Even sympathetic progressive writers reproduced degrading stereotypes of Untouchables

Evidence

83 Here, for example, is Ismat Chugtai, a Muslim writer celebrated for her progressive, feminist views, describing an Untouchable sweeper in her short story, “A Pair of Hands”: “Gori was her name, the feckless one, and she was dark, dark like a glistening pan on which a roti had been fried but which a careless cook had forgotten to clean. She had a bulbous nose, a wide jaw, and it seemed she came from a family where brushing one’s teeth was a habit long forgotten. The squint in her left eye was noticeable despite the fact that her eyes were heavily kohled; it was difficult to imagine how, with a squinted eye, she was able to throw darts that never failed to hit their mark. Her waist was not slim; it had thickened, rapidly increasing in diameter from all those handouts she consumed. There was also nothing delicate about her feet which reminded one of a cow’s hoofs, and she left a coarse smell of mustard oil in her wake. Her voice however, was sweet” (2003, 164). — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 503

Categorization

Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims

• XREF: Connects to Gandhi’s paternalistic language about Untouchables and the broader theme Ambedkar critiques of even ‘allies’ demeaning Dalits.
• SEED: Angle: how liberal and feminist allies have historically reproduced casteist tropes while meaning well.

Broader Connections

• Even distinguished literary novelists voice crude anti-Muslim prejudice #exemplifies (0.70) — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 14
• A novel can expose stereotypes yet trap its own character within them #corroborates (0.70) — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 357