Dalit literature festival ends with "pledge" to create a new literary world

By Our Representative
The two-day Dalit Literature Festuval at Kirori Mal College, Delhi University, has concluded with the slogan 'A new world of literature is possible'. The issues discussed included: past, present and future of Dalit literature; challenges of Dalit literature movement; contradiction between Dalit literature and Marxist literature; participation of Dalit and tribal women in literature; female movement in Dalit literature; tribal and nomadic communities in literature, society and culture; minorities’ and literature; question of identity in Dalit literature; and Dalit literature in Indian languages.
During these discussions on the second day, Suraj Bahadur Thapa, while questioning the simplification of today's academic system, said, Marxists linked issues to class struggle, while Dr BR Ambedkar focused on class, caste and gender. Abdul Bismillah talked of roots of discrimination in languages, pointing towards how Urdu was considered a language of Muslims while Hindi or Sanskrit as language of Hindus.
“Adivasis and Dalits are not being allowed struggle for water and forest. The government is still occupying our lands and forests. In the Pataldhari movement, we can see how our self-government efforts are being crushed, and the government is refusing to accept even the Constitution. But we will fight together and will also bring the voice to society on the right path, by voicing your voice vocally through literature”, Nirmala Putul said.

Films on Dalit history and their struggles were screened during the festival, in which 12 publishers attended the book fair, which took placed simultaneously. Other highlights of the festival included poetry recitation, discussion on how investigation was directed against Dalit writers and activists for the Bhima Koregaon violence early last year.
In the two-day Dalit Literature Festival was attended, among others, by well-known social activist Medha Patkar, and writers from different parts of the country, including Laxman Gaikwad (Marathi), Mohandas Naimishrai and Balisingh Chima (Uttarakhand), Nirmala Putul (Jharkhand), Abdul Bismillah and Chauryaram Yadav (Banaras), Jai Prakash Sharmali Mustafa Khan and Jayashree (Thiruvananthapuram), (Trivandrum), Harish Mangalam and Haresh Parmar (Gujarati), Suraj Bahadur Thapa and Hare Prakash Upadhyay (Lucknow), Krantipal Singh, Balvir Madhopuri, Kesaram and Mohan Tyagi (Punjabi), and others.

Comments

Green Revolution’s reliance on chemical fertilizers, pesticides contributing to Punjab's health crisis

By Bharat Dogra, Jagmohan Singh* Punjab was once synonymous with robust health, particularly in its rural areas, where farmers were known for their strength and vitality. However, in recent years, reports from these villages tell a different story, with rising cases of serious health issues, including cancer. What led to this decline? The answer lies largely in the erosion of good nutrition, once a hallmark of Punjabi village life. The health of a population is closely tied to its nutrition, and Punjab's reputation as a provider of high-quality nutrition has suffered greatly. The loss of biodiversity in agriculture has led to a decrease in the variety and quality of crops, resulting in poorer nutrition. Pulses, a key source of protein, have seen a steep decline in cultivation due to the disruption of traditional farming practices by the Green Revolution. This has had a detrimental effect on both soil and human health. Although pulses are still available in the market, they are exp

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad* On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya.

Bid to isolate India globally 'to drive it even closer' to long-time ally, Russia

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The relationship between India and Canada has plunged to unprecedented lows, with both governments seemingly exploiting the situation for their domestic political gains. Canada has long been home to several anti-India elements, with little action taken against them. When Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated on October 31, 1984, some of these secessionist groups openly celebrated and issued further threats, particularly from Canada and Britain. While Britain eventually acted to contain such elements in the interest of maintaining ties with India, Canada did not. Over the years, India has sought the extradition of 23 criminals residing in Canada, but the Canadian government has mostly dismissed these requests, claiming these individuals have no criminal records in their country.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad* The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.

Influence of mining corporations on policy makers 'leading to' erosion of democracy in Odisha

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* Odisha is rich in high-quality natural resources, including iron, bauxite, chromite, and manganese ore, as well as a variety of other valuable minerals like coal, limestone, dolomite, tin, nickel, vanadium, lead, graphite, gold, and gemstones. This resource-laden state is responsible for 57% of India’s iron ore production, hosting over 60 operational mines and more than 150 square kilometers under exploration for further mineral deposits.

How pseudo-liberals 'went wrong' in judging DY Chandrachud as Chief Justice India

By Shamsul Islam* DY Chandrachud took charge as Chief Justice of the Indian Supreme Court (SC) on November 09, 2022. On this occasion many of the pseudo-liberals who claimed to be defenders of the democratic-secular polity of India manifested great happiness. They declared that the time of SC being an appendage of the RSS-BJP government headed by PM Modi was over as Justice Chandrachud was a liberal judge committed to the democratic-secular polity of India.

NHRC failing to 'effectively address' human rights violations: NGO groups tell UN-linked body

By Rajiv Shah In a joint submission to the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions' (GANHRI's) Sub Committee on Accreditation (SCA), two civil society groups -- All India Network of NGOs and Individuals working with National and State Human Rights Institutions (AiNNI) and Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) -- have said that the National Human Rights Commission's (NHRC's) accreditation, deferred in 2016, 2023, and 2024, fails to find space on its website.

Search This Blog