Diverse Strands of Resistance in Laxman Mane’s Upara

Abstract

This paper examines the multiple and overlapping forms of resistance articulated in Upara: An Outsider, the autobiographical narrative of Sahitya Akademi Award-winning writer Laxman Mane. Conceptualizing resistance as both a response to oppressive power structures and an intentional process of meaning-making, the study foregrounds how Mane’s life writing becomes an act of resistance in itself. Drawing on interdisciplinary resistance theory, the authors identify and analyse covert, overt, everyday, and disguised forms of resistance operating throughout the narrative.

The paper is divided into two major sections. The first offers a theoretical discussion of resistance, mapping its evolution across sociological, political, and literary contexts, with particular emphasis on everyday resistance as theorized by James C. Scott and others. It also situates life writing—especially Dalit autobiography—as a powerful medium for articulating dissent and counter-narratives against hegemonic histories. The second section provides a sustained textual analysis of Upara, examining Mane’s struggle for education, dignity, and self-assertion within a deeply hierarchical, caste-ridden, and discriminatory social order. His experiences of poverty, nomadic existence, denial of schooling, caste-based humiliation, and inter-caste marriage are read as instances of resistance that range from silent defiance and concealment to open protest and political activism.

The study highlights how Mane’s pursuit of education, questioning of caste norms, and eventual involvement in Dalit movements transform his initially invisible resistance into overt political engagement. Writing itself emerges as the most potent form of resistance, enabling Mane to reclaim agency, assert collective identity for the Kaikadi community, and challenge systemic injustice. The paper concludes that Upara functions as a resistance narrative par excellence, where life writing becomes a transformative tool to confront oppression, recover dignity, and articulate the voice of the marginalized.