When I Hid My Caste

When I Hid My Caste is more than a book, it is a saga of dreadful and disgraceful experiences of the Dalits. It revolves around the Maharashtra of 1950s and covers the life of Mahars, one of the many Dalit castes in India. It is a collection of ten stories which depicts the distress and humiliation of the Mahar characters.

The first story Prisoner of Darkness is about a Mahar woman Bano who and her only son are ruthlessly attacked by a mob after her husband’s death. While she is mournful the village holds her responsible for her own husband’s death. They see her as a witch who is manipulative and harmful. Their rage fails them to understand that she is nothing but a helpless and innocent woman.

Bohada is the only story with a happy ending. Mahars in those days weren’t allowed to play lead roles in the Bohada where the dancers painted themselves as characters from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. But in that Bohada a Mahar tries to steal away one such important role with his revolt and cunningness.

Streetwalker is the story of a sex worker who goes to any extent to meet her dying child. Even if she tries to work hard all her hope dissipates after she is robbed and finds out that her son is already dead.

Dassehra Sacrifice as the name suggests is about how a Patil proudly sacrifices a buffalo for Dassehra, while mercilessly attacking it. Mahars of the village fight with all their strength to keep the beast in control. The story depicts the fake courage of a Patil hiding his timidness while the four well-built Mahars heroically fight with the buffalo even risking their lives. It also shows the superstition of callous killing of an innocent beast for the Goddess.

Few lines in the last story When I Hid My Caste got me thoroughly shaken. Here it is ‘in this luck-forsaken country, human beings should not be born as Dalits. If and when they are they must bear such sorrow and such disrespect as would make death seem an easier option, making a cup of poison a Dalit’s best friend.’ It is strange how people’s conduct change when they discover you are of a low caste even if they were kind to you before. In this story the protagonist is beaten up by the same man who once considered him his Guru when the former had hidden his caste.

In this book Baburao Bagul has surfaced the sufferings of the Dalits comprehensibly and made us question the age-old beliefs. The way even educated Dalits were treated was pitiful. I don’t think much has changed even now, do you? People still ask your surname, people still want to know your caste.

Please like my page on facebook "Click Here"