Experiences of Schooling and Studenthood: Contextualising Dalit–Bahujan Autobiographies

This article examines the schooling experiences of Dalit–Bahujan students in India through a reading of select Dalit–Bahujan autobiographies. Dropout rates of Dalit–Bahujan students from schools and their suicides in higher educational institutions are a matter of concern for the state and educationalists. At the same time, there is a lack of studies that attempt to understand their ‘experiences’ of schooling. Quantitative research is often inadequate to document how they ‘feel’ inside the school space. We argue that Dalit–Bahujan autobiographies are a valid source for understanding the ‘experiences’ of Dalit–Bahujan students affectively. Considering the historical specificity and political significance of the terms ‘Dalit’ and ‘Bahujan’, we propose ‘Dalit–Bahujan studenthood’ as a framework to perceive the particularity of experiences of the Dalit–Bahujan child as a student. The attempt here is to elucidate the usefulness of Dalit–Bahujan autobiographies as a resource for educators and pedagogic practitioners to understand Dalit–Bahujan students’ lifeworld, which, in turn, can enhance the experience of schooling for Dalit–Bahujan students. The article closely reads Dalit autobiographies such as Joothan (2003) by Omprakash Valmiki, Baluta (2015) by Daya Pawar, and Interrogating My Chandal Life: An Autobiography of a Dalit (2018) by Manoranjan Byapari and the autobiography From a Shepherd Boy to an Intellectual: My Memoirs (2019) by Bahujan scholar Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd.