Subaltern theory.

Here, you can see the perspectives and some interesting examples of subaltern theory.

1. SUBALTERN THEORY Prepare by Tamsa pandya M.A sem -1

2. ROOTS OF THE WORD FROM THE LATIN ROOTS:  sub-  ("below"), alternus  ("all others")  SUBALTERN MEANCE EFFEMINATE DESULTORY CELIBATE JUNIOR PETTY

3. PROFOUNDER OF THE THORY “Subaltern”, meaning “of inferior rank”, is a term adopted by  Antonio Gramsci  to refer to those working class people in Soviet Union . Gramsci claimed that the history of the subaltern classes was just as complex as the history of the dominant classes, although the history of the latter is that which is accepted as the “official” history.

4. ANTONIO GRAMSCI GAYTRI SIPIVAK SAYS The subaltern is a technical term for a certain kind of dispossessed person . It is a person who fits within the model of the Oppressor/Oppressed as the being so marginalized as to not even have the ‘voice’ of the oppressed. So, symbolically, we might say that the colonizer is Self, the colonized is Other, and all of those who are invisible to both Self and Other are the subaltern.

5. PERSPACTIVE OF SUBALTERN THEORY The Subaltern perspective stands for understanding the society through conditions of subordination of people belonging to the different , C aste C lass A ge Gender R ace It seeks to present an alternate image of society through the viewpoint of the masses usually unrepresented. It seeks to restore a balance by highlighting the role of the masses as against the elites in political and social movements .

6. GAYTRI CHAKRAVORTY SIPIVAK The concept of the “subaltern” gained increased prominence and currency with Gayatri Spivak’s  Can the Subaltern Speak? (1985) which was a commentary on the work of the Subaltern Studies Group, questioning and exposing their patronizing attitude., Spivak adapts Derridean deconstructive techniques to point out the different forms of subject formations and “ othering .” Much of Spivak’s ideas are informed by her interactions with ‘the Subaltern Studies Group, including Ranajit Guha and Dipesh Chakrabarty.

7. COUNT….. Spivak suggests that it is impossible to recover the voice of the subaltern, hinting at the unimaginable extent of colonial repression and its historical intersection with patriarchy — which she illustrates with particular reference to colonial debates on  widow immolation  in India. As observed by scholars like   Lata Mani , in the colonial discussions on the practice of Sati , the Indian widow is absent as a subject and that the subject is denied a space to speak . She suggests that elite native men have found a way to “speak ”, but for those, .further down the hierarchy , self representation is almost impossible.

8. VERGHESE KURIEN According to Varghese (2009), subalternity became a superseding idea in literature (see also Simon and Varghese, 2010). Inspired by the social trend of subalternists, literary writers turned their writings towards activism (Varghese, 2009). To uplift the suppressed voices of society, they started to produce literature from a subaltern perspective. Thus subaltern literature became famous in South Asia, specifically in India and Bengal (Armstrong, 2010) and in North Africa and other places

9. Toni Morrison (1931-) and Alice Walker (1944-) seem to voice Afro- American subalterns. Morrison’s The Bluest Eye (1970) portrays the hegemony of blue eyes, a symbol of color based oppression. Her Sula (1973) and Tar Baby (1981) also revolve around the themes of color and gendered subalternity ( Firoz , 2006). Walker in The Color Purple (1982) breaks apart the subalternity of Celie by enlightening her inner self through the love of Shug Avery and Nettie

10. COUNT… Toni Morrison (1931-) and Alice Walker (1944-) seem to voice Afro- American subalterns . Morrison’s The Bluest Eye (1970) portrays the hegemony of blue eyes, a symbol of color based oppression . Her Sula (1973) and Tar Baby (1981) also revolve around the themes of color and gendered subalternity ( Firoz , 2006) . Walker in The Color Purple (1982) breaks apart the subalternity of Celie by enlightening her inner self through the love of Shug Avery and Nettie

11. COUNT… The voice of the Indian downtrodden, or subalterns, Mulk Raj Anand (19052004) unfolded the class based, caste bound and gendered subalternity of Indian subalterns including women, children and workers. His Untouchable (1935) represents the clash between Brahmins, upper class lords , and Shudras , lower class beasts. There in Anand creates the fictional character of Mahatma Gandhi , the representative of the true Indian freedom fighter , viz . Gandhi ji , to strengthen lower class Bakha and Sohni . Further, in Coolie (1936 ) Anand breaks the caste-based subalternity of Munno , a very poor and suppressed 14 years old boy. In Two leaves and a Bud (1937 ), he portrays class, colour and gendered subalternity and unveils the cruel face of a white master , Buta . Arundhati Roy , a political activist and a current feminist Indian authoress, also portrays gender and caste bound subalternity in her writings . In God of Small Things (1997 ), she gives voice to voiceless Dalit and gendered subalterns namely Ammu, Ayentha .