Resistance in Popular Visuals and Iconography: A Study of Dalit–Bahujan Calendar Art in North India

Kalyani, K (2020) Resistance in Popular Visuals and Iconography: A Study of Dalit–Bahujan Calendar Art in North India. Journal of Social Inclusion Studies, 8 (1). pp. 64-85.

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Abstract

The Dalit–Bahujan visual representation is uniquely constituted through cultural artefacts, symbols and iconography. The pictorial representations of cultural artefacts are meaningful as they signify and symbolise resistance. The new emerging visuality of the marginalised communities is questioning the dominant regimes of visuality. A calendar as the site of visuality is a signification of resistance to the Brahminical culture by the Dalit–Bahujan community. The Calendar art has engaged with a reiteration of anti-caste social icons that has generated a visual effect on the collective memory of the community. This article has traced the shifts that have happened in calendar art with the rise of anti-caste consciousness in North India. The article has methodologically engaged in observing and doing a content analysis of calendars that are gaining popularity among the Dalit–Bahujan community. The article has also presented an in-depth case study of the Samyak Prakashan calendar in North India. Through the study of the calendar’s iconography and symbols, the article reflects on the cultural practices of the Dalit–Bahujan community. The article also looks into the epistemological and historiographical gaps that are bridged through the reiteration of culturally significant dates in the calendar.

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Article

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Kalyani, K

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