THE CASTE SYSTEM IN INDIA AND ITS REPRESENTATION IN "THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS" BY ARUNDHATI ROY
Abstract
Theoretically, we all are equals. The same species – Homo Sapiens. But in the real world, dividers are nearly endless – whether it is the color of someone’s skin, the community they were born in, the religion they practice or not, the gender they conform to, the age group they belong to, and the kind of work they do. These dividers are almost inevitable – but trouble ensues when they get out of hand. All the low caste communities that were tortured in India for centuries, all the African Americans who were enslaved and sold, the thousands of Jews who were slaughtered mercilessly, the way women were (and still are) tortured in endless ways, they all were the victims of discrimination that existed on a vast scale. Even in the 21st century, these dividers continue to infest human society, and no one can claim that they will be completely extinct in the near future. The present paper deals with one such divider – casteism and its representation in Indian Author and activist Arundhati Roy’s magnum opus “The God of Small Things”.
Keywords: Caste System in India, Untouchability, Casteism in “The God of Small Things”.
References
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