Published Paper Details:

This article analyses how Tulsi Ram reads the city of Varanasi and how he portrays Varanasi in his autobiography Manikarnika, focusing on its entanglement with the caste system and Hindu religious traditions. Drawing from autobiographical experiences, the author reveals how Varanasi functions both as a sacred site of spiritual liberation and as a harsh social space of systemic Dalit exclusion. Tulsi Ram's journey from Azamgarh to Varanasi uncovers the daily humiliations and structural barriers faced by lower-caste individuals in the city Varanasi, especially in accessing education, housing, and social respect. The autobiography is also a site of philosophical transformation, as Tulsi Ram moves from faith to atheism, from caste oppression to self-emancipation, engaging with Marxism, Buddhism, and Ambedkarite thought. The contrast between mythical salvation and social reality is central to his depiction of Varanasi, which he calls both a "city of faith" and a "city of death."