A Study of Representation of Caste and Feminism Issues by Indian Writers

I. INTRODUCTION

The Indian English Literature is found to achieve a status independent from the literary domain of the world. This portrays the culture, social ecosystem and convention of India along with the history depicting the life of people in India and the people thriving at a different place. The young Indian women writers share an uncommon viewed standpoint in accordance with the above since it states they are exposed to anxiety and with the stain lined subjected to women are measured. One of the critical improvements in the writing of modern Indian women and the Dalit works appear to be the women activities extension or an approach directed towards woman, one that seeks the expansion and the ability to translate with respect to sensibility and female awareness. The women belonging to the Dalit are subjected to patriarchy similar to other women, enduring intense obstacles to the quiet presence. In lieu of above, it is not common to view a Dalit woman as one being the leader no matter if she is at home or at work place, and at political or social organization. The above appears impossible to see a Dalit having powers or is a leader. As a result, in spite of the fact that she could figure way to acknowledge the balance, the most out of power position of the women as Sarpanches in the panchayat ade often more than one not confronting danger, mortification, and physical brutality, as they cannot see a woman of Dalit as a pacesetter. Feminism is viewed as an ideology indifferent from oppression and women exploitation in any patriarchal system. The aim of feminism is establishment of and defending the equal economic, political, and social rights with equal instance for women. ―Sex‖ is one biological term and ―Gender‖ is kind of a psychological and a cultural term. A fact that is common suggest that sex of a man or a woman can be found by anatomy, concept's that prevails pertaining to gender, and of the characteristics that are masculine and one that is feminine appear to be temperament and in behavior are largely, in case not entirely, the social constructs that has been generated by our civilization's patriarchal biases (Abrams, et. al., 2009). All the culture and traditions worldwide, women are viewed inferior and not capable of serious action or thoughts. Priests, Legislators, philosophers, scientist and writers states Simone de Beauvoir, strive to show a women's subordinate position is beneficial to earth. Caste inequality is one of the most popular subjects present in literary works of Indian writers. But, the marginalization issue and the oppression of Dalit woman are not discussed. The problem concerned with Dalit women have been considered serious only by the scholar's or the political leaders. The above could be justified by the

Meena Kandasamy, states their concerns pertinent with ―sexual politics‖ along with writings of caste inequality. She is seen to stand apart from the women poets of contemporary India that are subjugated to dualities, owing to the dilemma prevailing amidst what they should do and what they wish to do. She portrays the subject of caste discrimination and inequality along with a precision. Further, she anatomizes the picture of women in India in all her work. The world today is seen shifting owing to the tide of globalisation. All Textbooks are crossing the country‘s borderlines and the new age women writers are publishing literary works on the basis of women marginalization accepting that they uptake the crusade hostile to the customs established. The title ‗new woman‘ implies women having a new way to see life and each would experience the transformation in their attitude throughout her life. Today, the new age women exposes the oppression thriving and are turning self-confident, self-guiding, adept competitive in a way reclaiming her identity or personality in her society with rules incipient as she redefines in the wake of feminine awareness and sensibility. The new age new woman endeavours to mutilate her life. The new age woman concept flares beyond boundaries and strive to strike a war in opposition to the existing patriarchal system where the gender, caste, sex, class and race appear as oppression simultaneous factors. The New Woman‘ is an icon that re-read the concepts and the virtues of the earlier women who are the result of inevitably and ineluctable transformation that occurs in the society since the nation marches to stay at par with other. The New age Woman has been born out of violence, psychological torture and molestation of the society. They have now reached the society's forefront so as to maintain human connection amidst the people community allowing men and women to be pro-convivial having better understanding and an excellent interpersonal relationship. Today, the powerful women showcases characters that are visualized in the poetical works of the eminent writer Meena Kandasamy that wage open the wars to prevent themselves against the rules of patriarchy, liberating women from the subservient position to lay an action of transformations. The current research work relies on secondary data. These resources are magazines, peer reviewed journals, articles and more. Using these resources various issues of caste feminism by the Indian writers are analysed. To collect secondary data for research, various resources via which the data can be found. The researcher uses the data that has been taken before the research. The common resources taken to extract data are: magazines, newspapers, articles,

