Humor and Dalit trauma: Life Narratives from Hindi Literature and Stand-up Comedy

Dalits’ cultural production has received significant attention for its role in shaping the Indian cultural landscape (Browarczyk 2013; 2021; Brueck 2014; Wessler 2019). However, the function of humour and satire in articulating social assertions by Dalit authors when emphasising the idea of individual and collective trauma remains underexplored. While some contributions investigated the role of comedy in the shows of a new generation of Dalit stand-up comedians (Shivaprasad 2020; 2022), little attention has been paid to the connections between stand-up comedy and other cultural areas that previously articulated claims of Dalit consciousness (Dalit chetna) in the Indian public sphere. This study investigates life narratives produced in Hindi autobiography and stand-up comedy, examining the extent to which humour and satire have been used by Dalit authors as empowering instruments to process trauma (Garrick 2008: 171-172). It also traces key sociocultural shifts occurring in the narratives produced by Dalit authors in Hindi or Hinglish. The first section offers a critical analysis of Murdahiya (2010), a Hindi autobiography by Tulsi Ram, a prominent author and activist of Hindi Dalit literature. The second reflects on narratives by contemporary stand-up comedians, with a focus on Manjeet Sarkar, a rising figure in alternative stand-up comedy.