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SHAILAJA PAIK. 2022. The Vulgarity of Caste: Dalits, Sexuality and Humanity in Modern 

India, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 422 pp., ISBN 9781503634084   
 

Shailaja Paik’s The Vulgarity of Caste delves into the lives of Dalit women engaged in 

Tamasha, a theatrical art form prevalent in Maharashtra, western India. Drawing on 

ethnographic fieldwork and archival research, Paik examines how these women’s lives are 

shaped by the shifting dynamics of casteist and patriarchal systems, as well as the sociocultural 

frameworks of value and hierarchy within broader Maharashtrian and Indian society. The 

monograph is structured into three sections and eight chapters, offering a historical and 

analytical perspective on the interplay between Tamasha and the women who perform it. Paik 

focuses particularly on the notions of vulgarity, stigma, and discrimination, revealing how these 

are employed by dominant communities in placing the Dalit women who performs Tamasha 

at the most alienated position. Simultaneously, Paik highlights the agency of these women, 

exploring the dialectics of oppression and resistance. She portrays Tamasha not only as a site 

of discrimination but also as a powerful form of resistance, emphasizing its role in challenging 

societal norms and asserting agency. 

In exploring the lives of Tamasha women, Paik stresses on the intricate interplay of 

gender, caste, and sexuality, arguing that the sex-caste-gender complex naturalizes and 

perpetuates their characterization as Ashlil, often translated as vulgarity, which became a 

dominant discourse in the late 19th century. Dalit women in Tamasha posed a dual threat to 

Victorian morality and the Brahmanical caste structure, both of which perpetuated hierarchical 

social relations. Paik examines how this idea of Ashlil positioned Tamasha performers as 

vulgar, immoral, and undisciplined, necessitating their reform and control. This framing, as 

Paik argues, marked the Dalit women’s bodies as sites of regulation and policing, reinforcing 

caste and gender hierarchies. 

In addition to Ashlil, Paik critically examines two other vernacular concepts from 

Maharashtrian society—Assli and Manuski—to analyze how colonial and post-colonial 

transformations in India intensified both structural and symbolic violence against women. 

Within the Ashlil-Manuski-Assli framework, Ashlil—associated with dishonour, immorality, 



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and inferiority—stands in direct opposition to Assli. Assli represents the notion of authenticity 

as defined by the Victorian and Brahmanical ideals that shaped the nation-building projects of 

colonial and post-colonial India. Interestingly, Ashlil is constructed as a byproduct of this 

very Assli ideal. Dalit Tamasha performers were inherently denied inclusion in 

the Assli (authentic), referring to the upper-caste individuals who claimed to embody the 

‘modern, respectable Maharashtrian/Indian identity.’ On the contrary, the Tamasha women’s 

caste and class locations rendered them intrinsically Ashlil, with Ashlil serving as a structural 

antithesis to Assli. Paik highlights the paradox of colonial modernity’s ‘civilizing missions,’ 

which, while claiming to elevate society, simultaneously marginalized and devalued the arts 

and cultural expressions of those on the margins, particularly Dalit women. Paik thus reveals 

the deep entanglement of caste, morality, and modernity in perpetuating the marginalization of 

Dalit women in Maharashtra. 

The Ambedkarite movements in postcolonial India adopted the concept of Dalit 

Manuski (humanity/human dignity) as a framework to resist the long exploitation and 

stigmatisation of Dalit labour, including that of Tamasha performers. At times, this resistance 

extended to advocating for the eradication of Tamasha, viewing it as a site of systemic 

oppression and stigma against Dalit women. Although these efforts were progressive, they 

faced challenges, such as addressing Tamasha performance as stigmatized labour without 

further stigmatizing the Tamasha women themselves. Despite these challenges, the 

Ambedkarite movements emphasized the centrality of dignity, advocating for giving up 

stigmatized labour and calling for equitable work opportunities for everyone. One notable 

example of this commitment is the Dalit Panthers’ activism in the 1980s, when they joined 

forces with sex workers to demand education, healthcare, and an end to police harassment. This 

solidarity reflects the broader Manuski project of Ambedkarite movements, which stood in 

direct opposition to the upper-caste-driven notion of Assli. While Assli was rooted in notions 

of cultural authenticity and caste-based exclusivity, Manuski emphasized universal human 

dignity and egalitarian principles. 

At times, it would seem that the elements of Manuski and Assli appear to overlap, such 

as in their engagement with the concept of honour. However, the two diverge significantly in 

their interpretations. For the Ambedkarite Manuski project, honour is intrinsically tied to the 

dignity of life and labour, celebrating the worth of individuals regardless of caste. In contrast, 

the Assli framework links honour to sub-nationalist pride and cultural exclusivity, reinforcing 

hierarchical structures. I would stress that this distinction underscores the radical humanism of 

the Ambedkarite vision in challenging systemic inequalities. 



