Dalit Literature Paper 1

Unit I 

Blood-wave:Daya Pawar

Daya Pawar

Blood-wave

My ear pressed to your side

Heavy with child,

I hear rumours of the ocean.\the waves of blood swelling out

From a body fulfilled.

The mine nudging the seaward is

eager for its first glimpse

Of the universe.

Fists tight..clenched for a blow,

The life small as a fist

is aflame with ardour.

But you are so desolate…why desolation?

Do you fear-

As our generations gave lifelong battle

Battered by wind and rain

Our birthing bed arrayed

Under a palm leaf thatch

Feasting off gruel

Boiled rolling on our cooking fires

Do you fear,

As our generations grown bull-strong, bull-bumped

Pulling the village like a cart,

Became lifeless lumps worth mud,

he too will be mud?

Truly , if he is to be

Thus crushed and lifeless

Then-remember the Greek Myth?-

As soon as the cord is cut

Let’s burn, scorch, hire-harden him

In leaping flames. This phoenix

Feeding on live coals

Will brave the powerful skies

And all that this nation never offered

To you or me- the joy, the glory-

He will pull down to his feet.

(क) रक्तलाट

कान लावता तुझ्या गर्भार कुशीला मला सागराची गाज ऐकू येते. तप्त देहातून उसळणारी रक्तलाट शेवाळात दुश्या देणारा पेरता सुरुंग विश्वदर्शनाला आसुसला आहे. आवळलेल्या मुठी... देत असलेली धडक मुठीएवढ्या जीवात धगधगता आवेश आहे. पण तू अशी खिन्न... खिन्न का! ऊन-पावसात टकरा देत उभे पडीचे जिणे झावळाच्या पालात सजवलेली बाळंतशेज चुलाणावर रटस्टा शिजणारी पेज गावगाड्याची वेठबिगार ओढता ओढता बलदंड वशिंड असलेल्या आपल्या पिढ्या लोळागोळा होऊन मातीमोल झाल्या तसा हाही का मातीमोल होणार! खरंच, तस्सा तस्सा मुर्दाड होणार असेल, तर ग्रीक पुराणातली गोष्ट आठवते का? नाळ कापल्या कापल्या, धगधगत्या चुलाणावर याला तावून सुलाखून शेकवून काढू. इंगळ वेचणारा हा फिनिक्स पक्षी, बलिष्ठ आकाशाला भिडणार आहे. तुला मला जे सुख-वैभव, देशाने कधी वाट्यालाच येऊ दिले नाही; ते सारं सारं पायी खेचून आणणार आहे.

Daya Pawar (1935-1996) was born in Dhamangaon, Maharashtra in 1935. Primarily a poet, he published his first poem in the Dalit literary journal Asmitadarsh in 1967. His first collection of poems, Kondvada, appeared in 1974 and won the Maharashtra Government Award for literature. In 1979, he won the award for the second time for Baluta. Apart from these, his published works include Chavdi and Dalit Jaanivaa—both collections of his essays on Dalit literature, culture and politics—and Vittal, a book of short stories. He also wrote the screenplay for Jabbar Patel’s film Dr.Ambedkar. He received the Government of India’s Padma Shri Award in 1990

The present poem expresses readiness and strength among the Dalits to prepare the new generation in their battle for equality with the casteist society. The poet is here addressing his wife who is soon going to give birth to a child who is expected to carry on the endless struggle against injustice and tyranny.

The poet is addressing his pregnant wife. She is going to be a mother soon. He listens to sounds from her belly. He can hear  voices as powerful as the waves of the ocean. He imagines the rise or birth of a new generation who would be powerful, courageous and bold like gunpowder in the mines. He imagines the rise of a new generation excited to see the world. It is eager to accept the challenges of the casteist world. It is ready to attack the unjust system. The new generation is going to get whatever they want with iron fists. The poet can hear passion and tremendous   power in the iron fists of the new generation who are knocking at the edges. The poet can hear. He can imagine. But the poet can see the sorrow over the face of his wife. He does not understand why she is sad and worried. Perhaps, she is afraid of the future of the new generation which is being nurtured in her foetus. The old generation was strong and powerful. It was powerful enough to carry the age old and unjust system on their shoulders. They had the hardest life. They toiled in sun  and rain. They ate whatever they could  get. By bearing the harsh conditions, they became stronger.But yet they were defeated in the caste structure. They could not withstand it. The poet's wife is afraid that the same will be the  lot of the coming generation. They will perish in the long run. The child would also perish like them. But the poet said that it would not happen at all. He would not let it happen at all. He reminds his wife of the story in Greek mythology. Like the hero of Greek mythology, he would be trained and transformed through harsh circumstances. He would be  trained to fly like a phoenix to the sky. He would fly even if he perished. He would take back from all the richness ,  glory and happiness denied to his community by this unjust society. 

Unit I 

Hunger Poems by Namdeo Dhasal

Namdeo Dhasal 

Namdeo Dhasal was born in a village near Poona, India, in 1947. As a member of the Dalits, the casteless (or ›untouchables‹) he grew up in direst poverty. Dhasal spent his childhood in Golpitha, a red-light district in Mumbai/Bombay, where his father worked for a butcher. Following the example of the American Black Panther movement, he founded the Dalit Panther with friends in 1972. This militant organisation supported its radical political activism with provocative pamphlets. Dhasal was one of the most famous and most outspoken members of this group.

