Name – Ashu Daga

Enrolment No – 2021 – 010

Subject – English
Nature of exam – End Semester

Q1. Yashica Dutt borrows the phrase ‘coming out’ from the LGBTQIA+ movement to title
her memoir.
a. How suitable, in your opinion, is such a move?
b. Would you see this as an instance of appropriation? Please justify.
c. What factors trigger and aid her ‘coming out’ process?

Answer –
a. ‘Coming Out’ is basically a metaphor used in the context of LGBTQIA+
community as a self disclosure of their sexual orientation or gender identity that
they had concealed from the world. According to me this term should be widely
used by anyone who has hidden his identity or true self from the world in the
context of religion, caste, gender, race, whatever may the reason be. But on the
web you will find this term only with respect to LGBTQ community. Yashica
Dutt has intentionally used this to draw an analogy and express the equivalence
between the two. According to me Yashica Dutt is right in borrowing the phrase
because just like the LGBTQ communities who were chained with the shackles of
undisclosed identity break these chains using this phrase, similarly the Dalits , so
called Bahujans and the underprivileged are burdened with this baggage of
undisclosed identity. Thus Yashica Dutt uses this phrase to symbolise this process
of revealing the true self. Because a lot of Dalits and underprivileged resort to the
measures of Sanskritization that is pretending to be the upper castes and
conforming to their style of living. But this portends a lot of problem for the future
of this community as this chain of camouflaging would continue till generations
and ultimately would fail to acquire the privilege these deserved. Thus Coming
out shall be used as blanket term for the process of revealing the true self instead
of just sticking it to the LGBTQ community which Yashica Dutta as attempted to
do.
b. Appropriation refers to the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption of the
customs, ideas and practices of one people or society by members of another and
typically more dominant one. For example using the term bhangi that in its actual
 meaning referred to a profession but the upper class have started using it as slang
towards the Dalits. Here the question is in the context of the term ‘Coming out’, as
is a practice in the LBTQ community, and whether it amounts to appropriation
when used by Yashica Dutt. I would totally deny and believe that no appropriation
has taken place. This is because an essential for appropriation is that it is
performed by a dominant class but Dalits and the underprivileged are not
dominant and have been subjected to the oppression since time immemorial just
like the LGBTQ community. Therefore in this case where both the communities
have a history of oppression by the oppressed community I would call this act of
taking over the practices of another as adoption and not appropriation. Dalits
faced social discrimination for centuries. They were not allowed to take up jobs,
enter a common public school or draw water from public wells. Similarly, the
members of the LGBTQIA+ community have faced constant discrimination at
work or at school. Sometimes they are physically harassed. This analogy clearly
explains the fact that it is an adoption and not an appropriation.
c. Since Yashica’s was a childhood, her parents had hidden their identity and
pretended to be the ones from the upper class. Most of the journey that Yashica
took to become a journalist was by camouflaging her identity. She asserts that
hiding the identity felt like living a double life. There were many factors that
aided her coming out process and pushed her to reveal her true self. One of the
major ones being the post of the death of Rohit Vemula, a dalit Ph.d scholar, that
appeared on her facebook feed. This made her question herself and self evaluate
as to whether she was doing the right thing hiding her identity. Rohit could have
entered into a MNC and lead a happy life but instead he chose to stand against the
stereotypes for the Dalits in the society. He used Dalitness as his shield against
oppression rather than burying his identity. This triggered Yashica to break
through the shackles of hiding her identity. Also there are a few instances that
aided and acted as a catalyst during this process. The Colombian culture that she
witnessed where everything was with so much open and broad minded outlook.
This gave her strength. Another factor I feel is the fact that she was in America,
away from her relatives, friends and family thus no pressure regarding the
astonishment of these people. These were the factors I feel that led to Yashica
Dutta coming out as Dalit.
Q2. Write in detail the relevance of the title of Claudia Rankine’s Memoir-cum-
autobiography i.e., “Citizen: An American Lyric.”
Answer –
Citizen: An American lyric is an epitome of the oppression that the black community have
been facing since time immemorial. It talks about the prominent and the most common evil in
the society – discrimination on the basis of racism.
I would like to breakdown the title in three parts – Citizen , American and Lyric and then
explain the relevance of this title and the justice it gives to the content of this memoir-cum-
autobiography. Let us first talk about the ‘Citizen’. This term signifies that blacks have
succeeded in all the criterias to be called as a citizen of America. She herself is an established
writer but still faces discrimination being a black. In the book she goes on to write about the
small instances and occurrences of the incidents in the everyday life of a black where he has
to face discrimination. He is being realised every day by the whites that a black is inferior
does not deserve to be called as a citizen. The use of Citizen conveys Rankine’s strong belief
that they are the citizens of the nation too and thus deserve equality. It tends to bolster the
identification of the blacks with their nation and thus emergence of an affinity towards the
nation. Thus the use of Citizen holds relevance.
The term American might have different interpretations with the context of the title. One of
them can be the fact that the author is talking is talking about the racism that takes place in
America therefore it has been used in a generic sense. But I feel this is a narrow outlook and I
believe the relevance of this term is that she claims herself and the community she represents
to be American and also an integral part of it too. The fact that the oppressive whites
repeatedly make the blacks realise that they originally belong Africa has been clearly been
repudiated by the blacks has been conveyed through the use of this. Thus its relevance lies in
the sense of nationality and the fact that blacks identify themselves with America.
The term Lyric in this context, a specific lyric of the American song is being discussed and
that is citizenship. Lyrics are a set of words which make up a song in the form of verses and
paras. Implicitly or explicitly, they convey the actual message of the song. Lyrics can be seen
as societal commentary. Lyrics can express culturally relevant ideas by containing political,
social, and economic topics, as well as aesthetic elements. These messages might be spoken
directly or through metaphor or symbolism.
Let's examine how the title as a whole is relevant. It is both relevant to millions of black and
brown Americans' contemporary struggles as well as to the nostalgia that each person of
colour harbours. It's significant because it demonstrates how the concept of citizenship has
been a cruel joke on black immigrants for a century, as well as the fact that it's America that
has been cracking that terrible joke. Because it represents a personal journey, it is significant.
Claudia's writing is conversational, with a free-flowing flow of thoughts. Her consciousness
has been clouded by her experience, which she is channelling via her words. She has
suppressed her emotions, describing them as a dreadful dagger buried deep within her heart,
cutting her with cold and harsh sorrow.
These reasons show the relevance of this title and also how this title justifies the ideas of
Claudia Rankine.