Marriage is one of those institutions that is overrated and brings two people together that exchange lifetime vows till death freak them out. As per the culture, the society of Indias sees marriage as a sacrosanct and an ultimate destination for any woman. The system of patriarchy suggests that women must care for her husband along with his family to voice her father's honor. She has no say over taking important decision in term of conjugal rights. The entire power is in her husband's hand. This seems disheartening to view the moderate deterioration of status of Indian woman in the society. The Indian women status yet fails to escape the pitiless power clutch. In terms of an unfair play a woman needs to pay. People in India are more parietal than nature to womem. Capabilities of a woman are assessed in opposition to the power she never has in her hands. For women, life does not offer any good. All needs to suffer for her passion, dedication, her attitude along in terms of how she wishes to live. The above lopsided statement enables the one in power to ruin her life, suppress and demolish them (Kashyap, 2018). Dreams and Aspirations does not get fulfilled always, marriages fail to turn successful, with the romantic fairy tale not necessarily consummates and the cruel reality is viewed in the novel by Meena Kandasamy entitled ―When I Hit You: Or, The Gypsy Goddess and A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife‖. In a contemporary scenario, discussion about radical feminism, ecofeminism, and eco centrism is conducted. The women writers of India opine their concerns since five decades in opposition to plenty of caste inequality and atrocities meeting out to them. Marriage, for one of the ordinary woman in India suggests galore of happiness as ironically the term marriage is associated with sacrosanct and two family union and not just persons. Woman in India feels that satisfying her partner sexually is a vow she took while marrying. However, men do not feel this amd appears to be more aggressive. She, in her novel entitled ―The Gypsy Goddess‖ moves the spotlight in wake of the women bounded between have and have not. Injustice and Oppression need a new dimension that relies on the actual killing that the nation saw during independence. Meena Kandasamy brought the society's patriarchal norms that allows men domination and also subjugation with body and at the same time the own showing the absence of preparedness to underake the radical feminism previaling in the society. The researcher digged in the plight issues of the new age Indian woman that reminds her that she is just a woman. She is not allowed to voice against abuse, marital rape, and fundamental rights