In 1973 he published his first volume of poetry, »Golpitha«, which caused an uproar in literary circles. It was followed by further poetry collections, among them »Moorkh Mhataryane« (t: The Foolisch Old Man), inspired by Maoian thoughts, the volume »Tuhi Iyatta Kanchi?« (t: How educated are you?), the erotic poems »Khel«, and »Priya Darshin« about the Indian Prime Minister Indira Ghandi. Apart from two novels he also published pamphlets such as »Andhale Shatak« (t: Century of Blindness) and »Ambedkari Chalwal«, a reflection on the socialist and communist concepts of B.R. Ambedkar, the founder of the Dalit movement.

In 1982 cracks began to appear in the Dalit movement. Ideological disputes gained the upper hand and eclipsed the common goal. Dhasal wanted to engender a mass movement and widen the term Dalit to include all oppressed people, but the majority of his comrades insisted on maintaining the exclusivity of their organization. Serious illness and alcohol addiction overshadowed the following years, during which Dhasal wrote very little. During the 1990s he became more politically active. Dhasal currently holds a national office in the Indian Republican Party, formed by the merger of all Dalit parties. His work has earned him many honours and prizes.

The Dalit literature tradition is very old, although the term was only introduced officially in 1958. Dhasal was greatly inspired by the work of Baburo Bagul, who employed photographic realism to draw attention to the circumstances which those deprived of their rights from birth have to endure. Dhasal’s innovative poems broke away from formal and stylistic conventions. His use of vulgar language offended literary taste. He wrote in Marathi, the official language of the state of Maharashtra, but included many words and expressions which only the Dalits normally used. In »Golpitha«, for example, he adapted his language to that of the red-light milieu, which shocked middle-class readers.

The Establishment’s assessment of Dhasal’s political, as opposed to his artistic, achievements may differ drastically, but for the writer they are inextricably linked. In an interview in 1982 he said that if the aim of social struggles was the removal of unhappiness, then poetry was necessary because it expressed that happiness vividly and powerfully. Later he stated, »Poetry is politics«. Dhasal adheres to this principle in his private life. He told the photographer Henning Stegmüller, »I enjoy discovering myself. I am happy when I am writing a poem, and I am happy when I am leading a protest of prostitutes fighting for their rights.«

Recently Dhasal wrote colums for the Marathi newspaper »Daily Saamana«, read by 60 million poeple, and worked as an editor for »Weekly Satyata«. He published the two collections of poetry »Mee Marle Suryachya Rathaache Saat Ghode« (t: I killed the seven Horses of the Sun King) and »Tuze Boat Dharoon me Chalallo Aahe« (t: Holding the father's finger the child is following him). For his political oeuvre Dhasal was honoured with numerous prizes such as the Soviet Land Nehru Award (1974), the Maharashtra State Award (1973, 1974, 1982, 1983) and the State Award Padmashri for literature (1999). In 2004 he received the Golden Life Time Achievement Award by the Sahitya Akademi.

1.Hunger by Namdeo Dhasal 

Hunger

1.Hunger

Unable to do this one thing  and able

To solve or not solve theorems

Will hunger –fires forge a poem?

Will music die in the fire of hunger?

How difficult music is

To him who cannot count the best of his own pulse.

Who hadn’t thought that fees couldn’t be claimed

For singing songs of hunger.

Hunger

A fruitless thing

However hard you work

The reward is still stones

If stones cannot build a house

We’ll not manage to live in it.

Hunger you are mouse, cat, lion in turn

How long can mere mortals like us stand

I this game that you’ve set up?

In the poem  Hunger poet is addressing  Hunger.  He is talking to hunger as if hunger were  a human being. Hunger is playing the game with the poet. He is unhappy with the games played by hunger. He said that a hungry man cannot solve a theorem. A hungry  man cannot write a poem or enjoy the melody of music. It is difficult to survive for a man with hunger. He is helpless. According to the poet a hungry person cannot even count the beat of his  own pulse. Even that beat is dead for him. Then how can he write poems or listen to music. Hunger is a fruitless thing for the poet. The poor people work day and night to build the houses of rich people. But if they are not paid how can they work at all. Hunger is a fruitless thing. Its stones cannot build a house, it is not possible for us to live in that house. Hunger is playing the game with the poet. It is playing the game of cat, mouse and lion. Poets and his community cannot stand this game. They can no longer play the game of hunger. 

The present poem is a commentary on the sad state of affairs which has overtaken the poorest people of India who were thrown in the lower rung of society and who toiled days and nights without having the fruit of their labour.  They were forced to live in poverty and Hunger by tbe casteist society. 

     2.Hunger 

Hunger

a shrewd peace is growing everywhere

this is the beginning of our new life sentence

hunger forgive us that we cannot cut the tree of time

but even cut, the sky will still be blue.

To which market can we carry dumb hearts?

Where auction them

Where day sweeps life

Who will buy crushed hearts

Who will profit by the deal?

Hunger, tell us your game, your strategy

If we can muster guts enough

We’ll fight you to the finish

Can’t crawl and grovel on our stomachs

Too long with you

How much can we wash the grime off hunger?

How much wash the dust off years?

How much scorn to the very ends of scorn?

Hunger, if a bridge of iron will not join you to us

Then let us fly free like unfettered birds

Hunger, your land , the thorns upon your land,

Fester in the brain all night

Till the brain itself freezes.

Hunger, when a thing is taken from the fridge

Is it still fresh?

