Linguistic Humor and Resistance in Dalit Autobiographies

Abstract

Dalit autobiographies have long been recognized for their unflinching portrayals of caste oppression, yet the strategic deployment of humor within these texts remains underexplored. This study undertakes a rigorous examination of linguistic humor—encompassing incongruity, satire, parody, and self-deprecating devices—in three landmark Dalit life histories: Omprakash Valmiki’s Joothan, Bama’s Karukku, and Urmila Pawar’s Aaydan. Grounded in critical Dalit theory and contemporary humor studies, it addresses two interrelated questions: (1) What forms of linguistic humor do Dalit autobiographers employ to resist caste hierarchies? and (2) How do readers perceive and respond to these humorous interventions in terms of empathy, critical engagement, and recognition of subversion? To answer these, a mixed-methods design combines qualitative close readings—coded according to Chiaro’s humor taxonomy—with a quantitative survey of 100 readers who have engaged with Dalit autobiographies in English translation. Participants rated ten representative humorous excerpts on scales of emotional impact, clarity of critique, empathy generation, perception of subversion, and likelihood of recommendation. Findings reveal a predominance of incongruity humor—juxtapositions that expose the absurdities of ritual—alongside strategic self-mockery that reclaims narrative agency and satirical parody that lampoons uppercaste discourse. Quantitatively, 88% of respondents identified these moments as acts of resistance, 76% reported heightened empathy, and 82% experienced both laughter and reflection. Correlational analyses show younger readers (under 30) report stronger emotional engagement, while academic readers emphasize clarity of critique. These results underscore humor’s multifaceted function: it humanizes trauma, destabilizes hegemony, builds collective solidarity, and serves pedagogical ends. The study concludes by outlining implications for Dalit literary criticism, subaltern pedagogy, and future research— including longitudinal reception studies and comparative work across regional languages.