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Abstract
Indian Buddhist writer and activist Raja Dhale was one of the original members of the Dalit Panthers, the anti-caste movement founded in 1972. He has published poetry and short stories as well as polemical and historical works. In this interview with Manohar Jadhav and Mangesh Narayanrao Kale, first published in the Marathi journal Khel in 2012, and translated and abridged here by Anagha Bhat-Behere, he talks about the way the Dalit Panthers were influenced by the African American movement the Black Panthers. He also recalls the extensive network of contacts with fellow writers that inspired his engagement with the little magazine movement from the early 1960s onwards, through magazines such as Yeru, Atta, Tapasi and Vidroha. He discusses the literary and political importance of these magazines and the way they interacted with the Dalit literary movement. In particular, he recalls the tacit as well as explicit opposition to Dalit literature from the Marathi literary establishment, and the ways in which he sought to counteract this.
Notes
1. Buddha-Kabir: Buddha refers to Gautama Buddha; Kabir is a noted medieval poet-philosopher of North India, who preached equality amongst humans.
2. Phule-Ambedkar: Mahatma Jyotiba Phule was a 19th-century social reformer and educationist, who protested against caste inequities. Dr B.R. Ambedkar (1891–1956) was the most important Dalit Leader and Columbia University alumnus, who wrote the Indian constitution.
3. A locality in South Bombay.
4. Ganeshotsav Mandal: a public celebration of Ganesh festival, which began in the 19th century as a tool of social mobilization. The tradition continues today with social groups celebrating Ganesh Festival by organizing social events and competition.
5. Dalit Sahitya Sevak Sangha: The Organization of Dalit Writers.
6. Buddha Jayanti Day: the day commemorating the birth of Buddha.
7. Dhammakranti: Dr Ambedkar famously declared that although he born in the Hindu faith, he would not die a Hindu. He converted to Buddhism in October 1956. This conversion is referred to as dhammakranti.
8. Prabuddha Bharat: Dr Ambedkar started a periodical Janata in 1931. In 1956, before he converted to Buddhism, he renamed Janata as Prabuddha Bharat. It was a weekly that focused on issues related to Dalit ideology and the Dalit movement.
9. Acharya Atre, an educator, playwright, journalist, film-maker and a leading figure in the movement for Unified Maharashtra that demanded a separate state for Marathi speakers within the Indian Union.
10. Annabhau Sathe, a Left-leaning social activist, Dalit writer and textile worker who was invited to the Soviet Union.
11. Sheshnag: according to Hindu mythology, the earth, suspended in a void, is balanced on the head of a giant serpent.
12. Annabhau Sathe’s sentence, about the earth being balanced on the palm of a Dalit, found a prominent place on many a communist poster, but, as Raja Dhale explains, the word “Worker” was substituted for the word “Dalit”. The communist leadership in India has traditionally belonged to the upper castes. Dhale is trying to make a distinction between traditional communist ideology and the Dalit struggle against oppression, which deals with broader concerns than just economic exploitation and inequities.
13. Poetic meets, like the one mentioned here, where poets would read out their poems, were commonly held.
14. Poet G. Vasant Gurjar, who is currently embroiled in a court case for his poem on Mahatma Gandhi.
15. This is in English in the original interview.
16. Durga Bhagwat, anthropologist, writer and social activist. She was seen as the grande dame of Marathi culture.
17. The periodicals in Marathi bring out a special issue annually in October–November called the Diwali special issue. Such issues generally would carry articles discussing important sociopolitical or literary themes.
18. Atta [Now] was a pamphlet-like little magazine that published six issues in 1964. It was distributed free, along with Ashok Shahane’s Aso. For more details and image of the cover, see Nerlekar (Citation2016).
19. In 1969, there was an exhibition of little magazines from all over India, and editors and publishers of little magazines from many Indian languages attended the event.
20. Namdeo Dhasal, one of the most illustrious Dalit poets, who with his first collection of poems, Golpitha, shattered old notions about poetry.
21. Alibaug is a coastal town, south of Mumbai.
22. Chin. Tryan. Khanolkar’s (Citation1966) play Ek Shunya Bajirao marked the beginning of a new era on the Marathi stage.