Hunger your every blood drop is cold

Your every blood drop is mute

Order, let lightening course through the guts

Order, let life get charged

Wounded seas and the long moans of our demands

Hunger, say yes to our dreams

Don’t snuff out the orphan huts upon the shore

We’ll see later

The gold-threaded struggle

Between the snail of pain and the sea

The poet is talking about the helpless condition of the people of the community. He personifies hunger again. He says that Dalit are not able to fight with hunger any more. They cannot cut the tree of time. And even if they do, the sky will still be blue. It will not change its colour. Nothing will happen even if dalits decide to cut the tree of time. They are helpless in the caste system. Even if they go to the market to sell their hearts nobody would buy the crushed hearts of the Dalits. Nobody would get any profit from buying those crushed hearts. The poet asks hunger to tell him it's a game or its strategy. They will learn strategy and they will try to fight back. But they can no longer crawl or grovel on their stomachs. It is painful. It is unbearable. They could not play the game of hunger any longer. The poor Dalits lived in dirt and filth but hunger tortures them like a fresh wound. Their lives end in a struggle of hope and frustration. The poet is talking about the freedom that independence has brought for everyone. But that freedom does not  reach the Dalits. It is like a bridge of iron which fails to link Dalit to the others. They are still isolated in the new dawn of independence. Hunger is cold blooded. It cannot understand the suffering of Dalits. It freezes their minds. They are not able to think how to overcome hunger. Hunger is threatening the lives of Dalits. It is posing challenges to their dreams and aspirations. 

3. Hunger 

Hunger

we have made our demand

let you need us

will we never grow?

Let us grow

The sun may blithely have forgotten dawn

The river may blithely have forgotten time

We wanted more from light

Than mere life

But light turned false.

Hunger,

We will not allow a column of cloud to stand,

Indifferent, to our door

How much more can we thank

Pain the music in pain

If we have not made ourselves a tidy life

What right do we have to quarrel with the flowers?

How much can we excite pain

How much can we burn

How much can we catch the fire that burns forever?

If our words find no expression

In this stream of sun

We’ll salute you like defeated soldiers

Whoever said that every soldier in the army

Fights like a man?

Despite their sufferings, Dalits are determined to fight back. They will no longer grovel. They have their demands now. They are raising questions now. The sun may forget to rise or the river may forget time but the Dalits will not give up their struggle any longer. They are expecting more from light than mere life. Mere living is not enough for them now. However, to their disappointment, the light of hope has turned false. They realise that no charge in their lives will take place at all. But yet Dalits refuse to give up. They are determined not to let clouds of hopes and dreams go back empty from their doors. 

The poet is continuously asking hunger questions about the unending sufferings of Dalits. They are living in pain. There is no end to their pain and sufferings. They are burning in the fire of poverty. They are falling into hunger. The poet is asking hunger how long all these will continue. It should end as soon as possible. Dalits who fight with life and challenges of the caste system are brave and courageous. But before hunger, they are helpless. They are transformed into defeated soldiers. Their pain  and sufferings are unbearable to them. They are dying a slow death. 

4.Hunger 

Hunger,

There’s not a single grain in our house today

not a single clever brain in our house today

hunger

if one sings till the last light of the innermost being

will it turn off hunger-light?

Hunger if one takes care of you now

Will it darken?

Hunger, your style is your own

No other calamity comes our way

But you.

Hunger, if we cannot mate you

Cannot impregnate you

Our tribe will have to kill itself

Hunger we have all the aces

Why talk of the songs of the half-sexed jacks?

Here’s our manhood before you now,

Let’s see who wins this round

You or we.

The Dalits live in abject poverty. There is not a single piece of grain in their house. They live hungry. Hunger has stopped them from thinking as well. Their brains are freezed by hunger. The poet asks if any one of us sings, will it ward off hunger? Hunger is the main problem of Dalits. No other calamity tortures them as much as hunger. If they live hungry, they will die soon. The entire generation will be soon wiped out because of hunger. Hunger is a grave challenge before the Dalits. Hunger would force Dalits to end their lives. That will be the last option they can have to save themselves from pain and misery caused by hunger. Dalits don't get any rights like other men. Dalits are courageously confronting hunger unlike the songs of eunuchs which are fruitless and without any results. Like the real men, Dalits pose a challenge to hunger.They are challenging the society for their rights as human beings.

5.Hunger 

Hunger

which came first, seed or tree?

Hunger you make things too difficult

Hunger just tell us what breed this monkey is

And if you can’t

Then we will screw

Seventeen generations of you

Hunger, you and your mother

 The poet is asking hunger what comes first seed or tree. He is saying that hunger is making things difficult for the Dalits. The poet asks if all men come from monkeys or not.  He says if all men come from monkeys, then, all men are equal. Then, what is the reason that Dalits are being oppressed? What is the reason that they are treated like animals or non human beings. Hunger has to answer these questions or the poet's community will take revenge upon hunger which is  torturing them for ages. His community will kill hunger itself. 

Thus, the poet warns hunger of the consequences ii has to bear in case it does not stop playing with the lives of Dalit. This challenge is,  however, at a large level, given to the caste based society. If society continues to deny Dalits their rights, they would have to face the anger of Dalits who cannot be  stopped  from fulfilling their dreams and aspirations.

The poet represents rebellion against the unjust  society. It challenges discrimination of all kinds faced by the Dalits. 

 

Unit Second 

Q) 1.  What is Dalit Literature by Sharadchandra Muktibodh? 

Sharatchandra Muktibodh was an Indian poet

 He was also a novelist and critic. He wrote in Marathi. His contribution in the Dalit Literature is immense. Some of his notable works are Sarahadda- a novel, Jan He Wolatu Jethe -a novel, Nawi Malwat -a poetry collection and Satyachi Jat- a poetry collection.

He is popularly known for his essay What is Dalit Literature. The essay talks about a very important question which had been ravaging since the 1950s and still a burning one. 

The term Dalit would mean someone crushed or pounded. It would also mean oppressed, marginalised and subaltern. In this sense we can define the Dalit Literature as the literature of these oppressed communities.

