalits themselves have to take lead in educating their lot.   Ambedkar suggested the spread of mass-education as the necessary antecedent to have political stability. Education can lead an individual to move from Caste to Class, i.e.; from close system to open system. In Caste system, an individual is confined only to his or her traditional occupation. Therefore, there is a little scope to grow. However, in Class, as it is open, an individual can grow as per his or her capability.

Agitation Considering education as the basic and necessary investment, Dr. Ambedkar expected that by acquiring education and knowledge, many more people like him would take up the cause of the Dalits.  Educated Dalit mind would agitate over the injustice inflicted and would fight against it.  Agitation by no means refers to violence or physical assault over the government and authorities. It peaceful ways of expressing one’s views, suggestions, protest for a cause. It is standing for one’s rights. Therefore, agitation of mind is needed to be seen in proportion to the education. OrganizationAgitated mind, as Dr. Ambedkar presumed, would force educated people to form organizations and they would act to solve the problems.  But the actual message of Dr. Ambedkar lies in "have faith in your strength." Right from the beginning, Dr. Ambedkar emphasizes self-help. He says, Self-help is the best help. He also made it loud and clear to Dalits that "it is out of hard struggle and ceaseless struggle alone that one derives strength, confidence and recognition." He directed

Dalits on many occasions that they must stand on their feet and fight as best as they can for their rights. Power and prestige will come through struggle alone was the message he echoed. Self-determination and ResponsibilityHe stressed throughout that self-determination is required in order to achieve the common ideals or common purpose without external compulsion. To him society was an integrated whole, each individual is tied with another in an indissoluble relationship. His views of society fully endorsed that an individual is mainly responsible for his own welfare. At the same time, he shares the collective responsibility for the good of the society. Thus he called every individual to take a conscious responsibility.

b) Allowing them to speak for themselvesAccording to renowned postmodern thinker Gayatri chakravarthy in order to have a genuine dialogical process with the subaltern we need to allow the subalterns to speak for themselves. When the Dalits are, conscientized it necessarily follows that they must allowed ‘to speak for themselves’. In many cases, the subalterns like Dalits represent the voiceless group of the society who are marginalized in all forms. Most the times the dominate group try to speak for the Dalits. According to Gayatri what we need not a messiah attitude to speak for the dalits rather to allow them to speak for themselves. That is to empower them to make decisions and work out their own version of liberation.

(B) FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE

Introduction

In the subaltern perspective, the feminist perspective forms a major development in contemporary debates. The term subaltern was originally a term for subordinates in military hierarchies. Nonetheless, in its modern usage, the word refers to any person or group of inferior rank and situation because of race, class, gender, and ethnicity and so on. women comprise perhaps the most significant and inclusive of all subaltern groups not only because of the ubiquitous nature of their oppression but also because of cultural, political, religious and ideological institutions of the society that are fundamental to validating and naturalizing their oppression. As elaborated in the work of Antonio Gramsci subaltern refers to groups of people who are outside the established structures of political representation. Postcolonial theorists like Gayatri Spivak have argued that women are a subaltern group because they are denied access to both mimetic and political forms of representation. Feminist philosophizing is from below, focusing more on what happens to women at the base level of society.

Ever since feminist movements heightened since 1970s there are many discussions and counter discussion on women’s liberty on sexuality and gender equality undergoing until date. Mass immigration and globalization process have not only sought financial freedom of women but also emancipation of knowledge and resistance against male domination in each social domain. The ongoing discourses have demanded more studies in gender and gender equalities in both West and the third world. Besides these, the role of feminist movements towards women’s active participation in economy and enlightenment through media and technology in reproduction, even in the underdeveloped countries have become center of attention in the recent times. Compare to last a few decades, it can be experienced that women have been much more empowered not only in West but also in underdeveloped countries. Homosexuality, lesbianism, transgendered

sexuality have taken wider public discourses which were socially stigmatized in past. As soon as women are empowered through education and economy, new gender roles and sexuality are accepted through legislation, that have helped to create new social reconstructions on feminism. In the guise the hegemony of patriarchy in relation to women’s oppressed position and how they are lagged behind due to the deprivation of mobility and economic freedom feminist orientations find new meaning and relevance in our context.

