Postcolonial Reading of Gabbilam;A Dalit Epic

PADASANABOINA SONA

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i01.69338

Postcolonial Reading of Gabbilam;A Dalit Epic

Author(s)	Ms. PADASANABOINA SONA
Country	India
Abstract	This paper presents the postcolonial elements in the poem, Gabbilam by Gurram Jashuva, famously known as the ‘father of Dalit Literature in Telugu’. It is translated into English by Chinnaiah Jangam. Keeping in view the time period in which the text was written, the details about the Indian National movement and the aspirations of newly independent country are portrayed along with voicing the struggles of the downtrodden communities. The poem has dalit as a protagonist, reflecting the way how society treats his community and the hardship they go through in their life. The poet draws inspiration from Megaduta by Kalidasa and replaces the cloud as a messenger with bat to challenge and subvert the standards of classical literature. He uses classical epic traditional form to present the hypocritical and dehumanised society. This paper highlights how the poet challenges the dominant power structure by creating counter-narrative to present the collective experiences and struggles of his community. Through code-switching , use of rhetorical devices and symbolism, the poet showcases the caste burden and asserts the identity of the dalit in the mainstream literature simultaneously. This paper also strives to relate the arguments of Spivak in her seminal work, “Can the Subaltern Speak?” about how the “vocies of the marginalized sections of society” are unheard or silenced by the dominant. Hegel’s states that “ethical institutions within civil society cultivate a fundamental sense of order”. It is present in the core of the Hindu society until the recent times. Similarly, Gramsci talks about ethical political hegemony where the dominant holds the power not just through force but also through cultural and ideological leadership by making it appear like a legit natural order and the poem mirrors it in the narration of the protagonist.
Keywords	Key words: Dalit, dominant, downtrodden, hegemony, society, narration.
Field	Arts
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 1, January-February 2026
Published On	2026-02-20
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i01.69338

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Postcolonial Reading of Gabbilam;A Dalit Epic

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