Projects per year
Abstract
In the past decade, there have been an increasing number of academic articles on the dalit drum or parai. For the most part, they note the processes by which this once humiliating caste service has been re-symbolised as an art form and has become central to dalit struggles for liberation. In such articles, there is an easy assumption that the parai is an art that dalits can take pride in. In this article, I problematise such claims by pointing to dissenting voices and campaigns by people who claim that the celebration of the drum merely perpetuates degradation. This raises questions such as who speaks for a community, whether a symbol of oppression can truly become an icon of resistance and how marginalised communities can construct positive identities when their cultural memories and practices are inescapably associated with their subordination.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1-26 |
Number of pages | 26 |
Journal | Contributions to indian Sociology |
Volume | 50 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 3 Feb 2016 |
Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)
- dalit
- caste
- stigma
- identity
- drumming
- Madurai
- Tamil Nadu
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Dive into the research topics of 'Drumming out oppression, or drumming it in? Identity, culture and contention in dalit politics'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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DALIT POLITICS AND DEMOCRATISATION IN TAMIL NADU: CHARTING THE IMPACT OF THE LIBERATION PANTHER PARTY
Jeffery, R. & Gorringe, H.
1/01/12 → 31/12/13
Project: Research
Profiles
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Hugo Gorringe
- School of Social and Political Science - Personal Chair of Social Mobilisation
Person: Academic: Research Active