A quest for human rights of the marginalized class in the selected poems of Meena Kandasamy Kose Rajesh Marotrao1, Dr. Sheikh Neehal R.2 1Research Scholar, Centre for Higher Learning & Research, Santaji Mahavidyalaya, Nagpur, E-Mail: koserajesh2015@gmail.com 2Research Supervisor, Centre for Higher Learning & Research, Santaji Mahavidyalaya, Nagpur, E-Mail: neehalraza@gmail.com Online published on 23 March, 2023. Abstract Meena Kandasamy's works focuses on the themes of Caste-Annihilation, Communism, Human Rights, Trauma studies and Feminism. Her first Poetry collection, ‘Touch’, was published in 2006 and second ‘Ms. Militancy’ in 2010. Apart from her literary works, she is in the habit of writing on contemporary Political and Social issues like Corruption, Caste discrimination, Domestic Violence, Child and women Rape, Women's Rights, Environment crisis, and the Education System. Analyzing Indian English Literature at a broad level, the first phase of Indian writing started in the second half of the eighteenth century. The Indian writers from upper castes discussed all issues and facets of human experiences and thoughts in English literature since the colonial period. But the major question of marginalized section of society (Dalits and Women) were never either discussed or solved by them. The Dalits and Women are equally considered as the marginalized classes of society; ‘subalterns and other’ in the post-modern literature and therefore are ill-treated in every aspect of social life. In post-independent India in 1970's, a majority of writers from Dalit Communities known as ‘Dalit Panthers’ were inspired by the writings of Mahatma Jyotiba Fule and Dr. Ambedkar. This was the first generation of literate Dalit writers which helped in creating a new type of literature called as Dalit literature comprising its own Dalit Aesthetics and cultural values despite of their untouchable caste, struggles, agonies of hunger, poverty, and helplessness. Meena Kandasamy is one such young woman Dalit writer who in her career focuses not only on romantic love poetry but also on militant verse fully based on Dalit and Gender discrimination. She tried to maintain a balance between her romantic and rebellious attitude. She writes poetry with surety of expressing her rebellious attitude against the inhuman World.. She is not against the romantic poetry but she believes that writing for her is a freedom of expressing her gender identity, her castlessness and language especially with pride. ‘Human Rights’ is an accepted term for ‘natural rights’ which briefly refers to those rights possessed by human beings especially needed for survival. The present research paper throws light on a quest for human rights of the marginalized sections of society in the selected poems Meena Kandasamy. Top Keywords Caste, Gender discrimination, Human rights, Dalit Literature, Marginalization. Top |