What is Feminism?Feminism is a political, cultural and economic movement which aims at establishing equal rights and legal protection for women. It advocates gender equality for women and campaigns for women’s rights and interests. Feminism is manifest in a variety of disciplines like feminist history, feminist literary criticism, feminist science, feminist geography, feminist economics, religious feminism and feminism of art. Feminism involves political, cultural, sociological and scientific theories, as well as philosophies concerned with issues of gender difference. According to many scholars in feminism the history of feminism in the west can be divided into three waves. The first feminist wave was in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the second was in the 1960s and 1970s, and the third extends from the 1990 to the present. The feminist theory emerged from these feminist movements. It is manifest in a variety of disciplines such as feminist history, feminist literature, feminist theology, feminist philosophy, and so on.feminism has altered predominant perspectives in a wide range of areas within western society, ranging from cultures to law, feminist activists have campaigned for women’s legal rights (rights of contract, property rights, voting rights) ; for women’s right to bodily integrity and autonomy, for protection of women and girls from domestic violence, sexual harassment and rape; for workplace rights, including maternity leaves and equal pay; against misogyny; and against other forms of gender – specific discrimination against women. In the 19th and early 20th centuries most feminist movements were led by predominantly middle-class white women from Western Europe and North America. However with Sojourner Truth (1797-1883), a black slave woman who is considered to be the fore mother of the Christian feminist movement in the west, women of colour and other races proposed alternative feminism based on the struggles of women of colours like the Afro-American women. Sojourner Truth’s speech to American feminists in 1851 was entitled Ain’t I a Woman and paved the way for the inclusion of variables like race and ethnicity in feminist analysis. This trend accelerated in the 1960s with the Civil Rights movements in the United States and the collapse of European colonialism in Africa, the Caribbean, parts of Latin America and South East Asia. Since that time, women in former European colonies and the Third World have proposed ‘Post-Colonial’ and ‘Third World’ feminisms. Some postcolonial feminists, such as Chandra Talpade Mohanty, are critical of western feminism for being ethnocentric. Black feminists, such as Angela Davis and Alice Walker, share this view. Several sub-movements of feminist’s ideology have developed over the years; some of the major subtypes are explained in this lesson. These movements often overlap, and some feminists identify themselves with several types of feminist thought.

Feminism in IndiaThe founding story of feminism in Asia, and particularly in India, is based on women’s experience of discrimination against them either in the structure of personal laws, or increased violence on their bodies’ thorough rape, dowry deaths, religious fundamentalism and the like. In

her analysis of the origins and history of the women’s movement in India, Rajeswari Sunder Rajan remarks that there can be no complacency with regard to the violence against women, which is on the increase, such as rape in police custody, deaths inside family, sexual harassment at work-sites and on the streets, etc. within the broad identity of the women’s movement in India, differences of class, caste and community, and the rural-urban divide among women, was increasingly highlighted from the late 80s. Urban and middle class feminists were accused of being homogenous and western in their approach. This awareness resulted in the upsurge of different strands of specific nature of women’s experiences. As a result new feminist philosophies and movements like dalit feminism, tribal feminism, ecological feminism, self-employed women’s associations and so on emerged. The 1990s, with the emergence of the era of globalization, has seen transformed contexts as a result of the debates and policy initiatives around development in the country. Indian women were shaken by the absence of women’s perspective in the overall development process and by the insensitivity of the policy makers and planners. As Indu Agnihotri and Veena Mazumdar articulate, ‘The marginalization and impoverishment of the majority of women within the transforming economy became the entry point for academics into movement.’ The 1990s thus was momentous in the history of the movements in India, as feminists brought their political and intellectual engagements onto new and fruitful terrain. This involvement led to a broadening of the feminist conceptions of economy itself.

