KARUKKU

                                                                 - Bama

                                                                      (Translated by Lakshmi Holmstrom)  

               

 Faustina Soosairaj (bama is her pen name) as a Tamil Dalit feminist wrote her autobiographical novel Karukku. The argument of the novel is to do with the arc of the author's spiritual development both through the nurturing of her belief as a Catholic, and her gradual realization of herself as a Dalit. She mentioned experiences of her childhood and high school days.In her high school hostel, the warden-sister commented on low-caste or poor children, "Look at the Cheri Children!"

Incident elucidating untouchablity:

Dalit colony in vengaivayal village under Tamilnadu's pudukottai district boycotted pongal festival and hoisted black flags in their house to protest against the police for their refusal to arrest the reprobate who put faecal matter into the water tank of the colony.

Source: The Indian Express - journal

Link : https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chennai/tamil-nadu-pudukkottai-dalit-colony-residents-boycott-pongal-celebrations-black-flags-8387875/