Lesson plan

Joothan

Joothan: An Untouchable's Life, or Joothan: A Dalit's Life, is an autobiographical memoir by Indian Dalit writer Omprakash Valmiki. First published in 1997 in Hindi, it was translated to English language by Arun Prabha Mukherjee in 2003. The book describes his life as a Dalit, previously known as 'untouchables,' and their experience of pain, humiliation, and poverty through systemic caste-based discrimination. The title of the book is derived from Hindi word जूठन referring to 'scraps of food left on a plate, destined for garbage or animals,' that the lower caste was forced to survive on for centuries.

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Article summary

Joothan: An Untouchable's Life, or Joothan: A Dalit's Life, is an autobiographical memoir by Indian Dalit writer Omprakash Valmiki. First published in 1997 in Hindi, it was translated to English language by Arun Prabha Mukherjee in 2003. The book describes his life as a Dalit, previously known as 'untouchables,' and their experience of pain, humiliation, and poverty through systemic caste-based discrimination. The title of the book is derived from Hindi word जूठन referring to 'scraps of food left on a plate, destined for garbage or animals,' that the lower caste was forced to survive on for centuries.

Key claims

  1. publication date: 1997 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the publication date is "1997". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  4. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1369570340

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.