The decade of the 90s also saw the resurgence of a new component in the history of Indian feminism. The path breaking subaltern project undertaken by Indian historians and political scientists triggered this novel venture of Indian feminists. The awareness that the project of nationalism had ignored the life stories and histories of different groups of marginal women from varied locations, led to diverse researches and contributions from women in varied disciplines. These studies and involvements were also enriched by and in-depth analysis of caste hierarchies and interlocking grid of caste, gender, class and cultural, communal and religious patriarchies.

Understanding Feminist Movement

The struggles for the women’s emancipation have three major waves in the mid twentieth century; those movements carried the discourses of women’s situation as subordinate, oppressed and discriminated on the basis of sex category. In the advancement of feminism discourse, further deconstruction of feminism through intersectionality such as class, race, and sexuality added new gender studies encounters. Meanwhile, post colonial perspective of feminism added a new contour in feminist discourse. Feminism became a part of world politics where new power relation was defined by French feminism theorist after western female scholars identified their status of oppression or male domination. New sexuality, gender roles and hetero normativity became new social encounter especially after Michel Foucault introduced the history of sexuality. On the other hand, women’s reproductive characteristic became a discourse in power politics. Davis (1997 p. 116) mentions, ‘women are not just the biological reproducers of the nation but also its cultural reproduces ... transmitting it to the children and constructing the home in a specific cultural style’. In context to divided feminist world by class, race, and social structures, a continue search for transversal politics is underway to reunite world women together. In the regime of power in global to local institutions, feminism has become a search of

power equation. Through the world summits such as CEDAW and BEIJING Conference feminist have successfully tried shed lights on power discourse for gender equality. Addressing the situation of women as subordinate to men, much has been discussed on different forms of dominating factors excluding masculinity, most criticized factor is the patriarchy system. There after a wide discussion took on social construction of sex and work division under the sex category. To fight against the discrimination, oppression it has been proposed of an idea as gender equality. This idea was the first effort to dismantle the configuration of patriarchal structure which was supposed to be a significant hazard. While discussion, this paper will also throw the light on those attempts to examine interrelation of feminist movement in the form of global politics and its impact on local.

Feminist subaltern philosophizing begins with women’s experiences, women’s stories and women’s visions. It comes from the awareness that the experiences of women have been neglected and marginalized. Moreover accounts of oppression form the content of women’s lives. Feminist philosophers have highlighted that patriarchal ideology and codification influence women’s experiences. Consequently they stress the need of a feminist and critical analysis of experience. Cultural stereotypes informed by patriarchal ideologies play a considerable role in curtailing the genuine growth in freedom of women. Therefore a critical analysis of experience is aimed at deconstructing oppressive archetypes and norms that are framed on the basis of an essentialistic understanding of the feminine that has been inscribed by mainstream philosophy. Since women’s experience is largely that of exclusion and silencing feminist philosophizing begins with naming these experiences of marginalization. Stories of women’s exploitation and battering as a frame of reference are crucial in the construction of subaltern discourses directed towards empowerment and social transformation since it uncovers and challenges structure of power and oppression. Elisabeth Porter in her book entitled Feminist perspectives on ethics says:

Stories are part of the moral deliberation that women as lovers, mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, nurses, charity volunteers, social workers and child-minders have always done, but has been trivialized or dismissed as sentimental, domestic, private or morally immature. Responding sensitively to the narratives of different people is crucial to moral agency.1

C. TRIBAL PERSPECTIVE

Philosophizing from the subaltern perspective of the tribal would mean doing philosophy from the perspective of the marginalized tribal people. It is a new perspective, which reflects over the people whose identity and dignity are at stake. It takes into consideration the mentality of the subaltern people. According to some of the sociologists and the anthropologists, submissiveness and defiance are two important elements to be kept in mind when we deal with the subaltern. Philosophing from this perspective would mean an ongoing process of re-thinking of the tribal cultural mentality that is undergoing rapid changes. Tribal societies undergo substantial transformation despite the experiences of subjugation. Their history tells us that in a way or the other they have been wronged and misunderstood, misrepresented and misformed, often by those who are dominant.

