THE ISSUES OF HUNGER AND STARVATION IN LAXMAN GAIKWAD'S THE BRANDED

The auto-narrative by Laxman Gaikwad, The Branded discusses innumerable socio-economic, political and cultural issues of the nomadic tribe Uchalya from the State of Maharashtra. This tribe is present in many parts of India known with different names. These nomads are branded as criminal tribes by the then colonial masters. Though India gained a new identity after the independence this community could get out of the clutches of criminal branding till recently. During the British Raj after the mutiny of 1857 around 237 castes and tribes were branded as criminal by birth according to the Criminal Tribes Act, 1931. However, after a long wait post-independence the government of India re-branded these castes and tribes under a new tag that is Habitual Offenders Act, 1952. This only re-stigmatized them. They were literally liberated on 31 August 1952 that is being now celebrated by them as their liberation day (Vimukti Divas). This paper attempts to explore the text to critique the plight of Uchalya community, what are the possible causes behind their stigmatization and re-stigmatization as habitual offenders, and violation of their basic fundamental rights and human rights.