Representation of the unheard, unseen voices of India in contemporary
documentary photography. Emphasis on Dalit and Adivasi community of India.
Why are Dalit and Adivasi communities widely underrepresented in current Indian documentary photographic practice?
Abstract
This dissertation explores the representation of Dalit and Adivasi communities of India in contemporary documentary photography, with an emphasis on the impact of colonial forms of representation. The article also discusses how these colonial photographs were and are still used as a prism through which Dalit and Adivasi communities are viewed. I argue that the representation of these communities is minimal in contemporary documentary photographic practise, 'because of the desire of upper-caste community members to protect their own entrenched status by preventing Dalit development and the fulfilment of Dalits' rights ‘. (U/K, 2007, p 76). This subject area is mostly viewed through the colonial gaze, which results in the obscurity of social reality. By analyzing the works of contemporary documentary photographers who have worked around these communities, this article also tries to uncover how contemporary photographs are working as a medium to communicate the reality within these communities to the rest of the world.