In the first phase, philosophizing from a new perspective of the tribals would mean taking into account the information provided by different authors and their interpretations. It will be the 1 .Elisabeth Porter, Feminist perspectives on ethics, Newyork: Longman, 1999, p.11.

perspective of the interpreter, which gives the interpretations of the oral, unwritten, and traditional practices lied by the tribals, in the most cases, without any written explanation. These interpretations are expected to present the tribal ethos from a proper perspective. Failure to present the inside view of the tribal tradition will amount to a gross failure.

In the second phase we move on to the realm of the hitherto interpreted. Now the one who was so far being interpreted, interprets from the perspective of the “within”. This is the perspective of the insignificant, at least treated so, thus far. As wrongly put, it is the perspective of the savage, illogical and irrational. Thus, under the purview of the new perspective, there is a need to develop tribal political philosophy, a subaltern perspective of the tribal women and philosophy of liberation from for the tribals exploited in the tea gardens, as bonded labourers and daily wagers. A philosophy from the vantage point of the tribals calls for tribal intellectuals to present their self perceptions.

(E) RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE

Theoretical discussion on a concept such as subaltern religion is still in the process. Some thinkers have introduced the concept of subaltern religion or subaltern religiosity in their studies of subaltern people. They have identified certain specific characteristics that pertain to the religions of subaltern people. Subaltern religiosity as “a religious experience and its expression deriving from a condition of being marginalized” or “being subjugated, dominated”. To understand about the subaltern religions we need to look at some of the concepts.

Folk- the discipline of folkristics, emerging as a notable field of study within anthropology, has come up with discussions on concepts such as folk culture, folk religion, folklore etc…the term folk seem to have from a specific historical context .it was in the 19th century Europe that the term folk was originally used to denote the peasantry who lived on the margins of civilization with no or little literacy, the culturally marginal people. Those who view the folk in exclusive terms consider folk religion as having distinctive features and characteristics that dominate them from other non-folk, i.e., the classical or the dominant religions.

The features of folk religions

Earthly origin of deities- earthly origin of their deities. Unlike the “classical deities” who originate in a trans-spatio-temporal world, and descend upon the earth as avatars, folk deities originate in a spatio-temporal historical context. These deities are protective and benevolent at the same time ferocious, villainous and malevolent. The representations of “classical deities” are relatively more redefined, and to the extent domesticated, the depictions of the folk deities are less defined and to the extent less domesticated. The former is definable and predictable, while the latter remains volatile and unpredictable.

Congregational worship- folk worship is generally in the form of festivals, consisting of performance of rituals. It is collective, congregational, and communitarian. It is in the nature of folk religions to create and reinforce a sense of social solidarity among the people.

Contextual sensitivity – folk deities and religions are local and regional in their outlook and context-sensitive in their operation. Unlike the classical deities who exist in a separate abode and come down on a universal mission, folk deities are born in this temporal world, in a local context, and even after deification, they continue to live in this world in a particular region. Consequently, the concern, outlook, and the reach of the religions remain very much local and regional, tied closer to their historical context.

Popular- this is another concept discussed in religious studies. The term popular is a complex of semantic variations. Historically, this term seems to have evolved through legal, political, and cultural context, like “popular government or vote”. Culturally: art, music, press etc… today the term is very much prevalent in religious and theological studies. For example, “popular devotions, popular religions, popular beliefs etc…. here the term popular, as being used by anthropologists, folklorists and theologians, and generally indicates that category of people that is other the elite, the official, the hierarchical, and the intuitional. Today the term popular has come down predominantly to indicate the lay, the non-official and non-institutional, the lower, the marginalized, and the poor category of the people.

