Introduction

Dalit literature was born out of the anguish of unjust social system based on caste and class
inequalities and has become an expression of the agony suffered through ages by the deprived
groups. Dalit literature is also marked with the theme of protest directed against the existing
intellectual and social system. It debates the issues of caste and identity politics in.

The term ‘Dalit literature’ can be traced to the first Dalit literary conference held in 1958 which
passed a resolution defining the term. However, this conference went almost unnoticed,
underscoring the fact that the Dalit were indeed left neglected. Marathi literature made it real
acquaintance with the anger of the Dalits around 1969 when it was witnessed an upsurge of a
new kind of writing that came to be known as ‘Dalit literature’.

The dominant mode of the expression of Dalit literature continues to be poetry but there also
has been a spate of autobiographies and short stories. Several critics assert that Dalit literature
can be produced only by Dalits themselves who lived through the experience of what it is to be
a Dalit. However, there are many prominent non-Dalit writers who have contributed significantly
to Dalit literature for example the Marathi poet FM Shinde.

The tide of the dalit literature broke out of Maharashtra and spread to other regions and
languages of India. There are many common elements of anguish, anger and protests in the
Dalit literature of various languages,. This is understandable because of the commonality of the
repressive caste and class codes that exists in various parts of the country. However this is not
deny the diversity that is intrinsic to different regional societies and histories. Moreover Dalits
are far from being homogeneous . Dalits are divided into further clearly hierarchical sub groups
that are regionally determined.

Dalit literature is not only an attempt to establish an independent identity for Dalits, it also
challenges traditional literary aesthetics. Dalit writers are vary of the traditional slogans,
ideologies and idioms of existing non-Dalit literature, which they assert, do not capture the
reality of the oppressed. Dalit literature therefore, largely tends to become the expression of the
community rather than the individualpoet. Its language is generally direct and its imagery raw
and hard hitting. One has to be specially sensitive to the distinctive aesthetics created by the
Dalit writers.

Dalit Sahitya: the historical backgrounds

Eleanor Zelliot

The Dalit sahitya movement in Maharashtra seems to be unique—not in the phenomenon of

former untouchables writing literature, but in the quality of writing, its variety, its aesthetic
considerations, its sense of being of movement, its tie to social action, and in the serious
attention it receives as a school within the Marathi literary traditions.

The meaning of Dalit in Hindi and Marathi is ground down, the best. And it is now used by
politicised untouchables in preference to any other designation. The term is one of pride –
untouchables have been oppressed by others; there is nothing inherently wrong with them.
Their insistence on the use of Dalit has been recognised officially, and state governments have
issued orders that Dalit be the term used, rather than Harijan, scheduled caste, or untouchable.

Dalit creativity in all its phases is closely tied to the movement began by the Mahar caste before
the turn of the century. The shaping of the entire movement is due to the involvement of Dr BR
Ambedkar.

The Mahars, A large Marathi speaking casts now 80% Buddhist and disclaiming caste, had a
traditional role of ‘inferior village servant’, as the British called them. Their traditional work was
to serve the village as watchman, removers of dead cattle, messenger, I.E. all purpose servants
but with some very responsible duties. They also were traditionally the singers,dancers,
comedians and drummers of the folk drama. Along with the other untouchable castes in the
area, the well and the temple were closed to them, and their living quarters were removed from
the village proper.

First prominent voice: Chokamela: Bhakti poet saint: many of his poems sing of the glory of god
and meaning of devotion, some do protest against untouchability. Others acknowledge
social inferiority and find comfort in religious equality.

Between Chokhamela and the beginning of the modern movement there is no literature other
than remembered legends and myths. The first document of the new movement, however, is not
only of full blown indictment of the caste hierarchy sanctioned by Scriptures, but also bears with
it a poem of protest. The dominant figure in the early period was Gopala Baba walangkar, an
ex-soldier and Mahar, who started a newspaper, publicly challenged caste Hindus about the
treatment of the untouchables, andPetition the british government to allow the recruitment of
untouchables into the Army, a practice which had been stopped about 1890.

Within ten years of Walangkar s petition, a whole generation of leadership had sprung up,
urging those Marathas who had left the village for work in the mills, on the railroads, on the
docks, to educate themselves and to organize to gain strength. While Walangkar and other
early leaders were from the Bombay and Pune areas, Nagpur also formed a strong part of the
movement. Kisan Fago Bandose left a small volume of poetry along with his work for
newspapers, libraries, conferences .... Twenty years after Bansode and the equally important
leader from Pune, Shivram Janba Kamble, began their work, a leader arose who was much
better educated, even more capable in spreading a modern message of equality, one who could
spread the movement far beyond the Mahar caste.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (1891-1956) was a distant relative of Walangkar and took pride in the army
background of Walangkar and his own father. She was not only by far the most highly educated
untouchables in India, he probably held more degrees then any Brahman in the Maharashtra
area. He represented all the untouchable could hope to be, he remained identified with his
people, and he was extraordinarily competent in securing rights from the british government as
it began to democratise its Parliamentary structures in India.

