Dalits, Reform, and the Brahmin Social World in Viswanatha Satyanarayana’s Nīla Peṇḍli

Nitin Kodakandla

doi:10.47814/ijssrr.v8i2.2591

Nitin Kodakandla University of Hyderabad, India

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47814/ijssrr.v8i2.2591

Keywords: Dalits, Social Reform, Brahminic, Caste Politics, Western Modernity, Viswanatha Satyanarayana

Abstract

The nineteenth and twentieth centuries witnessed the rise of social reform as a transformative force in Indian society, challenging entrenched caste hierarchies and reconfiguring social relationships. Viswanatha Satyanarayana’s novels, deeply engaged with the issues of social reform and the politics of modernity and tradition, have however remained largely overlooked in social science research. Through a critical reading of Viswanatha’s Nīla Peṇḍli from a social science perspective, this article makes a start in engaging with his political thought. Nīla Peṇḍli portrays the relentless advance of social reform and interrogates the eagerness with which society is embracing it without considering its consequences. By examining conservative responses to social reform and Dalit assertion, this article throws light on the anxieties of the Brahmin conservatives in the face of these changes, and the discursive strategies they adopt to negotiate and be relevant in a changing world.

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