Caste specified the roles, activities, behavior and the attribute which a specific society seek apt for women and men. The social, cultural, economic and the political forces determine what influences men as well as women. The difference of finds the structural inequality previaling between a man and a woman. This discrimination on the basis of a person caste perpetuates via the psychological and the social-cultural mechanisms existing in the society. The social marginalization question and the caste inequality issue aren‘t to be separated (Athwale, 2014). Indian society appears to own kind of arrangements, social mechanisms, Institutions and customs that are the modes to perpetuate and set up women subjugation in India. As India is a nation that has man domination, a system of patriarchy, and one that restrict women of their basic rights. Woman has been denied many rights, as one being right to education along with the power to decide for her life and is not deemed equal as men. She faces issues such as a patriarchal family structure, polygamy, child marriage, endogamy, and unequal share of family property, system of ―Purdah‖, permanent widowhood and a lot more adds to the obstacle for woman development. Women are excluded from discourse of public and remain restricted to family's ―domestic sphere‖ and to work as they aren't taught to read or write and minimal documentary persist relating to the lives of fore mother (Rao, 2004). Inspite of the constitutional safeguards prevailing today, the woman situation in India today remains unaltered and if this equality persist then the domestic violence, discrimination and the subject to stays. Men still are the head of family , and the bride's family need to give dowry, cases of women sexual assault are commonly heard, and woman are yet to own the decisive power relating to issues about her marriage, career and others. The caste system in India also relates to the discriminatory status of a woman. It features such as the endogamy, way to exercise power over the women sexuality and labor, adding to the concept if pollution and purity, one they differs people from all. The most efficient weapon that leads to the perpetuation of unequal status of women was denying the society‘s weaker sections the access to resources of education [4]. Indian society appears to own kind of arrangements, social mechanisms, Institutions and customs that are the modes to perpetuate and set up women subjugation in India. As India is a nation that has man domination, a system of patriarchy, and one that restrict women of their basic rights. Woman has been denied many rights, as one being right to education along with the power to decide for her life exercise power over the women sexuality and labor, adding to the concept if pollution and purity, one they differs people from all. The most efficient weapon that leads to the perpetuation of unequal status of women was denying the society‘s weaker sections the access to resources of education. The current paper emphasizes on the poetry of Kandasamy and the way she focuses on women issues and caste annihilation to be same as man. It suggests that the Dalit woman is subjected to lust of higher caste men, and Fight in opposition to the perpetuated injustice against them. So, the above paper helps marginalized people that plead for equality, liberty, Justice and, fraternity, to live with honour and needed dignity (Glory, 2018). Gender inequality is one of the common subjects as taken up by the writers of India to showcase their creativity. However, the issues of women exploitation and their disparagement is not said in above things. Issues as the women relates are rarely in interest of the leaders or the writers. The consequences might need the emphasis on the condition of women and their financial status. Few of the Indian contemporary writers, such as Arundhati Roy, Kamala Das, Sivakami, Bama, and Meena Kandasamy, state their anxieties pertinent with sexual orientation and politics in their writings (Glory, 2018). Kandasamy takes a unique stand from all other writers of India that are subject to duality, based on issues amidst what they should write, require and what she shows in the themes of gender inequality, caste discrimination with needed accuracy. Kandasamy has examined the system of Indian woman suppression in all her works. She shows women, mainly the ones marginalized does not have the casualty similar to that of higher caste men. The current paper emphasize on how poetry of Kandasamy concentrates on woman issues and caste annihilation to stay same as that of men. Further, it shows that the women of Dalit are victims of lust and also fight against perpetuated injustice for their equality. Gender, Caste, and patriarchy, are issues pertaining to the injustice, inequality, and also exploitation. The Caste hierarchy dividends the society to four different groups as: Brahmins, Vaihsa, Kshetriya, and Shudra. It not just segregates the society to four section but also groups their work and duty. A human gets his Caste by birth. They cannot go away from caste system. In such a global era and a computerized- technological, the government of India envisions make in India and also caste digital India, even gender inequality, casteism, and the system of patriarchy exists in the social system of India. Few

Until and unless we eliminate gender and caste from the group of employment ads, and educational certificates, the thought of inequality, casteism, and indifferences would not cease from the social system of India. Today the people educated are more conscious related to caste so. However, this consciousness cannot eliminate gender inequality and casteism (Laxman, 2016). Mattam (2017)has proved that Meena Kandasamy is ingenious in all her works answering the questions about the sustainability of new woman (Mattam, 2017). Also, the above concludes that the way Meena Kandasamy touches the issues such as casteism, untouchability; woman disrespect in society of India has been reflected in her poems very well.