Dalit Panthers was founded in 1972 by writers to protest both atrocities against untouchables in
villages and the ineffectiveness of the Republican party founded by Ambedkar just before his
death in 1956.
The founders of the Panthers were poets committed both to literature and to ‘literature as a
weapon’ against social injustice. The headline years of the Panthers, 1971 to 1973, may also be
said to mark the true beginnings of the Dalit Sahitya movement, although individual writers had
appeared earlier.

Another area of Ambedkar’s leadership, that of religious conversion, maybe just as important a
factor in the development of Dalit Sahithya as education and politics.
The Buddhist conversion came after years of fruitless attempts at Temple entry. It came after it
became clear that independent India’s new Constitution, which Dr Ambedkar helped frame as
chair of the drafting committee, could outlaws untouchability but not remove the idea of pollution
and hierarchy from hearts and minds. Protest from within the system and critical love for
Hinduism were no Longer adequate for men and women who wanted social and psychological
freedom.

Within the two years of the conversion, the first major figure in Dalit Sahithya, Shankarrao
Kharat, published a book of short stories; Bara Balutedar appeared in 1958. The book contained
gentle character sketches of each of the servants in present in a traditional village, including the
Mahar ‘ inferior village servant’. In the late 1960s, the trickle of Dalit writing became a flood.

It is with the Dalit Panthers that Dalit poetry became one of the most important strands in recent
Marathi literature. Other poets emerged outside the panther group. Daya Pawar not only
published poetry but wrote a somewhat fictionalised autobiography which he titled Balut, the
name of the arrangement by which the Mahar in the village performed his traditional work. Balut
was widely praised and was very influential, and the writing of autobiographies is now in
important feature of Marathi literature, not only among but this but also in other Dalit groups.

The most recent trend in the ever-changing field of the literature is the increasing importance of
women poets. Women have also entered the biographical field.

New language, new experiences, new sources of poetic inspiration, new entrants into a field
previously dominated by the high caste – these are all noncontroversial accomplishments of
Dalit Sahithya. Although there remains much controversy around questions like can there be
Dalit literature, or can then only be literature, regardless of the subject? Can only Dalit write
Dalit literature? Can educated ex untouchables whose lifestyle is now somewhat middle-class
be considered Dalit?

Those in the Delhi school would say yes there is Dalit literature. Only dalits can write it because
only they have experienced the social as well as the economic problems of the lowest of castes.
And when educated and no longer poor, they not only remember their childhood, they also
suffer from the idea of pollution which remains strong in the Hindu mind, and they identify with
their village brothers and sisters who are still subject to outrageous treatment when the claim
their full human rights.

Habit by F.M Shinde

Written in Marathi
Poet is not a Dalit

Notes on poem:

Dalit poetry, often echoes either the agony of the repressed or the anger of the rebel, is
suspicious of convention and protests against the hegemony of caste and class. Intense
emotions, expressed in an unembellished, direct language is a major characteristic of Dalit
poetry.

F.M. Shinde's 'Habit', however, is subdued in its tone. The poem seems to focus on the
inertness of the repressed in society and throws light on how the Dalits may have become so
habituated to their subjugation that they cease to feel humiliated and continue to tolerate
extreme injustice without a whimper of protest. The poet compares the Dalit to a clay statue,
lifeless and silent, incapable of protest or resistance. The subdued voice of the poet, however,
barely camouflages the virulent attack against the interminable spell of extreme injustice meted
out to them. By implication, the poet subverts the apparent justification of the inability of the
oppressed to protest, and condemns those who have perpetuated this oppression. The poem, in
fact, is a direct attempt to provoke the inactive statue, the metaphor for passivity of Dalits, out of
its habitual inertness and react against an unjust system.

Untitled poem
By N T Rajkumar
Dalit

Dancing kobra eyes

twist into the body
striking at the corner
of the soul
asleep, sticking one's tongue out
on those full-moon nights
Dancing kobra eyes: represents the restlessness and agitation that is needed to strike out at the
oppressors and is perhaps aimed to lead to the destruction and death of all that has trampled
upon them through the ages

Drunk with the saliva

sucked from the dripping mouth,
my poisonous poetry
scattered like
fragrant flowers.
Frightened
to smell them alone
you bring to your aid
those soaring birds of prey.
Denying Shiva this time,
Standing on the power of the
god of anger,
I tease the kites.
Ask them, are you well?
You fly away,
disappear in the distance
like a dot.

