Spectres of Caste/Contagion: Death Anxiety and Caste Anxiety in U.R. Ananthamurthy’s Samskara

The article critiques the traversal politics of caste and contagion through a critical dissection what comes as primarily biomedical excess outbreak—the dead body. It elucidates upon becoming body into an untouchable where its “right to die with dignity” is deferred. reasons this stigmatisation deceased result anxiety ensued in living population facing outbreak crisis. Through close textual reading U.R. Ananthamurthy’s novel Samskara (1965), elaborates on othering discourse outbreaks discusses type socio-immune response exhibited by casteist politic. centres narrative around plague-stricken Brahmin community contested pestilence triggers endless debate humanistic morals ethics. By equipping Derridean lens hauntology, reads which informs about social unpreparedness indecisiveness expressed groups. two types anxieties such caste-based society, namely death anxiety. mediates how these are produced inversion, creating unique pattern instability inertia relevance socio-political India. epiphenomenon inverted India presented subverted from global patterns charged microbial invasions. Finally, examines regains spectral agency order reveal pathology doubly infected contagion.