Arjun Dangale , a noted Dalit writer, rightly tried to define the idea of Dalit Literature. He sees Dr. Ambedkar as the father of Dalit Literature. The main reason that are responsible for the rise of Dalit Literature was Dr. Ambedkar and his struggle for the liberation of Dalits. Dangale writes " the first conference of Dalit writes" was held in 1958 in Bombay. It was organised by Maharashtra Dalit Sahitya Sangha. In the same conference, the Resolution 5 reads,  " the literature written by the Dalits and that written by others about the Dalits in Marathi be accepted as a separate entity known as Dalit literature "( 242). 

It would be a good starting point to read Dr. Ambedkar's  Annihilation of Caste to get to know more the real inspiration behind Dalit movement and Dalit Literature. 

Maharashtra has been the epicentre of Dalit Literature. Here are some of the key movements of its gradual progress. 

-Annabhau Sathe gave speech in the first conference of the Dalit literature in 1958.

-Baburao Bagul published its short story collection Jevha Mi Jaat Chorali hothi in  1963.

-Gangadhar Pantavane launched  Asmitadarsha journal at  Milind College Aurangabad in 1968.

-debate on Dalit literature in the periodical Marathwada in 1969.

-Dalit Panther moment in 1972 with writers and activist like Baburao Bagul, Daya Pawar , Arjun Dangle,  Namdev Dhasal,   Raja Dhale and J.B Pawar.

Today Dalit literature is often compared with literature written by other subaltern communities all across the world. It includes many great writers Urmila Pawar,  Sharan Kumar Limbale,  Arjun Dangle , Om Prakash Valmiki, Meena Kandasamy,  Bama,  Gogu Shyamala,  G Kalyan Rao. 

The essay what is Dalit literature by Muktibodh was translated by Anil Raghunath Kulkarni. It was included in Poison Bread. It defines Dalit literature as" the literature produced by Dalit consciousness". " Dalit literature is one which is produced out of a dalit vision". 

According to Muktibodh , Dalit literature is objective in nature , not subjective. Its content is social, not individualistic. It is optimistic and revolutionary. Dalit autobiographies  are important part of literature. According to Muktibodh, even though " pains and  pleasure all lived and experienced by individuals alone, the suffering of the dalits are common and attributable to common reasons. Hence  their content is essentially social." 

Dalit consciousness is awareness of caste system in Indian society and its impact on one mind. It takes into consideration how a person feels within the caste system and looks out at the way society is organised.

If a writer is aware of this factors or his work reflect both these words then we may call his work as part of Dalit literature. 

According to Muktibodh, Dalit literature must be inspired by a dalit view point. This is the viewpoint of feeling as oppressed. Dalit viewpoint is necessary what it is not sufficient for a creative work. Muktibodh gives the example of a Marathi novel Pan Lakshyat  Kon Gheto? It was written by Haribhau Apate. The work really shows the suffering of women in a joint family but it lacks the artistic vision of Sharad Chandra Chatterjee, the great writer who talked  about women's issues. According to Muktibodh, the human mind is led  by two forces :  the primitive and mysterious human passions within the mind and  the frightening destiny outside the mind. A great work of art should be faithful to both. 

Unit II 

2. R. G. Jadhav Dalit Feelings and Aesthetic Detachment 

 Organisers of the conference on Dalit  literature in 1976 has had a correct understanding of the development of Dalit literature. Dalit literature should have social awareness as well as aesthetic Outlook. The idea involves social awareness as well as aesthetic outlook. Dalit  literature is rising with the time. It is important to think about the quality and the level of social awareness reflected in the Dalit literature. It is also important to think about aesthetic and formal aspects of that. Previously all consideration of Dalit  literature was confined only to theoretical discussion arguments and claims. Autonomy to a work of art should be given despite social contents  because even social awareness means that it should be expressed in the proper literary form. 

In literary criticism, the content oriented and form oriented position seems to be separate, but in actual criticism they go hand in hand. Social and formal aspects are blended in a work of literature. This blending is organic and if it is not so,  the purposes are failed.

 It is true that Dalit literature always talks about social awareness like novels written by Haribhau Apte or novels of Dr.  Ketkar. But without entering into the formal aspect or without having a formal aspect or entering into the mental attitude of the writer it is not possible to make them critically great works of art. Dalit literature is indeed literature of social content but it is also a distinct form with each and every writer. 

Tradition of social awareness produces a quality of realism to Dalit literature. In fact the whole b of Marathi literature is the same. And so it is possible test the worth of social awareness in different types of Dalit literature and also speciality of each type of Dalit writing in the light of the achievements of the whole of the Marathi literary tradition. 

It is important for understanding of Marathi critical tradition. For that established norms must be considered. Dalit writing should established new norms and standards . It should create new ideas and norms out of social awareness. 

Forms of literature which need greater detachment such as drama or humour are yet to be taken out by Dalit writers. In short, Dalit sensibility is yet to form itself as detached  field and  that is why forms like drama and humour are not appeared in Dalit literature. You can say that Dalit  writers failed to get detached   Dalit sensibility or aesthetic detachment which are needed to portrait social feelings and relationship objectively. Dalit writing can free themselves or can have this aesthetic detachment while liberating itself from extreme involvement in social awareness. Short novels Haqeeqat and Jatayu written by professor Keshav Meshram  are good examples of it. In fact Jatayu is more successful. Author is not personally involved in the narrative rather he is more objective and detached. These are the fine specimen of artistic detachment in Dalit literature. The work by Meshram , like other modernist works,  shares pains of Dalit community but in a objective matter or without involving personally in it. Artistic detachment is very important. Such things in dalit writing cannot be achieve so easily for that it is important to take critical examination of social consciousness and feelings. For that one has to be objective towards them. 