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While Tamasha is ostensibly a performance art, Paik highlights that it extends far 

beyond occupational labour, deeply intertwining with the performers’ personal lives. This 

conflation of performance and personhood shows the overarching nature and intense 

stigmatised subjugation these women endure. They simultaneously perform their caste roles, 

which alienates them, and find a sense of belonging in their performances, as these constitute 

both their life and livelihood. Drawing on Judith Butler's distinction between performance and 

performativity, Paik underscores the dual nature of Tamasha. The women not only sing and 

dance but also create and convey meanings about caste, gender, and sexual identities through 

their performances. In other words, they live through their performance, embodying and 

demonstrating that life to others. This duality—creating meaning for themselves as artists while 

also generating stigmatized alienation within and for the society they perform for—is central 

to their experience. Paik observes that these women perform both their caste roles and caste 

identities for navigating a world of labour deeply embedded in the stereotypes of caste, gender, 

and sexuality. These stereotypes reflect and reinforce the moral fabric of India’s caste society.  

 While foregrounding the oppressive sex-gender-caste complex that perpetuates the 

marginalization of Tamasha-performing women, Paik also highlights their everyday agency. 

Paik explores how these women creatively navigate and engage with the social world they 

inhabit, carving out a life and livelihood despite systemic constraints. In doing so, Paik 

contends that Tamasha women occupy an inherently ambivalent position regarding their 

belonging and personhood. Within the oppressive structure, Tamasha women find ways to 

capitalize on their occupation, which becomes more than just work, as their labour and personal 

lives seamlessly transcend into one another. Their ambivalence is further marked by their 

capacity to transgress caste-based moral boundaries. While this potential for transgression is a 

source of empowerment, it also distances them from possible kinship and social connections, 

creating additional layers of marginalization. This contrast highlights the complexities of their 

existence, as they both navigate and challenge the oppressive structures around them. By 

employing vernacular categories to unpack the ambivalent positions, Paik moves beyond rigid 

binaries and essentialist conceptualizations. She argues for a nuanced theory of ambivalence, 

capturing the complexity of Tamasha women’s lived realities and their navigation of a deeply 

stratified social world.  

In summary, the book focuses on the dialectical relationship between Tamasha women 

and the socio-political forces of caste and Brahmanical patriarchy, charting their 

transformations from the 19th century onward. Through this lens, it makes a significant 

contribution to the intersecting fields of Dalit studies, gender studies, and South Asian studies. 



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More specifically, this book contributes to the critical Dalit feminist literature that examines 

the intersection of caste, gender and sexuality, with notable contribution from M. Swathy 

Margaret and Smita M. Patil, among others. Smita M. Patil’s early interventions (2013 & 2014) 

resonate with Paik’s analysis, particularly in their focus on the existential dimensions of 

sexuality within the caste-gender framework. Drawing on the works of Gopal Guru (1993) and 

Sharmila Rege (1998 & 2002), Patil examines how the history of Lavani performance reveals 

the patriarchal, caste-based division of sexual labour, where lower-caste women were portrayed 

as having wild sexual urges and coerced into performing for upper-caste men. Both Patil and 

Paik, alongside other Dalit feminist scholars and activists, emphasize the importance of 

understanding Dalit women’s practices and performances as complex sites of oppression and 

resistance. The Dalit women continually challenge the efforts of state structures and dominant 

caste societies to reinforce the stigma of the caste-gender-sexuality complex. Paik’s nuanced 

engagement with these issues further extends the critical Dalit feminist literature, offering new 

insights into the intersections of performance, agency, and oppression. 

 

References  

 

Guru, Gopal. 1995. Dalit women talk differently. Economic and Political Weekly 30 (41/42): 

 2548-50. 

 

Patil, Smita M. 2013. Revitalising Dalit Feminism: Towards Reflexive, Anti-Caste Agency of 

 Mang and Mahar Women in Maharashtra. Economic and Political Weekly 48 (18): 37- 

 43 

 

Patil, Smita M. 2014. Reading Caste, Gender and Sexuality in Dalit Writings. Intersections: 

 Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific. 34. 

 

Rege, Sharmila .1998. Dalit Women Talk Differently: A Critique of 'Difference' and Towards 

 a Dalit Feminist Stanpoint Position. Economic and Political Weekly 33 (44): WS39-

 WS48.  

 

Rege, Sharmila. 2002. Conceptualising popular culture: ‘Lavani" and ‘Powada" in 

 Maharashtra. Economic and Political Weekly 37 (11): 1038–47. 

 

 

Jayaseelan Raj is Senior Lecturer of Anthropology and Development at King's College 

London, and a Fellow in the GRNPP at SOAS, University of London. He is the author 

of Plantation Crisis: Ruptures of Dalit Life in the Indian Tea Belt (UCL Press, 2022), and co-

author of Ground Down by Growth: Tribe, Caste, Class and Inequality in Twenty-First 

Century India (Pluto Press, 2017). His research and writings focus on plantation system and 

labour, democracy and caste/racial capitalism, caste violence, agrarian capitalism and 

migration, and state and Dalit question in India. 



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© 2025 Jayaseelan Raj  

 


