BHIMAYANA- REPRESENTATION OF DALIT EXPERIENCE IN THE GRAPHIC NOVELS OF INDIA

The medium of graphic novels has been extensively used to express the voices which are unheard. Interestingly, itcan be argued that the genre of comics or sequential arts was marginalized within the larger idea of literatureand what qualifies as literature, since comics were largely not considered a piece of literature. It took years, andextensive work by scholars within academia, which made it possible, that comics and graphic novels getrecognition and acceptance as something which is 'worth'. That is why it is interesting to examine, how this genrelends itself to themes and issues of marginal voices from society. This paper attempts to examine how the Dalitexperiences are being depicted in the graphic novel Bhimayana (2011). The paper focuses on marginalization,representing the untouchability and idea of using life narratives as a critical tool to present different perspectiveson the creating of the 'other'. It can be argued that even though the novel maintains its focus on the leader, but itdoes provide a creative platform for Dalit imagination.