A different kind of attitude can be seen  in the stories of Baburao Bagul. Stories are poetic but they tend to become wild and uncontrollable with the ruthless reality. In C. T. Khanolkar stories he  seeks  inwards because it looks  for the psychological and pathological elements in human existence. Stories of Baburao Bagul are  dramatic but  they are also decorated with poetic style and poetic comments. Babul could go  deeper  into reality , had he stopped  the poet in him. 

In narrative  writing if you do not have poetic insite it is good. Asmitadarsha had stories by many young Dalit writers. The stories are close  to the lyric form though it is natural for young writers to have such poetic form in their writing. The  story of a fallen woman in Choka Kamble's  Pimpal Pan  is a poetic story or a story poem. Though  Dalit feelings are basically the same,  they need distinction in their individual existence. Experiences should be different in each case.

Unit III

Note: Read only central ideas in each point).

1)Dalit Literature is but Human Literature is an essay by Baburao Bagul. 

The Origin of Suffering

The essay begins with the idea of the origin of suffering. It talks about the rise of property rights and also about various rules and principles which were used by people in power to justify power, misery, sorrow, slavery, meaningless religious rituals and notions of heaven and hell. These people used them to exploit others like Dalits and marginal communities. With the passage of time, republics had  fallen and society was being ruled by the exploitative state. 

A Comprehensive Vision

The rise of an autocratic state  and fall of republics matched with the rise of Buddha. Buddha showed how lust for wealth, power, violence resulting from such desires are responsible for sorrow, misery, pain and slavery in human life. Buddha showed the reason of sorrow and suffering to mankind. He also showed the way to eradicate pain and suffering from human life. Buddha stood against the exploitative structure of society which was designed to oppress others. However, neither autocratic state died nor evils like hoarding of wealth and desire for power. Slaves could not be freed. The idea of socialisation of wealth and power could not sustain. More and more wars were fought and nations were made slaves. Inequality was rampant. The Varna and class  system destroyed divided people. In the Sangha  of Buddha there was a democracy. People of different castes were mingling with each other like rivers with the ocean. 

They could have a happy life of equality and peace in the form of social democracy. 

The Nature of the Exploitative State 

The exploitative state has a peculiar characteristic. It permits only those doctrines and institutions to live which are helpful for its existence.  It pollutes and destroys principles and doctrines that are constructive. Thus the exploitative state justified inequality and untouchability, by shaping thought and culture accordingly. Principles of equality were destroyed by them. 

The ruling power finds anti spiritualism  and atheism as its enemies. If they are accepted, they would have to end the idea of God and religious power and the penal system. Principles of anti spiritualism and atheism are important for the republican state. 

Such an oppressive state cannot adopt Buddhism because it opposees inequality. Buddha had Sangha and the Sangha consisted of people of all castes and classes.

 Buddhism fought for equality for a long time. With the increasing power of the exploitative state, inequality and untouchability reached high. The social fabric was so corrupted that even Budhha in the Jataka Tales was shown only to have been born from the upper castes. In the stories he was shown as Brahmins, Kshatriya, Vaishyas and even birds and beasts.

Property Rights Varna and Caste 

Varna and Caste were decided on the basis of birth. It was because the ruling class wanted to have wealth, power, higher social status and they did not want sorrow, misery, and slavery that they had imposed on others. Birth was thought to have been based on the karma of the last life made by man. So good karma in the previous life  was thought to have given the life of upper castes and the bad karmas the life of Shudras and untouchables. It was a Machiavellian act of manipulating the institution of property rights. Result of this was that society was divided. The upper caste represented all - wealth, comforts, power and closeness to God but others were subjected to lifelong sorrow. They were even denied salvation or mukti. Changes in the social means of production and their owners lead to changes in the class structure and result in social progress. But since there was development of the social progress of production, these changes in the class structure did not materialise.

The idle talk of sinful or meritorious deeds , rebirth, fatalism, destiny, etc. was spread and sanctified those who had themselves been raised to the status of divinity. God was seen as justifying this oppressive social structure. 

The oppressor projected propaganda. They said that all the suffering started with the human body. If there is no human body there is no suffering or misery. Because of this propaganda , social consciousness among the people could not be brought as they thought of their sufferings as something natural or results of their karma in the previous life. Common man was thus made unable to see the reasons for his suffering. He lost all his ability to feel pain and understand reality. To prevent anything against its rule, the oppressor had also employed military, police, jail and the scriptures. Buddhism progressed when the state accepted anti spiritualism, atheism, rationalism, and progressive attitude. But when the exploitative state found it against its interests , it destroyed Buddhism with military power or by other devious means. The fault therefore does not lie with the particular caste but with the Hindu feudal system. The entire system was founded on monarchy. 

War -Like Characters

The brave heroes who fought for power were given the status of Gods. Their wars and stories found place within the holy scriptures. A number of Hindu festivals were also celebrated to mark their victories. Those who were defeated in wars were demonised and those who won the war were glorified. As power was shifted, after defeats, to the winning varnas, those who helped to establish the rule of the Brahmins, and the Kshatriyas were glorified. The social structure was shaped according to the interests of these varnas. Mythology celebrated their ideals of contempt, malice, pride. 

Christ Different Ideals

Jesus Christ who was the son of God came upon the earth and promised paradise to anyone who trusted him and anyone who repented his sins. The Bible talks about the sin of first man Adam and the first woman Eve. And so the man and woman relationship is a sin in the Christianity. However, if a man follws virtues such as love, compassion, service and fraternity God would besto his love upon man. Thus, in Christianity, there is always a space of the downtrodden and miserable people despite division like rich and poor class. But this is not seen in Hinduism in which Gods and scriptures have treated the downtrodden people as enemies. They spread propaganda against them.Thus, communities like Shudra and Atishudra did not find place in literature and society. Gods and their books are hateful of these communities. Even the literature of saints have failed to accommodate them. 

