Volume IV Special Issue V June 2024

Name of Author : Dr. Mahuya Bhauik

Title of the paper : Purity Versus Pollution: Contextualising Dalit Ecology

Abstract: In the Indian caste based social construct Dalits belong to the lowest rung of the social hierarchy. They are the most discriminated against and humiliated segment of the society who are not only dominated by the Brahminical hegemony but are also forced to be involved in petty menial jobs which makes them susceptible to ecological hazards. Further, their unhygienic living condition, lack of sanitation facilities dehumanize their state of living and make them vulnerable to ecological precarity. It is an irony that though they are involved in all kinds of agricultural activities, they are denied the right to be owners of lands which is the privilege of the pure upper castes. The Dalit bodies are considered to be impure and their touch is polluting. Hence they are denied the basic ecological resources like drinking water and land. The binary between pure and impure is stretched to the level of relegating the Dalits to the verge of being sources of pollution though they consistently work to keep the environment pure by being an integral part of waste and pollution management. This paper will try to locate the lacuna in the caste-based social construct where Dalits are striving to maintain ecological purity but are themselves stigmatized as being sources of pollution.

Keywords : Ecology, Dalit, Pure, Impure, Pollution

DOI :

Page Number : 12-17