Global Journal of Human Social Science, C: Sociology and Culture, Volume 22 Issue 6

The gond sarcastically asked, “So can’t he even let you feed, even if he doesn’t give you money?” (20:16-21:19) and insisted Dukhi to ask Ghasiram “for some food” (21:20). But his conscience stopped him to take a favor as he believed that by asking Ghasiram to go to his house was already a favor so “how can I ask food?” (21:27-21:28). This is his ethics which is nothing but casted pearl before swine. He asked that gond for Bidi (low quality cigar) which might give him power to cut and even the gond gave it to Dukhi. Being a lower caste the gond felt the pain of Dukhi and helped him as much as he could. But Dukhi needed a fire to light the biri. He thought Ghasiram’s wife might help him with the fire. But unfortunately he was wrong. Her question “Why is that man come back again and again” (23:13-23:15) towards her husband and when her husband disclosed the reason of his coming her question why her husband went to “Now? In the middle of the day” (23:24) was really selfish. As it was not seems unfair to her to have Dukhi worked forcefully without remuneration ‘in the middle of the day’ but her husband’s going. This partiality is not just because Ghasiram was her husband but being a dalit this was his duty to work as per order of higher castes. Dukhi asked for fire to Ghasiram and listening to that Ghasiram showed a little grace as he asked her wife to give him fire. But her wife screamed with anger reminding Ghasiram that “You are not worried about anything of caste rules (Dharama-karama). Tanners, Washer men (Dhobi), Bird shooters (Pasi)… they just come walking in. As if it is not a decent Hindu house, but an inn” (23:43-23:51). She even more loudly said, “Tell him to get out or I will scorch his face with a fire brand” (23:54-23:58) so that Dukhi could hear. With that she added, “If he ever comes back here, I will give him the coals in his face” (24:16-24:20) which ironically remarked as “She was speaking the truth—how could a tanner ever come into a Brahman’s house? These people were clean and holy, that was why the whole world worshipped and respected them. A mere tanner was absolutely nothing” (Upadhyay & Ahmad, 2010). In reply for the first time patience of the Dukhi ignited and he just said in innuendo, “It’s because we are such fools that we get kicked about” ( Sadgati 24:39-24:41). After Dukhi’s departure the personal conversation of husband-wife brought out a little sympathy towards Dukhi but when it’s conflicted with their own comfort they easily neglected Dukhi’s basic needs which described as follows— Lakshmi (Ghasiram’s wife): “ Has the tanner had anything to eat? ” Ghasiram: “ Perhaps not. He is been here since morning ”. --“ How can he chop wood on an empty stomach? ” --“ Why don’t you give him something to eat? ” --“ Then let him be hungry. I can’t go cooking in this hot weather ”. (24:51-25:19) After smoked the hookah due to physical weakness he felt asleep which was not tolerated by the Brahmin and said, “Have you come here to snooze?” (25:49-25:50) and Dukhi for the first time admitted, “I had nothing to eat since this morning” (30:10-30:12) which was easily thwarted by Ghasiram by saying, “So what? Finish your work, go home and eat whatever you want” (30:14-30:17) and alarmed him, “So if you don’t find an auspicious date for your daughter’s marriage don’t blame me” (30:25-30:29). He ordered boldly, “Hit hard…. Don’t stop until you have split it” (31:34-31:44). Hearing this, Dukhi’s stubbornness rose and he madly hit the wood and after a couple of minute’s hard struggle he fallen down. Dukhi died. His death was happened without a single protest which Zutsh describes “…stories like ‘Sadgati’, he occasionally thrusts questions and statements at the readers that are capable of creating ripples in the smooth waters of the reader's probable indifference towards those problems” (quoted in Asaduddin & Ghosh, 2012). Even Ghasiram’s wife reacted Dukhi’s death very casually like, “Go to the tanners’ colony. Tell them to come and take the corpse away…. maybe he had fever. Some people die in their sleep, don’t they? After all, you didn’t know that he would die” ( Sadgati 34:04-34:25). And initially we assumes that the Brahmin couple is the reason behind his death but if we think deeply we understand the Brahmin couple is just a part of the society but main culprit of this oppression and repression is the society with its evil caste system and prejudices. The caste discrimination was not ended yet. The dead body of Dukhi made a trouble for the upper caste as it was lying on the way of upper castes’ well. So being an untouchable dead body it makes their way profane and without making the well holy they couldn’t take water from it. And no doughty “This is a serious matter” (37:31-37:35) for them and was cleared by the words of a Brahmin, “Until the corpse is removed, we can’t use this road to go to well. How long we live without water?” (37:36-37:42) On the other side no sooner did that gond informed about the death of Dukhi than he went to tanners’ colony and assimilated the dalits and induced them to protest against this wrong doing and alert them “He (Ghasiram) will ask to remove the corpse…don’t touch the corpse, or you will be in trouble with police” (35:24-35:32) as “it’s a police case and the guilty one in the Brahmin” (35:33-35:39). After some time Ghasiram came to tanners’ colony and asked to remove the dead body but by their attitude he understood, “They would not remove this corpse” (38:30-38:32). But Lakshmi’s attitude was like if they didn’t remove the corpse it’s their sin because being Brahmin they couldn’t remove that dead body. But her husband said, “They just turned a © 2022 Global Journals Volume XXII Issue VI Version I 67 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2022 C Understanding Scenario of Casteism in Twentieth Century India through Satyajit Ray Film Sadgati