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

Hundreds of Dalits in the village were displaced from their home after their houses were burnt and looted. Scholars have reported that the massacre happened because a Dalit (Madiga) boy objected to a Kamma boy soiling the water tank where Dalits drew their drinking water (Andhra Pradesh Civil Libraries Committee, 1985). The massacre has highlighted the discriminatory and violent tendencies of caste hierarchies. Here we can relate this scenario with the fiction scenario of film Sadgati. Ranvir Sena is a militia functioning as a higher- caste landlord group based in Bihar. It has committed violent acts against Dalits and other lower castes people which are as follows— 1) 21 Dalits including 11 women, six children and three infants were slaughtered on 11 July 1996 by the Ranvir Sena in Bathani Tola, Bhojpur district . The perpetrators targeted women and children in particular, so as to deter any future resistance (Banerjee, 2012). 2) On 1 December 1997, sena members killed 63 Dalits–16 children, 27 women and 18 men–by guns in Laxmanpur-Bathe . The dead included 5 teenage girls who had been raped and mutilated before being shot, and 8 people from the Mallah community (Narula, 1999). Like this there is multiple example of brutality of Ranvir Sena towards lower castes. And in rural to urban level of India such incidents were not rare then and even today. In Tsundur massacre 8 dalits were killed on the 6 August 1991. In Melavalavu massacre six Dalits were killed in June 1996. The list is endless. So after analyzing so much evidence of caste based oppression and torture we can say that defiantly Ray’s Sadgati was not mythic story but actually iniquitous scenario of social discrimination. IV. C onclusion “Sadgati vividly sketches the pitiless plight of the Chamars in the discredited lives they lead and the ignominious death they face” (Kant, 2017). Now-a-days this situation might have been changed slightly, but not totally. So the question is— is there any relevance of caste based discrimination and oppression today? The answer lies in some newspaper headlines like recent Hathras dalit girl rape and murder case; a dalit boy is brutally beaten up by his school teacher & later died for touching upper caste’s water pot (Ghosh, 2022); a dalit was being threatened with dead threats by the Thakurs of his village after he complained that utensils of Scheduled Castes school children used for their mid-day meals were kept apart on the premises, and washed by the children themselves (Rehman, 2021). All these can clearly describe how casteism is relevance even today. Unfortunately the news of oppression, exploitation and marginalization of lower caste people wouldn’t end yet. There is millions of similar news available on newspaper archives. The most astonishing thing is when the world is trying to combat with cancer, missiles are sending to the universe, train lines are being made under river; bullet trains are attaining new technologies to run faster a dalit individual being born in lower caste family is facing of caste based torture somewhere in remote India. We can say in urban and metropolitan cities this scenario of dalit torture might be lesser but not abolish. But in rural India it is massive to control though Indian Constitution protects the rights of all people irrespective of caste. It conserves equal opportunity to every citizen. However, we can conclude by understanding the reference of Sadgati even today with Bhaskar Chattopadhyay’s remark “The story of Sadgati was written almost one hundred years ago. The film itself was made 40 years ago. But even today, the evil shadow of untouchability and caste crimes hover over us” (2017). R eferences R éférences R eferencias 1. Andhra Pradesh Civil Libraries Committee. (1985). Karamchedu Massacre: A Report. https://web. archive.org/web/20140801202415/http ://www.unipu ne.ac.in/snc/cssh/HumanRights/05%20STATE%20A GRICULTURE%20FOREST%20DALITS%20AND%20 TRIBALS/08.pdf 2. Arqulla, John. (2011). Insurgents, Raiders, and Bandits: How Masters of Irregular Warfare Have Shaped Our W orld . Chic ago: Ivan R. Dee. 3. Asaduddin & Ghosh, Anuradha (Eds.). (2012). Filming Fiction: Tagore, Premchand, and Ray . India: OUP. 4. Asaduddin (Ed.). (2016). Premchand in World Languages: Translation, reception and cinematic representations . New York: Routledge. 5. Banerjee, Shoumojit. (2012, April 17). All accused in 1996 Bihar Dalit carnage acquitted. The Hindu . https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/all-accus ed-in-1996-bihar-dalit-carnage-acquitted/article332 1368.ece 6. Chattopadhyay, Bhaskar. (2017, October 08). Sadgati: Based on Premchand’s story, Satyajit Ray took a scathing look at the tragic lives of untouchables. Firstpost . https://www.firstpost.com/ entertainment/sadgati-based-on-premchands-story- satyajit-ray-took-a-scathing-look-at-the-tragic-lives- of-untouchables-4115527.html 7. Deshpande. Manali S. (2010). History of Indian Caste System and Its Impact on India Today . California: San Luis Obispo Fall. © 2022 Global Journals Volume XXII Issue VI Version I 69 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2022 C Understanding Scenario of Casteism in Twentieth Century India through Satyajit Ray Film Sadgati