Deliverance and Joothan Contrast

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a) Write an answer comparing the oppression of Dukhi and

Omprakash Valmiki in the stories ‘Deliverance’ and ‘Joothan’.
Also give an account of their response to their oppression.
Dukhi and his family were from Dalit society. He was a tanner and his
job was to remove dead animals which was considered as dirty work
by the society. The untouchables ‘chamars’ were acutely conscious
and aware of their low status in the society. They knew their
limitations and could not afford to anger or displease the high caste
Brahman community. For the low caste people the Brahmans were
like God. Dukhi went to Pandit Ghasiram's house and requested him
to find an auspicious date for her daughter’s marriage. When Dukhi
reached the Pandit’s house, the Pandit was worshipping at that time.
His heart was filled with reverence to see such a godly figure. When
he requested the Pandit to find an auspicious date for her daughter’s
engagement, the Pandit asked Dukhi to do some work for him. The
Pandit asked him to clean and plaster the floor, put the hay in the
bran and cut the wood into planks. He did all the work but was
unable to cut the wood. He tried many times but all his efforts were
in vain. He was feeling weak so he took some tobacco for energy
from his friend Chikuri. He asked Pandit's wife to give him some fire
but she was enraged by the fact that Dukhi had entered in the
verandah which was against the caste rules of the society so she
threw the coal on his head. The Pandit went to eat without having
any concerns and care for Dukhi. He wasn’t given any food even after
all the work that he had done. He went on to break the wood until
finally it split down into two pieces. But dizziness took over him and
his exhausted body gave up. The Pandit asked the tanners to come
and take away Dukhi’s body but no one was ready to do that. The
Pandit himself dragged his body with a rope and left it in the fields
outside the village. When he came back home, he purified himself
and his house through prayers and by sprinkling holy water. Dukhi
who had committed his whole life in subservience to the high- caste
Brahmans gets the most wretched award for a whole life of
devotion, service and faith. Dukhi was given the name by his parents
to repel misfortune of life but the result was opposite. Dukhi lived in
extreme hardship and died pathetically. Even he could not have
funeral rituals. His body was eaten away by jackals, kites, dogs and
crows. The Pandit ensured that Dukhi is harassed in death as he was
in life.
Dukhi had accepted the norms of the so-called caste system with
full devotion. He had developed very high regard for the Brahmans,
to him they were like God whatever they do is always right. He had
learnt to tolerate all the oppression done on him by the Brahmans
without any protest. He became this much mentally enslaved that
when he was asked by the Pandit to do work in exchange of nothing,
he followed his order without any resistance. He died working for the
Brahmans but even after his death he faced the same humiliation as
he was facing in his life. Dukhi in all ways had accepted all the
oppression as his fate. In no way he was ready to resist the caste
system.
Omprakash Valmiki was a famous Dalit writer. During his school
days he had to face a lot of humiliation by the high caste teachers
and students. The government had opened the doors of government
schools for the low caste people but the ground reality was very
different. The mentality of the people had not changed much.
Omprakash Valmiki was admitted in the school when his father
begged the master. Being from the Chuhra caste he was made to sit
on the floor away from the others in the school. Sometimes he had
to sit behind everyone from where he was unable to see the board
clearly. The children of the Tyagis used to tease him by calling him
‘Chuhre ka’. He was also beaten by the students and punished by
teachers without any reason. He was so much humiliated that he
became introverted and developed fear of the upper caste people.
When he was in fourth class his Headmaster Kaliram asked him to
sweep the school and playground. The playground was very large,
while cleaning it, his back began to ache and all the dust went inside
his mouth. He had to do this work everyday. One day instead of
cleaning the playground he went to the class. The headmaster came
and abused him in front of the whole class. He returned to the
playground and started sweeping it with tears in his eyes.
The same day his father passed by the school. Seeing his child
working instead of studying at school he became very angry. He
confronted the headmaster with courage and protested against his
humiliation on his child. Then he went to the village to gather the
support of Tyagis but all his efforts were in vain. The next day he
took Omprakash Valmiki with him to the Pradhan’s house and told
him about the discrimination done with his child at the school. The
Pradhan assured him and asked him to send Omprakash to school.
Next day when Omprakash went to the school he was very afraid of
the headmaster but after some days everything calmed down.
Omprakash Valmiki did not accept the oppression of the upper
caste Tyagis. Although he was a Dalit, his father ensured that he does
not face any discrimination at the school. He even resisted the
humiliation of the headmaster and desired for equality in the school.
In no way he was ready to get humiliated or tortured by the norms of
the caste system. He continued to study even after facing humiliation
and oppressions of the upper caste people. He became an eminent
writer and raised his voice against the caste system of the society.

Deliverance and Joothan Contrast

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a) Write an answer comparing the oppression of Dukhi and

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