Subaltern Voices in Mahesh Dattani's Seven Steps Around the Fire

This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of subaltern representation in Seven Steps Around the Fire by Mahesh Dattani, focusing on the hijra community as a marginalized social group in India. Drawing upon Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak?s theory of subalternity, the study interrogates the structures that silence marginalized identities while simultaneously examining the complexities of representing these voices within dominant discourses. The paper argues that while Dattani attempts to foreground the hijra community, the mediation of their voices through elite characters underscores the paradox of subaltern representation. The play becomes a critical site where visibility and silence coexist, revealing the limitations of liberal humanist approaches to marginality.