Testimonies of Wounded Histories: Gendered Resistance in Bama’s Karakku and Clarke’s The Polished Hoe

Abstract

This comparative paper investigates how two postcolonial writers—Bama (Dalit Tamil Christian) and Austin Clarke (Barbadian-Canadian)—use testimonial narrative to uncover silenced histories of caste, race, and gender oppression. Drawing on trauma theory, subaltern studies, and testimonial literature, the article argues that Karakku and The Polished Hoe function not merely as autobiographical or confessional texts, but as acts of resistance and political intervention. These narratives transform personal memory into collective critique, making the private pain of gendered marginality legible as historical injustice.