Well into the new millennium, humankind is still in the process of grappling with basic issues of discrimination, inequity, oppression, injustice whether it be in the most advanced of modern democracies like the U.S. or in the largest democracy like India. Despite major paradigm shifts brought about by the avalanche of information technology and scientific advancements, the innate human longing for individual identity continues to remain a major tour de force in both life and literature.
The present paper seeks to examine two plays that deal with subaltern discourses in comparative parlance: the Pulitzer Prize winning Fences by August Wilson (African American), and Routes and Escape Routes by Datta Bhagat (Indian). Fences, set in the 1950s, is a play about baseball, a national, American pastime. Troy Maxson in the play is a garbage collector whose rebellion and frustration set the tone for the play as he struggles for fairness in a society that seems to offer none. In his struggle he builds fences between himself and family. The metaphor of the “fences” also refers historically to the American practice of keeping black people bound within the limits of slavery. Similarly, Datta Bhagat’s Routes and Escape Routes presents in dramatic fashion three generations of Dalits, represented by Uncle Kaka, a participant in the Ambedkar movement; the successful and ethical professor Satish; his progressive Brahmin wife, Hema; and the angry and impatient student Arjun who project differing responses to a situation of Dalit need and caste violence.