Conclusion

As we have seen conditions of these voiceless people, let us try to liberate them from their shackles and bondage of life. Let us bring them out of the cave where in they will be able see the light and reveal to our society as liberators of the world .Ultimately, dialogical process with Dalits must be aimed at the welfare of all human beings. In this regard, the dialogical process must be aimed at the liberation of human beings. Ultimately speaking the sole aim of liberation must be centered on the welfare of each individual irrespective of caste, creed barriers. It is only with the realization of the well-being of every individual we can rightly bring about a just society where there no room for of dehumanization any form. Taking into account the significance of the concept of ‘welfare of all’ we need to explore it elaborately. The idea of the welfare of all finds its novel expression in the Gandhian concept of ‘sarvodaya.’ The idea of sarvodaya is not newly introduced by Gandhi in our Indian philosophy rather it is a very old principle of our culture and civilization. Our vedic Rishis utter – “May all be happy and they many attain good ends; none many meet misery.” Gandhian philosophy is generally aimed at the welfare of all. It is to establish a classless society based on equality, liberty and justice. It is the all sided development of a nation. Acharya vinoba has righty observed-“The sarvodaya samaj is like an ocean, the depth of which no one yet fathomed but it is an ocean of nector in which there is no fear of being drowned to death, one can swim in it without any misgiving. It is vast in every direction. Sarvodaya is indeed a new concept of gandhian socialism which stresses more and more on village swaraj and village economy. Village development programme related to the empowerment of common people. According to Gandhi sarvodaya programme must start from grass root level. Sarvodaya is also seen as the political implication of the ethical principle of Democracy. Democracy is a well-known political theory of the people, by the people and for the people. What Gandhi needs is that power must be given to all the people.

Capacity to resist injustice can only safeguard democracy. Equal opportunity to extend once capability must be given to all irrespective of caste and creed. Socialism in as much as seen in the light of equal opportunity to all to exercise oneself and ones capabilities goes hand in hand with the understanding of sarvodaya. Gandhian sarvodaya means also the empowerment of weaker sections of the society. According to Gandhi role of education to bring about sarvodaya is fundamental. Education for Gandhi does not mean literacy. The aim of education is the development of the full potentialities, of a child in accordance with the general good of the community. Ultimately speaking sarvodaya must be carried out through service and love of fellow feeling and non-violence. It is the growth of spiritual character of human persons. In this regard it is also meaningful to discuss the teachings of Amartya sen a renowned welfare economist and thinker. According to Sen Welfare or development means the realization of our freedom. In his opinion, socio-political economic development is not development at all irrespective of proper existence of freedom, a freedom to realize our capabilities. Tagore is another thinker and poet who had a more cosmopolitan outlook and deeper practical concern for the well-being of all men than Gandhi did. Thus, the Dalit perspective must be oriented towards liberation of both the oppressor and oppressed from all forms of dehumanization and resultant transformation of human persons and society. The world has no geographical boundaries due to rapid globalization process. In the post colonial period or rather the so called post modern times as of now so many discussions have been centered around subaltern studies. The dominant group who define themselves at the expense of the subalterns (dalits, women, tribals etc) has defined history. In this manner human society and civilization has been characterized by ‘the play of difference’ as post-modern thinker Derrida calls; where the binary opposites (master- slave, Dalit-upper caste, men-women tribal –exploiter, major religions-minor religions) are in constant conflict with each other. In this context in order to envisage a just and humane society based on principles of equality, fraternity and liberty dialogue plays a crucial role. Thus dialoging with subalterns in all accounts becomes the need of the hour to revalue and reassess to build a just society. In the same way we must also liberate the tribal as well as the religious aspect of the society also should liberated from all obstacles of areas.