Q3. Write short notes on each of the following in about 200-250 words: [5X4=20]
i. Memoir
ii. Sanskritization
iii. Mary Catherine Incident
iv. John Henryism.
Answers –
i. Memoir – The word memoir has its origins from the French word ‘mémoire’ which
in literal translation means a ‘Memory’ or ‘reminiscences’. The name itself suggests
the entire meaning of this term. It is used by an author to narrate his own experiences
or someone’s life. A specific theme of any book or a part of protagonist’s life is taken
 by the author. Through memoir author focuses subject matter and writes a story in a
proper narrative shape reflecting owns or someone’s involving reflection on some
particular event or life. Thus ultimately author loses the right or constraints of a
autobiography. Certain key moments are taken by the author from the life and he tries
to recreate the series of events through the use of a story or narrative. But he keeps the
feelings and assumptions unaltered and these are the fundamentals to the topic and
narrative the author tries to set in. In the context of Yashica Dutt’s memoir ‘Coming
out as Dalit’ she tries to revisit her memory and then describe the events. She focuses
on what she was thinking during that event thus keeping the feelings as the
fundamentals. This also gives her a chance of being more flexible narrating her own
story. It is more of a type of confessional memoir and unapologetically bold as
without any fear Yashica has mentioned the most important events and the stories of
her mom and dad. The author can also share painful or difficult secrets about
themselves or their family and all the things have affected them as whole. This is a
memoir.
ii. Sanskritization - M. N. Srinivas popularized the term ‘Sanskritization’. He was
describing the changes in the caste system in modern India whereby lower castes were
adopting upper caste traditions to get ahead. For example .Dalits in India have been
passing as upper-caste Hindus, especially since the Constitution guaranteed everyone
equal rights. They also adopt elaborate lifestyle changes—changing their last names,
moving cities, following rigid Brahminical traditions, turning vegetarian, exhibiting
excessive religiosity—to appear more like upper-caste Hindus. Basically it means the
process by which lower castes assimilate the higher castes' beliefs, rituals,
mannerisms, and other cultural aspects, primarily those of the Brahmins. But in the
process of Sanskritization the lower caste discard some of the customs and traditions
that were perfect according to the current modern standards. Thus Sanskritization is
just a positional shift and not a structural shift.
iii. Mary Catherine incident – This incident revolves around the concept of
microaggression. Microaggression is defined as an unintentional discrimination
against members of a marginalised group, such as a racial or ethnic minority. This
proves that the seeds of racism have been sown so deep that they are unnoticeably
present in the society. In the text the author mentions such instances where individuals
so casually and inadvertently pass racist comments. One such instance being that of
The Mary Catherine. The author was twelve and attending school at Sts. Philip and
James School on White Plains Road. Once the girl behind her wanted to cheat on a
test. Thus she asked the Claudia to show her answers and during this attempt teacher
saw her cheating but didn’t take any action. The Claudia thought that either the
teacher didn’t care about cheating or she tends to ignore it as the author was black.
The latter reason troubled the author a lot. Not only this after the incident Mary
Catherine thanked her for assisting her in cheating on the exam and told a few lines
that left author amused. Mary told the author that she smelled nice and had features of
a white person. Indirectly these were the stereotypes even a twelve year hold had for a
black. The Claudia felt she was thanking her for allowing her to cheat, and she is
comfortable cheating on the test from someone who is almost white. This was the
Mary Catherine incident.
iv. John Henryism – John Henryism is a long-term coping mechanism for long-term
exposure to stresses such as social discrimination that requires a significant amount of
effort and physiological expenditure. Racism causes individuals to experience a great
lot of stress on a regular basis. In the 1800s, during the height of industrialisation,
John Henry, a railroad worker who specialised in drilling, was challenged against a
steam-powered drill. He was victorious in the race, but he died from exhaustion.
Sherman James of Duke University in North Carolina stumbled upon John Henry
Martin, a black farmer who was also caught up in an unequal struggle against a
"machine": the rural United States south in the twentieth century. Because he was
born into a poor family, he dropped out of school after the second grade. After
dropping out of school, he taught himself to read and write. By the age of 40, he had
purchased 75 acres of land in North Carolina. He worked tirelessly at all hours of the
day and night to repay the loan, and he was able to do it in just five years. All of that
hard work, though, came at a price. Martin had hypertension, arthritis, and peptic
ulcer disease by the time he was in his 50s.
Claudia Rankins sheds light on John Henryism. After dropping off her coworker, she
returns home. Her eyes were locked on the garage door as she sat in her car. While
sitting there, she recalled her friend describing a medical phenomena known as John
Henryism. In light of this, the author believes that unwinding in her driveway will
save her from getting John Henryism. This is the concept of John Henryism.
.