The first Dalit autobiography in Punjabi to appear in English, 'Changiya Rukh' means a tree lopped from the top, slashed and dwarfed. Balbir Madhopuri uses it as a metaphor for the Dalit robbed by a tradition that places every sixth Indian beyond touchability. Significantly, by bringing forth fresh branches and leaves, the lopped tree proves its innate worth through defiant resilience.
Set in the village of Madhopur in Punjab, the work leads most centrally to the question of how a man conducts himself among people who either do not understand him or would like to see him in the slush where they think he belongs. Madhopuri's vision is both melancholy and honest as he captures and sensitively portrays the plight of his community despite all constitutional and legislative measures. But in the end, this real life story of a Dalit's rise from bonded labourhood to the editorship of a socio-economic journal is one of triumph of resistance, of achievement, and of hope.
Perceptively introduced and contextualized by Harish Puri, this book will appeal to students and teachers of caste studies, Indian literature in translation, comparative literature, and translation studies.
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