Problem
Response to Mahasweta Devi's "Dhowli." At the end of your response pose a discussion question to the class. "Dhowli"
I. Mahasweta Devi's story features a young untouchable, Dhowli, who engages in a scandalous love affair with a high caste Brahman. Once abandoned by her lover, Dhowli must fend for herself in a caste system that doubly marginalizes her as a woman, a widow, and an untouchable Dusad. In this story, Devi exposes the exploitation of women that occurs at the lowest end of the caste system in India.
A character analysis of Dhowli. Why does Dhowli agree to engage in a love affair with the young Brahman? Why does she decide to keep the child? Why does she decide to become a prostitute? Is Dhowli a young woman who takes an independent stand against an unjust caste system? Is she courageous? Is she crushed by the weight of this system? Are inter-caste relationships still forbidden in India?
II. Choose a passage in the short story to discuss. Why is it significant?
III. Discuss the discrimination faced by scheduled caste individuals (untouchables) in India. (Locate some recent facts and information regarding scheduled castes.) How does Devi's story reflect such realities?