While Christianity in India claims a moral commitment to equality, compassion, and social justice, Dalit autobiographical and fictional narratives repeatedly expose the persistence of caste hierarchies within Christian institutions. This paper offers an in-depth critical study of Bama's Karukku and selected narratives to examine how religion functions as a site of ideological control rather than emancipation for Dalit women. Drawing on Dalit feminist theory, postcolonial theology, and caste studies, the article argues that the Church in Bama's writing reproduces Brahmanical structures of power through gendered labour, moral surveillance, and institutional silence. At the same time, Bama articulates a counter-spirituality grounded in ethical action, collective dignity, and social justice. The study demonstrates that Dalit womanhood in Bama's texts emerges not in opposition to faith itself but in resistance to religious hegemony that normalizes caste patriarchy.
Keywords: Dalit Christianity; Caste and Gender; Religious Hegemony; Bama; Feminist Theology; Dalit Feminism
How to cite this article: Ritu, Thakur MK, Caste, Christianity, and Gender: Religious Hegemony in Bama's Dalit Narratives. Int J Drug Deliv Technol. 2026;16(2s): 287-293; DOI: 10.25258/ijddt.16.287-293