Vol. 7, Issue 2, Part E (2025)

In the title “Recreations of the Mythical Minor Characters by non-Dalit and Dalit Writers in the Context of Caste” “recreation” refers to certain versions of things demanding special attention of the readers for a reconsideration of the appreciation of the components of the concerned literary pieces. The selection of only the mythical minor characters is only because of the stark difference between the treatment of them in the non-Dalit and Dalit writers. If Shambuka, Ekalavya, Hidimba, Gatotkach appear in Anand Neelakantan’s Asura: Tale of the Vanquished: The Story of Ravana and His People (2012) [Asura], Ajaya: Book 1: Roll of the Dice [Epic of the Kaurava Clan] (2013), [Ajaya I], Ajaya, Book II: Rise of Kali [Duryodhana's Mahabharata] (2015) [Ajaya II] ^{[7, 8, 9]} as considerable ones they ultimately get lost behind the larger portrayals of Ravana, Suyodhana [Duryodhana] or the iconic characters like Rama, Krishna, the Pandava brothers, suffering iconoclasm, a common trait of both the non-Dalit and Dalit writers. But, in Manohar Mouli Biswas’s Poetic Rendering: As Yet Unborn (2010) ^[2] Sambuka, Ekalavya, Ghatotkach, Hidimba become the protagonists or primary characters and through their portrayals the iconic characters stand decimated due to their prejudicial attitude to minor characters with whom the Dalit-Bahujans identify themselves. Again, whereas the minor characters in Neelakantan remain oriented towards observance of Brahmanical rituals, in Biswas such characters are seen to be indulging in repeatedly questioning the same that help the upper caste people exploit their resources when required and giving no recognition to them afterwards. Whereas, in Neelakantan the characters express utmost humility and submissiveness to their privileged caste upper ones, in Biswas the humanity of such people is questioned by the minor protagonists. And, due to the brevity of such literary pieces the protagonists stay tuned to the focal point of the literary pieces.