Authors:

Atreyee Sinha

Abstract:

Endogamy is an age- old compulsory condition for Brahminic India, as prescribed by Hindu scriptures, to maintain the purity of caste. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar thus advocates inter- caste marriage as the practical panacea to eradicate traditional caste stratification in Indian society. Though exogamy has been legitimised under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, still assimilation of caste through marriage remains a taboo in most part of India even in this twenty first century. Therefore, union outside caste are unlikely to get parental consent and turn to be revolutionary love stories. However, not all such unconventional marriages could exactly exemplify the similar spirit of Ambedkar’s view of exogamy. There remains a possibility underneath that their emotional bonding deteriorates to be an unsound marital relationship in this casteist society, at least in this seemingly caste- neutral state West Bengal. This article employs a deductive, analytical, objective method which assists to trace down those instances from Bengali Dalit writer Manju Bala’s short stories that may enquire if the Dalit girls are happily out- married or not.

Keywords:

love- marriage, Bengal, alienation, madness, suicide

Vol & Issue:

VOL.14, ISSUE No.1, March 2022