The Change: The Study on Caste, Gender, and Political Transformation in P. Sivakami’s Novel The Grip of Change

Abstract

The term Change generally refers to the dynamic process that creates tension between progress and tradition. In the novel The Grip of Change, the author P.Sivakami reimagines her childhood and society through the youth character Gowri to define the process of change or transformation that challenges the norms and structure of power and oppression. This paper would like to explore the concept of ‘change’, focusing on how caste, gender and politics interact and evolves in the lives of Dalit people. Through the narrative, the novel portrays change as a questioned and uneven process. One of the main characters of this novel Thangam whose seek for justice against upper-caste oppression has taken her to accept the patriarchal domination by her own community. So, the paper argues that the author does not portray change as a smooth transformation; rather she presents how this change triggers a new form of struggle, negotiation and compromise. Eventually, the novel requires a critical lens to analyse weather real change is possible without questioning both external oppression and internal hierarchies.