Aleena’s on our algorithm: How this Dalit Christian is using her words to talk about caste and oppression

Aleena 29 is well known in the world of Malayalam poetrymdashher awardwinning book Silk Route was published in 2021mdashbut since June last year she has been more than happy to offend defend and needle people on the InternetThe author moved to Kochi a few years ago from her village in remote Kerala for better opportunities as someone who uses words but itrsquos been in the last few months that she got a wave of followers on Instagram iseesomelettersmdashalmost 37000 now ldquoI think I got a lot of hate from savarnas privileged castes in the past few months and maybe as a result I might have got followers toordquo says the writer in a phone chatAleenarsquos account stands out not only because of her inyourface Dalit perspective but because she talks about the countless undocumented DalitChristian perspectives that seem to be lacking in intellectual discourseMost of Aleenarsquos videos are littered with hate comments and her DMs she says are filled with casteist slursAleena recites excerpts of Annihilation of Caste written by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar who is one of her inspirationsOne video is when she reads out an excerpt of Babasaheb Ambedkarrsquos Annihilation of Caste ldquoThe Hindus criticise the Mohammedans for having spread their religion by the use of the sword They also ridicule Christianity on the score of the Inquisition But really speaking who is better and more worthy of our respectmdashthe Mohammedans and Christians who attempted to thrust down the throats of unwilling persons what they regarded as necessary for their salvation or the Hindu who would not spread the light who would endeavour to keep others in darkness who would not consent to share his intellectual and social inheritance with those who are ready and willing to make it a part of their own makeuprdquo The video has now close 5000 likes over 300 comments and more than a 1000 sharesMany in the comments accuse Aleena of being provoking and underhanded as she refused to share her opinion on it ldquoI think it was pretty selfexplanatoryrdquoshe says and gives out an exasperated laughWhen we ask her about comments such as ldquoOf course if Ambedkar says it must be true Now go collect your rice bag and milk powderrdquo which is one of the comments that she replied to she says ldquoMy friends often tell me not to reply to the really nasty messages or casteist slurs but as someone who has grown up with these slurs I think I reply because I am trying to heal my inner child I am speaking for all those times that I couldnrsquot as a child because I did not have the vocabulary or because I was just a child I am not cruel but I am definitely not going to get deterred by savarna bulliesrdquoHer tongueincheek humour coupled with an almost serene expression as she reads out similar quotes and poems and makes reels that seem to send those who disagree with her over the edge confesses comes from her grandmother As urbanisation reached Aleenarsquos tribal village and many of her kith and kin were being bought out of their land it was her grandmother who stood her ground and refused to sell it off ldquoAs a child I remember people coming to our home and quoting her an amount for our land but she would say to them lsquoForget my land I will not sell you a cup of my landrsquos soilrsquordquo says AleenaWith regard to what the DalitChristianBahujanAdivasi is facing today Aleena feels there are two very important stakeholders who need to step up ldquoThe government must step in and let there be a caste survey that includes Christians They are afraid because if they do it they will have to give the Dalit Christian a quota Conversion to any religion for that matter cannot be used as a way to disenfranchise people who need to be given a seat at the table of progressrdquo she saysAt the same time she also recognises the role playedmdashor notmdashby churches across India that further perpetuate the caste system ldquoEndogamy in the Christian community where people do not marry outside their caste is one of our biggest invisible evils I feel here the Church and Indian Christian structures need to step in and tell people clearly that this is not something that can be tolerated even if we go back to what Christ practiced in his lifetimerdquo she addsAleena is currently working on another book and says that the move to Kochi has enabled her to get the kind of exposure that city Dalits are perhaps blessed with but also remarks that it was her paradoxical reality of growing up in a largely Dalit community with a religious mother and a Marxist father which has informed her strength ldquoTo be honest I never realised that there are so few like me when I made my Instagram account I was really taken by surprise at the reaction I have been getting but at the same time I think people fail to realise the strength that a Dalit girlmdashwho can never pass as a savarna because of the way I lookmdashcan takerdquo she saysAleena seems to be signing off with a warning shotmdashor perhaps more of a ldquoBring it onrdquo