My poisonous poetry: Indicates the fact that his poetry is not just an expression of protest
against the unjust social system but also against the literary tradition of the oppressors. It will
challenge, poison and demolish all existing power structures including the aesthetics of the non-
Dalits.
Frightened . . . birds of prey: The empowered groups in society will be so frightened by the
aggression and anger of Dalit rhetoric that they will not have the courage to face it alone and for
their support will bring with them kites which are 'birds of prey' much like the oppressors
themselves.
Denying Shiva: N .T Rajkumar, 'denies mainstream cultural and religious narratives.' It is
possible to connect the image of the 'kobra' in the first line to Shiva from whom it is delinked to
become an initiator and vehicle of Dalit protest, rebellion and recreation.
Tease the kites: The poet identifies the kite with his oppressors and teases it because he feels
that it is moving further away not just because of its desire for freedom but also because of the
fear of being destroyed by his anger and the 'poison' he will unleash.

I cannot touch
the shadow of your wing.
I will be born
again and again
As a devil,
a ghost, as Kali, and Isaki.
As the vengeful furies
I will terrorize you and follow you.

I cannot touch the shadow of your wing: The poet realizes that he may not be able to fly like the
kite or even come anywhere close to it.
I will be born ... again: The poet says that the fight against oppression and injustice will not end
with his death. It will be taken up by forces that will not rest till they avenge themselves of all the
pain and indignity that they have lived through
Isaki: Rajkumar chooses the marginalise narratives of folk deities like Isaki who are not part of
the Hindu pantheon; he claims that are spirits of god. These are also the vengeful furies who will
seek revenge from oppressor.

Notes:
There may be many ways of understanding and interpreting a poem since it may be complex,
multi-layered and may evoke many more meanings besides the apparent. However, one way in
which we may read poetry is by locating it within its literary tradition. The poem you just read is
part of the tradition of Dalit literature and articulates a protest against severe oppression. The
poem becomes a weapon in the fight against oppression and expresses the resulting anger and
frustration. It is the voice of a rebellious soul that wants to avenge itself The pain of subjugation
as well as the desire for revenge is not merely individual but becomes representative of the
condition of all Dalits.

Karukku
By Bama
Tamil

Karukku means palmyra leaves, which with their serrated edges on both sides are like double
edged swords.

The book gives us a peep into her childhood increases growth up to the moment of writing the
autobiography. She describes not just the deprivations that she went through personally but the
poverty and powerlessness of her whole community in the face of a caste ridden society, the
police and other forces of the state that are controlled and manipulated by the dominant caste
groups.

Bama’s experience with the Naikers make her feel pained and ashamed, there is this sense of
helplessness within her. She understands that this is because Naikers belong to a higher caste
community and they have money. Dalits had to step aside whenever is a higher caste individual
walked in their parth.

Schooling experience:
The author enrolled in a convent school in a nearby village to attend ninth grade. (TILL SHE
WAS IN 8TH GRADE THE AUTHOR HAD WORKED IN THE VILLAGE). IN the convent school
she did not have to work all the time, all she did was eat and study. Children who boarded at the
convent and studied there had a special status in the village. When the author went home she
did all the chores that fell to her customarily.

After finishing her 10th grade exams she went home. One day, she was helping her mother in
collecting wood. People who had seen her carrying the firewood said to her mother in
astonishment, “your daughter has finished her schooling at the convent, yet she does not mind
carrying firewood like this.” The author couldn’t figure out why they were surprised. (PROBABLY
BECAUSE SHE WAS STILL A HUMBLE GROUNDED PERSON, DID NIT ACT LIKE SHE WAS
TOO GOOD FOR SUCH “MENIAL TASK”, SHE WAS NOT BEING ARROGANT AND BRATTY)

Exploitation:
People from her work hard day in and day out. The author wondered that considering the rate at
which the work they should be able to advance themselves but that was not the case. They
never received payment that was appropriate to their labour. And even when men and women
did the same work, men received one wage, women another. Men were always paid more. But
although the people worked so hard and suffered bodily pain, they were always laughing and
cheerful. This was a community that was born to work. And no matter how hard they tried they
couldn’t improve their living conditions. It seemed as if they never reflected upon their terrible
state of affairs. But did they have time to think about it?

The only time these men and women were not working was when they fell asleep at night. They
seem to be at work all the time and they have to keep working until the moment of death. It is
only in this way that they can even half fill their bellies.

Children:
Earlier the children used to help out by taking care of the sheep and cattle and looking after the
babies. Nowadays they go to work like adults. At the crack of dawn they get into vans and travel
of to work in a matchbox factory where they stick on matchbox labels, make firecrackers and
use chemicals; at an age when they should be going to school, studying like everyone else and
playing around in the evenings, they are inside the factories instead. Two or three schools are
available. But how can they afford studying when there is an everyday struggle of filling their
bellies.

Refer to theme of silence and agency similar in women speak

Both women and Dalits are minority groups
Dalits face a greater degree of ostracisation