Meena Kandasamy, a Chennai based young poet, translator and a fictional writer. She in her first book that was published in 2006 Touch... Her two poems got prize in competition of all-India poetry. Her works has been up in many journals as Kavya Bharti, The Little Magazine, Muse India, Indian Horizons, and Quarterly Literary Review, in Singapore. She also edited The Dalit, an English bi-monthly magazine of Dalit Media Network during 2001 to 2002. Anita Desai, is another prominent English Indian women novelist, and was born in Delhi on June 24, 1937 to Bengali Father and German mother. She was brought up in an environment where she learned to speak German at her house and at school, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, and English. She was married to a business man named Aswhin Desai. They are parents of four children, and one among them is Kiran Desai who got a Booker Prize for her novel. Cry, the Peacock, her first book was published in the year 1963 in England and few others In Custody (1984) , Baumgartner‘s Bombay (1988) etc She is one of the distinguished Indian women novelist. She owns recognition in India as well as overseas. Writers irrespective of all age prefer penning about women. Using her short stories and novels, she lays emphasis on the issues of Dalit, the middle class contemorot Indian women as they take an attempt to cope with the societal limitations added to their lives owing to patriarchal culture. In her novels, she delineates the character of women since she is moved by the couplets. Rao (2004) a post-independence fiction writers (Rao, 2004). People know her for ability and sincerity stating the issues of the middle class urban women. Her writings reflect the Indian culture gamot. A Dynamic woman, she has written four short stories and seven novels. She received the Sahitya Academy Award for That Long Silence (1989). and Small Remedies (2000)etc. Shows woman consciousness. Here, the novelist shows the psychological issues of woman stating it effectively and not going beyond boundaries. The novel transcends women constraints and gives rise to issues to all encounters in daily life. She aims to show ways to refuge self. It suggests that woman most ascertain and assert her, to overcome suppressing forces. Bharati Mukherjee, born July 27, 1940 in Hindu Brahmin family belonging to upper –middle class in Calcutta, India. Of Sudhir Lal three daughters, the second Bina Mukherjee, lived with her relative 40 to 50 till she was eight. All of them were provided excellent academic opportunities. All took up the endeavor academic in career and attain better schooling. In the year 1947, her father received job in England with all shifting there till 1951. This imposed Mukherjee with a development opportunity and Horne her skills of English. She excelled as a graduate of B A. honors from Calcutta University in 1959. Next, all moved to Baroda, and did her master's in 1968. After this in 1961, she went to University of Iowa to be part of the workshop of prestigious writer and pursued Masters of Fine Arts from there. Despite returning to marry to India a groom of her father's choice, she married a Canadian writer, Clark Blaise. Then she pursued Ph. D. in English and also comparative literature in 1969 forms the same University. Then she went to Canada with Clark and owned in 1962 a naturalized citizen. There, she was subject to discrimination and has said this in most interviews. At this time, she penned novels, Wife (1975) and The Tiger‘s Daughter (1971).

The current paper analyses the problems of caste feminism of Indian writers. It saw that Feminism appears as an ideology in opposition to the women exploitation and oppression in the system of patriarchy. The aim of feminism is establishment and defending the equal women opportunities. The paper further saw that caste suggests behavior, constructed roles, attributes and, activities, which seek apt for women and men. The above is assessed by the social, cultural, and the economic forces affecting behavior of both men and women. Also, the difference in caste emphasizes on the structural inequality amidst a man and a woman. This discrimination reliant on a person's caste perpetuates via the psychological and the social-cultural mechanisms in the society. The social marginalization question and the caste inequality issues are inseparable.

Handbook of Literary Terms. New Delhi: Cengage Learning. Print. 2. Kumar, R. (2010). Dalit Personal Narratives: Reading Caste, Nation and Identity. Kolkata: Orient Black Swan. Print. 3. Kashyap, T. (2018). Feminist study in Meena Kandasamy‘s novels ―when i hit you: or, a portrait of the writer as a young wife‖ and ―the gypsy goddess”. Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL), 6(3). 4. Athwale, S. (2014). A Quest for Gender Equality in Meena Kandasamy‘s Touch. International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature (IJSELL), 2(5), pp. 96-99. 5. Rao, G. V. (2004). Women and Society. Mumbai: Himalaya Publishing House. Print. 6. Glory, A. (2018). Treatment of Women in Meena Kandasamy‘s Touch. Indian Writing in English: A Subaltern Perspective, 18(3). 7. Laxman, J. N. (2016). Reflection of caste, gender and patriarchy in meena kandasamy‘s: touch. An International Multidisciplinary, 2(1). 8. Mattam, A. J. (2017). Projection of ‗New Woman‘ in Meena Kandasamy‘s Poems: An Analysis. International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR), 4(2).

Ph.D. Research Scholar, School of Languages, Literature and Society, Jaipur National University, Jagatpura, Jaipur, Rajasthan