Space, Power, and Caste: A Foucauldian Analysis of Dalit Settlements in Select Dalit Autobiographies

Abstract

This paper examines the spatial dimensions of caste oppression in select Dalit autobiographies by analysing Dalit settlements as heterotopic spaces within the traditional Indian village structure. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s concept of heterotopia and his broader theory of spatial power, the study argues that caste operates not only as a social and ideological system but also as a spatial regime that organises hierarchy through geography. The ritualised layout of the caste village—structured through centre and periphery, purity and pollution, visibility and exclusion—places Dalit communities in segregated settlements located at the margins. The paper analyses autobiographical narratives such as The Outcaste by Sharankumar Limbale, Baluta by Daya Pawar, and Karukku by Bama to demonstrate how spatial segregation regulates the mobility, visibility, and social participation of Dalits. These narratives reveal that caste hierarchy is embedded in the material organisation of space through practices such as segregated settlements, restricted access to temples and public roads, and the concentration of institutions of authority within upper-caste areas. By documenting these spatial arrangements, Dalit autobiographies reconstruct marginalised spaces as archives of lived experience and counter-maps of the caste village. By situating Dalit life writing within the broader spatial turn in critical theory, the paper extends Foucauldian spatial analysis beyond its European context and applies it to the South Asian caste order. It proposes that Dalit settlements function as heterotopic spaces that simultaneously expose and sustain the hierarchical logic of caste society.