Flames of Freedom

Khalid Akhter

A host of publications dealing mainly with the ‘Dalit situation' in India have come up in recent times, along with a parallel body of literature called ‘Dalit literature'. This Dalit literature, which looks at history and current events from a Dalit point of view, has come to occupy a niche in the body of Indian literary expression. Its contribution to Dalit politics has also been widely acknowledged. Its primary motive is to give a voice to the relentless oppression of Dalits in India's caste hierarchy and the possibility of their social, cultural and political emancipation.

Contemporary Marathi poet Namdev Dhasal's works express the anguish and aspirations of Dalits in India: the sense of having been the exploited and condemned builders of Indian civilisation. And the inherent, suppressed urge to emerge out of centuries of darkness and suffering to claim their just heritage and space in society. Ironically, a militant progressive poet in his initial years, Dhasal finally landed up with the Shiv Sena - a pointer to the dilemma of co-option in Dalit politics.

A kaleidoscopic variety of images of darkness and light, rebellion and revolt, and of smashing the existing structures of exploitation pervade Dalit literature. Wrote modern Indian Dalit poet Shripal Sabnis, (translated from Marathi by social scientist Gail Omvedt):

"The sun of self-respect has burst into flames,

 Let it burn up caste...."

Dalit literature has several inspirations. Right from Buddha (6th c BC), who spoke of social liberation, and 14th century preacher Chokhamela, to Mahatma Phule (1828-90) and SM Mate (1886-1957), various social reformers are hailed as symbols of inspiration by Dalit activists and ideological groups.
This is because they devoted their entire life to fighting against the hierarchical caste fragmentation and unjust
divisions in society.

However, it was modern visionary BR Ambedkar, the architect of the Constitution of India and an ardent critic of the caste system, who demolished the myth of the divine origin of the caste hierarchy. Through his writings such as Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development and Movements, and organisations such as the Bahishkrit Hitkarni Sabha, he argued that politics cannot be the monopoly of a few, mostly upper caste landed gentry, while others who toil and till the land and do manual labour, mostly Dalits, remain condemned in the margins. In his works, he vehemently criticised the theory of reincarnation, which, in popular Hinduism, led to the development of the caste system. His writings have been the biggest inspiration for contemporary reformers and writers who want to bring about a socio-political upsurge for the total emancipation of the Dalits.

Indeed, Ambedkar insisted, that Dalits must first liberate themselves from the shackles of mental slavery, which is the first step in this protracted struggle for social and economic emancipation. That is why he chose Buddhism to reject the Hindu caste system and Manu's varna vyavastha.

The struggle against caste hierarchy has a long history in Indian literature. In Kannada, it goes back to the first Vachana poet of the 11th century, Chennaiah, a cobbler. In modern times, the Dalit literary movement started in Maharashtra, Ambedkar's home state. It grew out of the Dalit Panther movement, established by writers Namdeo Dhasal and Raja Dhale in the heady phase of the radical, early 1970s, especially in Maharashtra. Like the pulsating, robust and yet, angst-driven African-American literature in the US, Dalit writing was characterised by a new level of subaltern pride, militancy, creativity and above all, the use of the pen as a weapon. Not often nuanced, this was a potent weapon.