Dalit Writing- Intro.pptx

Dalit writing Intro

1. Dalit Writing UEN1833

2. Syllabus in a nutshell Non-Fiction: 3 Essays Fiction: 4 short Stories Poetry: 6 Poems Drama: 2 Dramas Novel: Samskara (U R Ananthamoorthy )

3. Dalit Literature: An introduction “Dalit Literature is a product of Dalit consciousness dealing with a kind of rejection and acceptance”- prof Waman Nimbalkar Presents the collective consciousness of social, political, economic and racial discrimination suffered by Dalits Due to the age –old ‘Varna System’ - caste based Hindu society- humiliation for lower caste people

4. Etymology

5. Dalit refers to one’s caste rather than class- it applies to the members of those menial castes which has the stigma of ‘untouchability’. Dalits are ‘outcastes’ falling outside the traditional four-fold caste system of hierarchy- brahmins , Kshatriyas, Vaishya and shudras . Term Dalit was first used by Jyoti Rao Phule . Untouchables, depressed classes and Harijans have adopted the term Dalit nowadays.

6. New meaning to Dalit Coz of mass awakeing and teaching of Dr B R Ambedkar: One, who rejects soul, accepts atheism, scientific objectivity, rationalism, ability to reason and morality. One who became equipped with knowledge to stop exploitation due to caste, religion. One who accepts the principles of equality, freedom, fraternity and justice as values in his life.

7. What is Dalit Literature? DL as a literary movement began after 1967. DL is that literature whch in an artistic manner shows the agony of the Dalits, their painful perplexity, family deterioration, poverty, humiliation and impoverished condition. DL raises voice against racism and casteism . Dalit literature  emerged in the 1960s in the Marathi language, and it soon appeared in Bangla, Hindi, Kannada, Punjabi, Telugu, and Tamil languages, through narratives such as poems, short stories, and autobiographies, which stood out due to their stark portrayal of reality and the  Dalit  political scene.

8. Modern Dalit Literature According to  Satyanarayana  and  Tharu , "although it is possible to identify a few Dalit writers from earlier times, the real originality and force of Dalit writing, which today comprises a substantial and growing body of work, can be traced to the decades following the late 1960s. Those are the years when the  Dalit Panthers  revisit and embrace the ideas of Babasaheb Ambedkar, and elaborate his disagreements with the essentially Gandhian mode of Indian nationalism, to begin a new social movement.In the following decades, Dalit writing becomes an all-India phenomenon. This writing reformulates the caste question and reassesses the significance of colonialism and of missionary activity.

9. In 1958, the term "Dalit literature" was used at the first conference of  Maharashtra Dalit Sahitya Sangha  (Maharashtra Dalit Literature Society) in  Mumbai.   Baburao Bagul  (1930–2008) wrote in Marathi .  His first collection of stories,  Jevha Mi Jat Chorali  (English  When I had Concealed My Caste ), published in 1963, depicted a cruel society and thus brought in new momentum to Dalit literature in Marathi; today it is seen by many critics as an epic portraying lives of the Dalits.   Gradually with other writers like,  Namdeo Dhasal (who founded Dalit Panther), these Dalit writings paved way for the strengthening of Dalit movement .   Notable Dalit authors writing in Marathi include Arun Kamble ,  Shantabai Kamble , Raja Dhale ,  Namdev Dhasal,  Daya Pawar ,  Annabhau Sathe ,  Laxman Mane,  Laxman Gaikwad,  Sharankumar Limbale,  Bhau Panchbhai ,  Kishor Shantabai Kale, Narendra Jadhav , Shankar Rao Kharat , and Urmila Pawar .

10. Dalit literature started being mainstream in India with the appearance of the English translations of Marathi Dalit writing.  An Anthology of Dalit Literature , edited by  Mulk Raj Anand and Eleanor Zelliot, and  Poisoned Bread: Translations from Modern Marathi Dalit Literature , originally published in three volumes and later collected in a single volume, edited by Arjun Dangle, both published in 1992, were perhaps the first books that popularised the genre throughout India.

11. Dalit panthers The  Dalit Panthers  are an Ambedkarite social organisation that seeks to combat caste discrimination. The organisation was founded by Namdeo Dhasal , Arjun Dangle, Raja Dhale  and J. V. Pawar on 29 May 1972 in the Indian state of Maharashtra .  The movement's heyday lasted from the 1970s through the 1980s, and it was later joined by many Dalit-Buddhist activists. The Dalit Panthers led a renaissance in Marathi literature and art. They advocated for and practised radical politics, fusing the ideologies of Ambedkar, Jyotirao Phule  and Karl Marx. Crucially, the Dalit Panthers helped invigorate the use of the term  Dalit  to refer to lower-caste communities.