Published Paper Details:

Abstract: Kanyadaan (1983) is one of the controversial plays of Vijay Tendulkar which depicts the conflict between bourgeois liberalism and dalit consciousness and the consequent catastrophic failure of idealism and inter-caste marriage. The play focuses on the inter-caste marriage between a Brahmin girl, Jyoti and a dalit boy Arun Athavale which was settled by Jyoti's father Nath Devalikar in the illusion of establishing a sentimental reconciliation between the upper caste and lower caste. Ironically the marriage proves to be a fiasco and Jyoti becomes the victim of oppressive caste system. The article argues that the tragedy of the play is not only the failure of inter-caste marriage, but also a collapse of the entire ideological, illusive attempt to obliterate the historical scars of dalit consciousness. It ruthlessly exposes the violence, hypocrisy and power politics, deep into Indian society. It criticizes the progressive reformism which tries to remove inequality