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A Corpse in the Well is an extract from the book Taral Antaral, an autobiography by Shankar

Ramchandra Kharat, an established Dalit writer in the post independence Indian literature scene.
This is a story about duty and servitude and how many dalits fail to see the discrimation of the caste
system. The story also criticises how the caste system exists only for the betterment of the higher
classes and how education can be the answer to caste discrimination. The story’s primary themes
seem to be on emphasizing the difference in power that exists in villages, and how the Mahars, or
Dalits, are treated cruelly and in an almost sub-human fashion.

In the story, the writer's father is performing his village duties. A corpse had been found in the well,
and the Mahar on duty (Anna) and a Ramoshi were assigned to guard it until the police arrive. The
story highlights how it's considered to be the Mahars' “duty” and “tradition” to take care of such
things.Anna had been waiting at the well for the entire night, when his son, the narrator, arrives to
give him some food. The father refuses saying that he’ll only eat once he is relieved of his duties. But
when the police arrive, they order Anna to fetch the body from the well.

Anna refuses initially, but, noticing the policeman’s flaring temper, he enters the well. A snake in the
well’s shallow water causes a fright, but eventually the body and Anna are successfully drawn up
from the well. As the son heads home, he reflects on the injustice and the deadly work involved in
village duty. This incident shows how lower castes are treated unjustly. And they do not protest
because they are uneducated and unaware of the injustice meted out to them. But when people get
education, such as the writer, they begin to question the caste system.

The head constable is supposed to be an implementer of the law, but he becomes an agent of
injustice by forcing the writer's father to enter the well. The theme of injustice is permeates the
entire story. The Mahars and Ramoshis loyally and whole heartedly serve their village but nobody
cares about their welfare. The readers are left shocked and appalled by the way that the policeman
responds to such bravery and loyalty towards duty. He abuses them and threatens to beat them.

When the constable begins to threaten Anna, forcing him to retrieve the body from the well, Anna
responds by saying that once the police go away, the Mahars would have to face the wrath of the
upper caste for touching the corpse. This shows the risk and threat of communal violence that the
lower castes have to face. But because most Dalits are illiterates and hence ignorant they are
powerless and helpless. Their ignorance has made them feel that to even get the job of a sweeper or
a guard is a privilege. And it is because of this misconception that many dalits had approach the High
Court demanding their hereditary right over menial and petty jobs like that of sweepers and guards.

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