Sankrit Literature

Literature produced in the Sankrit is prejudiced as it always glorified Gods and Goddesses of the two varnas of Brahmins and Kshatriya but no such heroic status is given to the gods of other varnas. Thus religious literature written is Sankrit is in the interests of the rulling classes.  Only gods of the upper castes are designed with divine status.

Moreover, these upper castes enjoyed monopoly over wealth , power and education. As a result, Sankrit Literature could hardly cross the limit of Smritis or the sacrey cannon. Sankrit literature could not provide the mythical foundation and the total tradition for Dalit literature.

Literature of the Saints 

With the coming of Islam and fall of Hindu kingdom one by one saints came forward to stop the spread of Islam. They preached through literature but they could not only strengthen the ideology of Caste system in society. With the coming of Islam and the fall of Hindu kingdoms, many Saint poets came from the Shudras and the Atishudras. However, when the Hindu rulers made settlement with the Muslim rulers, either by accepting their dominance or by remaining under their power, the Varna system again began to rise.  The Muslim rulers did not change the oppressive Hindu system. Rather, they kept it. By the time British came, the creative potential in social was completely dead. Saints promoted and helped the Varna system to sustain. The Varna system flourished than before. In fact, the islamic society has also accepted caste system and it's value structure. The bhakti route of Saint poets could not spread equality. It could not change caste ideology. People believed in Be as God has made thee. 

Advent of the British and of Science

The intellectual system had began to take place during the British raj after the fall of Hindu and Muslim rulers at their hands. The coming of enlightenment began illuminating the minds of people. They began to think critically. New literary expressions rose and literature began to take on social realm rather than religious and metaphysical ones. The elite varnas were highly benefitted.They occupied places of leadership.They began to represent society.  Even there was a critical examination of Hinduism and demand for reforms were also made. 

Women 

Life of women had become the main issue with literature unlike the earlier period. Issues of child Window, a child Bride and other  types of the downtrodden women came up in literature.

Who is a Shudra  

Even Shudras got place in literature along with women. The empire was promoting liberal ideas and social reforms. There was a division among the Brahmins which was visible for the first time like the orthodox and the reformists.  Even the English novel began to portray the lives of weak and downtrodden. 

Blindness 

Hindu writers could not perceive Shudras and Atishudras. They could not see their sufferings. Love , compassion and fraternity never had any place in the Hindu Varna system.

Had there been Buddhism

Love and compassion compassion could be found in the Indian Buddhist tradition. Had there been Buddhism, we would have multude of schools, hospitals,and religious institutions who would be teaching these ideals. Scientific attitude could be promoted easily in the society. The social structure could be changed.  In the past, Buddhism had made immense contribution in the field of medicine, chemistry, grammar, law and philosophy. Buddhism is dynamics and progressive.  The philosophy of Buddha could provide democratic values in the society.  That is also why the neglected sections of the society found a place in Ther and Therigathas.  

The new literature which was rising with the spread of English, explained the notions of sinful and meritorious deeds.  Mahatma Phule promoted notions of democracy and made reforms. However, agains, despite the best efforts made the caste structure was left unbroken. 

The reason is the Indian Brahmins who wanted to keep religion, political power and exploitation.  Writings written by writers of the same Varna remained within the boundaries of Manuism. 

National Enlightenment 

With the coming of national enlightenment questions were raised at the unjust systems created and maintained by Brahmins and Kshatriyas who enjoyed religious and political power respectively. The national liberation movement was in the course of time divided into political and social movements.  The national movement was turned into a form of historical , mythological movement and ancestor worship.  In fact, there was no reason to worship the past. The common man had little to do with the past. In fact the common man acquired a new identity on the basis of his place in the process of production. Coming of science and technology dwindled the positions of upper castes. The age of mythology was gone.  The upper castes struggled to get back all that they lost in the reformation. He worked upon history, mythology, and gone ages because they were supreme leaders in the past. They therefore insisted on  the past.  Reformists such Phule, Agarkar, Gokhale, and Ranade who talked about the miserable condition of the Shudras and the Atishudras were declared enemies. Social democracy was opposed by these people. They isolated these struggles into freedom struggles. 

When struggle for independence was not allowed to develop into a struggle for social, political, economic and cultural reforms, Dr. Ambedkar launched his movement for social revolution and democracy. Dr. Ambedkar began his struggle, the downtrodden people rose up in anger. The socialist and communist tried to make the national movement labour centred , but without any success. 

At this time, the Shudra and Atishudras got their place in Indian literature. They began to receive heroic status but they did not express Ambedkarite thoughts because the nationalist movement had not rejected the Varna system. The caste system still dominates the entire society. Varna and class have typical similarities. They hinder the class consciousness among the extremely poor and the extremely rich. In the same way , Hindu philosophical ideas like fate also weaken class consciousness. Hindu writers , therefore, find it difficult to cope with the Ambedkarite hero who is a rebel with a  scientific vision. 

Heros like Karna and Ekalavya are pacified to the Varna system.  They could produce nothing but a general Hindu worldview that life is nothing but suffering. They could produce nothing but Hindu mythological values. 

Writers who accepted and internalised Hindu value structure , found  it difficult to accept Ambedkarite heroes.  Even the Marxist writers prefered heroes akin to Hindu mythological values. 

