Survival and Resilience: Caste and Refugeehood in Byapari’s the Runaway Boy

Abstract

This article unravels Manoranjan Byapari's scathing critique of caste privilege juxtaposed against the resilience of the oppressed in The Runaway Boy (the first novel in the Chandal Jibon trilogy). This paper articulates the oppression of caste discrimination, refugee identity, and socioeconomic exploitation. Set in post-Partition Bengal, the novel accounts for the life of Jibon, a young boy navigating a world shaped by poverty, communal strife, and systemic exclusion. This study also highlights the writer’s autobiographical elements, which imbue the narrative with authenticity. Consequently, the novel can be heralded as a personal and collective chronicle of marginalised experiences. Employing Subaltern Studies and Resistance Literature as the theoretical backdrop, this article examines the socio-political undercurrents of Byapari’s critique of caste hierarchies and structural inequalities. Through close textual analysis, it emphasises the resilience and agency of the oppressed. This article accentuates its contribution to the discourse on caste and refugee issues, thereby broadening the representation of marginalised communities in Indian literature.