Use of myth in dalit autobiographies (with special reference to Sharankumar Limbale's ‘the outcaste, akkarmashi’ and omprakash valmiki's ‘joothan: A dalit's life’)

Dalit autobiographies are portrayal of real Dalit life experiences through which Dalits have been undergoing through the ages. These autobiographies put forth the pain, agony, discrimination and rejection of Dalits by Savarna people. These autobiographies are testimonies of three phases through which Dalit protagonist shows his reaction towards the exploitative system. These are pain, protest and rejection or denial. The present paper throws light on the myths used by the autobiographers to expose the unequal social order prevalent in India. The paper is written with an sole objective to throw light on the myths used by the autobiographers SharankumarLimbale and Omprakash Valmiki in their autobiographies ‘The Outcaste, Akkarmashi’ and Omprakash Valmiki's ‘Joothan: A Dalit's Life’. In this paper the attempt will be made to reveal the purpose of autobiographers in using those myths.