Dalit Literature

A human being is not inherently Dalit, neglected or untouchable. It is the system that degrades him in this fashion. When the system is changed, the human being regains his human essence. Therefore literature that portrays the human being is, in fact, not Dalit literature at all. Even after realizing this, a major literary stream calls itself, in all seriousness, Dalit literature. The caste-ridden society and its literature have viewed the Dalit as someone who is mean, despicable, contemptible and sinful due to his deeds in his past life; he is seen as sorrowful in this life, poor, humiliated and without history, one whose ancestors could never hope to acquire respectability in either temples or scriptures. This, in fact, is the suffering, misery, servitude, humiliation, neglect and contempt of the Indian society as a whole, and Dalit literature carries the burden upon its head. Dalit literature has accepted ‘Dalit-hood’ (i.e. the status of the oppressed or the

downtrodden), the way Buddha accepted suffering, or the way so many revolutionaries accepted the- status of the oppressed.

Daydreaming, and the establishment and portrayal of everything that belongs to it, may appear to be beautiful (due to the power attached to it, of course); but it cannot be forgotten that this establishment enslaved women and Shudras and condemned them to the status of untouchables. Dr Ambedkar was the essence of social revolution itself and embodied the mythical value-structure and ideal of the Dalits. It is not that he became the leader of the Dalits because he believed them

to be Mahars, i.e. low-caste. He became their leader in order to eradicate suffering, untouchability and caste distinctions. It was not that he became a ‘Dalit’ because he did not respect the ideology based on the concepts of deeds or sins of past life which strengthened distinctions based on birth, caste, vama and class. He was a great revolutionary fighter and a great scholar, and yet he called himself an untouchable Dalit. It is for the same reason that writers — of today

as well as of tomorrow — whose works have the potential to be placed in the tradition of great literature of the world, call themselves Dalit writers. The established literature ofIndia is Hindu literature. But it is Dalit literature which has the revolutionary power to accept new science and technology and bring about a total transformation. ‘Dalit’ is the name for total revolution; it is revolution incarnate.

 

Unit IV

Q) Babytai Kamble the Prisons We Broke 

Babytai Kamble wrote her own autobiography, The Prisons We Broke. The autobiography was written in Marathi and later it was translated into English. The original name of the autobiography in Marathi is Jina Amucha. The autobiography is divided into two sections. At first she showed  the othernesd of Dalit women in her own society. The second she praised the role played by Dalit women  as they  followed  the foot steps of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. They dream like Ambedkar of equality. 

Babytai shows her own life as an example of the Dalit oppression. She did not hide the cruel realities of Dalit life and their world. Baby Tai was born and brought up in Maharwada. Maharwada is a place where the Mahars , an untouchable community, lived. Maharwada was situated at the outskirts of the village. Mahars are the aboriginal people of the region but they had fallen on evil days because of the caste system.  

Baby Tai Kamble talks about the intersectionality of the troubles of Dalit women. She is subjected to oppression in a dual manner. She is the victim of the caste system because of her own caste and she is also the victim of patriarchy within her own community because she is a woman.Thus, she is in the lowest strata of society. Power dynamics in the sphere of family and society have put women against each other. In families , women are targeting women. Thus, the condition of women is really bad.  In The Prisons We Broke Baby Tai gave the examples of mother-in-law's falsely accusing her daughter-in-law. She might even drive her to death or even support her son to marry someone else. According to Baby Tai, the reason for this is that since women are not able to express their emotions towards society, she finds comfort in her victory over an inferior being , that is, another woman. That is why in families women seem  to be standing against each other.  

In the autobiography, Baby Tai questions the superstitions and practices of Hinduism followed by the Mahars. Though Mahars lived outside the village, they were warned not to pollute the areas in villages inhabited by the Caste Hindus. women in Dalit society had to face the burnt of superstitions flowed by their male counterparts. 

She gave the examples of her own mother who could not maintain relationships with others because of years of oppression. Women wed in Maharwada were asked to be docile. They should be donning their pallava and should have kumkum in the presence of men of their community.  Mahars faced the angers of Brahmins. But later, women in the house would be rebuked and flogged by Mahar male out of frustration.  Even mythological women goddesses were seen as inferior to male gods. 

More than that, like elite upper castes in which women were not permitted to eat before their male had finished their meal, the same practice was also followed among the Mahars. Women in the Mahars were thus subjected to all these kinds of superstitions. Brahmins would not touch them while accepting money. Dalit woman had to bow down and step out of the road in the village whenever an upper caste man would approach. Dalit girl in school were made to sit on the floor as not to pollute the classroom of caste Hindus. 

Baby Tai talks about an loathing odd practice where  Mahar women had to carry the faeces of newly wed-Brahmin women on their heads since the Hindu custom wanted the Brahmins woman not to leave  even for defecation during the period to ward off evil.  Hindu custom did not allow toilets to be built inside homes for the purposes of purity of the household. 

Babytai later talks about changes that had  taken place in the lives of Dalits with the coming of Dr. Ambedkar. Their condition had  taken a turn. Dalit woman played a big role in the liberation of Dalits from the caste system. Her role should be lessened in any way according to Babytai. Dr. Ambedkar showed them a better way of life. She said that the younger generation of Dalit could not accurately understand the contribution of Dr. Ambedkar. It was because their sudden new found socio economic rise made them careless about the great struggle of Dr. Ambedkar. Mahars were superstitious people. Any person having diseases was thought to have been possessed by evil spirits or spirits of gods and goddesses. If such a person died he was said to have reached the metaphysical realm. Mahars were illiterate. They could not  have  access to education. They could not have access to finances or medicine. Mahars were kept as such by the upper caste so that they could not have benefits of the civilisation.  Dr. Ambedkar changed the mentality of Mahars when he came to villages wearing a three piece suit. He urged Mahars to shun away all the superstitions. He urged them to give up the lifestyle designed for them by the upper caste. He wanted women to provide education to their children. Dr. Ambedkar asked the Mahars not to eat the meat of dead animals. He asked them to give up all the superstitious practices and rituals. Mahars women carried on  the messages of Dr. Ambedkar. They rebelled against the caste system and Hindu superstitions. The words of Dr. Ambedkar brought changes in the life of Mahar women.

