ABSTRACT
This chapter will attempt a theorisation of dalit literature from a Deleuzo-Guattarian lens to understand the milieu relevant to dalit writing, in terms of the assemblages of enunciation. This approach addresses the questions related to subjectivity, expressed as ‘Who writes dalit literature?’ and ‘Whom does it represent?’ Second, it will grapple with the polarities and affinities it shares with postcolonial literature. It will also address the function of desire, as crucial in becoming a body or in reterritorialising a victimised body through a chain of signifiers as felt in the creation of a new language of speaking about caste, and of the constitutional abolition of untouchability (Article 17). Dalit writing and its affects are argued here to be intrinsic to certain processes initiated by capitalism.
