Aesthetics of Resistance: Dalit Experience in Laxman Gaikwad's Autobiography The Branded

This paper explores the aesthetics of protest in Dalit literature through Laxman Gaikwad’s The Branded, a Sahitya Akademi Award- winning autobiography that unveils the grim realities of the uchalya (pathrut) community in Maharashtra. Dalit writing,like other forms of protest literature (Black, Queer, and Subaltern), prioritizes content over form and often shocks the reader into self-reflection and socialawareness. In Gaikwad’s narrative, protest is not just literary- it is lived. His work deconstructs the stigma of “born criminals” imposed on his community and challenges the entrenched hegemony on upper-caste society. By blending personal narrative with collective trauma, The Branded provides poignant commentary on caste-based exclusion, poverty and systematic violence. It also reflects on how traditional structures- economic, educational, religious and political- collude to marginalize Dalits and Vimukta Jatis. The paper positions The Branded within the large spectrum of Dalit literary traditions and interrogates its aesthetics through the lens of social realism and political resistance. Through critical analysis this study underlines how Gaikwad’s work embodies Dalit consciousness defies castiest structures, and foregrounds the lived realities of the oppressed. The text does not merely seek literary appreciation but demands cultural and political introspection. The concluding section synthesizes this literary resistance as a call toward inclusivity and human dignity.