            Unit II

Q. 2. 'The weave of my life' by Urmila Pawar

 

"My mother used to weave aaydans, the Marathi generic term for all things made from bamboo. I find that her act of weaving and my act of writing are organically linked. The weave is similar. It is the weave of pain, suffering, and agony that links us."

Activist and award-winning writer Urmila Pawar recounts three generations of Dalit women who struggled to overcome the burden of their caste. Dalits, or untouchables, make up India's poorest class. Forbidden from performing anything but the most undesirable and unsanitary duties, for years Dalits were believed to be racially inferior and polluted by nature and were therefore forced to live in isolated communities.

Pawar grew up on the rugged Konkan coast, near Mumbai, where the Mahar Dalits were housed in the center of the village so the upper castes could summon them at any time. As Pawar writes, "the community grew up with a sense of perpetual insecurity, fearing that they could be attacked from all four sides in times of conflict. That is why there has always been a tendency in our people to shrink within ourselves like a tortoise and proceed at a snail's pace." Pawar eventually left Konkan for Mumbai, where she fought for Dalit rights and became a major figure in the Dalit literary movement. Though she writes in Marathi, she has found fame in all of India.

               In this frank and intimate memoir, Pawar not only shares her tireless effort to surmount hideous personal tragedy but also conveys the excitement of an awakening consciousness during a time of profound political and social change.

              The weave of my life Urmila Pawar’s Aaydan, an expression from the local dialect spoken in the villages of Maharashtra forms the background of her life. Originally written in Marathi as Aaydan and later translated into English as The Weave of My Life: A Dalit Woman’s Memoirs by Maya Pandit in 2008 is a recent autobiography by Urmila Pawar. “Weaving” has various metaphorical significance. Weaving of cane baskets was an important occupation of the women of Konkan region in Maharashtra from where the author hails (Naikar, 3). As the author asserts, My mother used to weave aaydans. I find that her act of weaving and my act of writing are organically linked. The weave is similar. It is the weave of suffering, and agony that links us. (Pawar, 10).

Other than being an impetus for writing for Pawar, the very act of weaving not only spells out their economic status but also the gender-specificity of the occupation within the community. Poverty fundamentally bore many problems for Pawar’s community. For instance, she writes Dalits had the custom of all people eating from one plate, but that was usually because there were few plates in the homes. (Pawar, 17) The custom was directly linked with the material aspects of their lives. With lesser money, they had limited access to the resources ultimately defining their worldview. Similarly, begging from the upper castes during festivals and eating leftovers and even gobbling on meat of dead animals were part of her community’s daily struggle for survival. The story starts with a description of a village where a group of Dalit women start their day with travelling to the town in order to sell firewood and buy salt and fish on their journey home. These women would carry heavy weights on their heads with bundles of wood, grass stacks, ripe mangoes etc. (Rege, 361). They would travel early in the morning, leaving their kids alone and hungry at home. The situation of Dalit women in the village of Ratnagiri brings to the fore the patriarchal culture of the village and disclosing the caste and gender based division of labour leaving traumatizing experiences for the women of her community.

Pawar’s autobiography can be seen as an intelligent and authentic narrative in which the author weaves the memories of her childhood, her classmates, her community, her various family members and her husband’s family. She brings forth the narrative by weaving all the incidents that occurred in her life and her community. This divulges the daily struggles of Dalits as well as the ways in which dominant castes subdue them. The narrative of The Weave of My Life keeps on flashing back and forth between the village and the city. The author recalls her experiences of hunger, poverty, caste discrimination and domestic violence. These harsh experiences are mixed with images of Dalit tradition and culture, wherein disease is warded off with superstition and children’s hunger is suppressed with stories (Sen, 42).

Pawar negotiates with the trauma of living on the margins by pouring her heart out in a truly incredible narrative. Acquiring education has always been a distant reality for the Dalits and therefore, one of the chief themes of Dalit literature. The upper castes/ Brahmins hindered the access of the untouchables to public institutions. The caste-driven society believed in maintaining the status quo by limiting the existence of Dalits to serving and performing menial chores. Similar was the case in the village of the author. There was hardly any school for the children of the Mahar community. The upper castes had opened up schools in their houses where the Mahar children were denied entry. Also, wherever the children of the Mahar caste had limited access to the schools, they were humiliated by their school teachers who would partake in maintaining social distance. The author had desired to get educated and was supported by her family. She emphasized that it was because of the support from her family that she got the strength to stand up for her community. Pawar's aspirations were high, despite the difficulties she faced in her life her spirit for education never died. She successfully completed her higher education even after her marriage. Although her husband did not like the idea of her education, he wanted her to concentrate and help her family instead. This reveals the attitude and mindset of her husband. But she did not pay attention and continued to progress in life. In fact, it was because of her education that she joined elite feminist organizations and also got the opportunity of a government job. In order to escape the caste oppression in her village, she moved to Mumbai with her husband. But there was no end to caste-based discrimination in the city also. She remembers that it was difficult to find an accommodation in the town. They were subjected to indecent abuses and discrimination from the upper-caste. Pawar wanted to do something to uplift the women of her community and she indulged freely in public speeches and events to arouse the minds of others. It was through this participation that Urmila Pawar understood that there was a need for Dalit men and women to come together for the emancipation of the society.