Beyond Occupational Identity: A Sociological Analysis of the Narrative Identity of Dudekulas
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33802/nw.35804Keywords:
narrative identity, Dudekula community, positive identification, destigmatisation, resymbolisationAbstract
Adopting a narrative-based framework, this study examines how members of the Dudekula community in Andhra Pradesh, India, respond to and recover from the stereotypes and stigma historically associated with their traditional occupations and customs. Historically, Dudekulas are known for following a blend of Hindu and Islamic cultures, and they are positioned at the crossroads of religious revivalist movements and communal polarisation in India. They are navigating through a contested terrain of caste-like features among Indian Muslims and Hindu majoritarianism. The paper, employing the framework of “narrative identity,” investigates how Dudekulas use narratives embedded in social contexts to make sense of their identities; these narratives serve as tools for deconstructing imposed identities and reclaiming and reshaping their community identity. This paper argues that narratives play an essential role in destigmatisation and that resymbolisation serves as a strategy for marginalised communities in the process of reidentification. By bringing together ethnographic data and vernacular literature, this study contributes to narrative identity, stigma, and resymbolisation, and meaningfully engages ongoing debates in sociology and anthropology concerning subaltern agency, collective memory, and identity negotiation in general, and caste and boundary maintenance among South Asian Muslims in particular.
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