RELIGIOUS DISILLUSIONMENT: A STUDY OF CHRISTIAN CASTEISM IN BAMA'S KARUKKU

Karukku presents the spiritual development of the narrator through her beliefs as a Christian and her realisation as a Dalit. The protagonist Faustina Mary Fatima Rani, a Roman Catholic as well as a Tamil Dalit woman, provides a deep insight into how the Church shaped and regulated the lives of Dalit Christians. Due to the caste and social system based on the Chaturvarnik order outlined in the Vedas and Puranas, Dalits have been pushed to social, cultural, spiritual and political margins. Through Mahanirvana (conversion to Christianity), Dalits hoped to get rid of the clutches of the caste system and dreamt of establishing an egalitarian society. However, the hollow practices of conversion have proven a nightmare for Dalits as they face oppression at the Church and convent too. The paper observes the contradictions between Christian ideals of equality and the reality of caste discrimination as depicted in Bama’s autobiographical narrative Karukku. It examines how the deceptive religious beliefs contribute to the social and spiritual marginalisation of Dalit Christians. The paper contends that Karukku reveals a profound disillusionment with Christian institutions, emphasising the disparity between doctrinal ideals of equality and the discriminatory practices of convents, Churches and educational institutions. Bama’s writing serves as both a critique of tyrannical religious systems and a significant declaration of Dalit identity, empowerment and resistance. By elucidating the falsehoods of institutional faith, Karukku prompts readers to reconsider the connection between caste, religion and social justice in contemporary India.Key Words: Dalits, Christianity, Oppression, Church, Religious Beliefs & Disillusionment