History Of Dalit Literature

In this research paper, I have tried to highlight the historical perspective of Dalit Literature with minute details. As we know that untouchability is one of the greatest evils of Indian society since the inception of the civilization. In the Manu Smriti, the Hindu's law book of social code, one can observe the tragic picture who were deprived of many rights especially their banning of entry into the temples or reading the Hindu scriptures as the traditional Indian society was brahmanical. That is why the great social reformers of India like Mahatma Gandhi, B. R. Ambedkar, Tagore and Swami Dayanand etc. raised their voice of protest against this age-old injustice and discrimination. But it is painful and distressing that inspite of the

Caste and class are considered as the two most important yardsticks of social stratification as they are closely linked with each other. The term Dalits encompasses the helpless section of India who were made to lead an inhuman and sorrowful lives; and were deprived of the fundamental rights by the rigidity of traditional Indian caste system. The Dalits were socially, religiously and culturally suppressed and psychologically burdened. However, different forms of Dalit literature include poems, novels, biographies, short stories and autobiographies have appeared on the literary scene time to time to highlight the merits of Dalit literature. It is worth mentioning that Dalit literature is created in the social context generally and hence it should be examined from the sociological point of view. Dalit literature carries the burden of humiliation, agony and suffering. Baburao Bagul comments, "Dalit literature is not a literature of vengeance as it is not a literature which spreads hatred. Dalit Sahitya first promotes man's greatness and man's

The word Dalit is derived from Sanskrit language which means 'suppressed' or 'crushed' and it refers to the people who are at the margins of the society because of their low class. It also represents those people who are socially, economically and historically oppressed; and there is no doubt to mention here that Dalit is infact a caste but a separate category of people who are discriminated by the powerful sections of the society in one way or the other. The word 'Dalit' was also used as 'depressed class' and it was due to the remarkable contribution by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar that the term got a new identity as 'untouchable'. It also includes classes like landless labour, minorities and all others who are poor, hapless and defenseless. Literature written by the members of Dalit communities or the literature which presents a graphic account of the social, political, religious and cultural aspects of these communities is called Dalit literature and this literature is based on the spreading the ideas of justice, social equality and justice to the downtrodden and have-nots. It is important to understand that it is the literature which promotes brotherhood, human dignity and it is the literature which destroys all the social hierarchies which refer to all kinds of discrimination in the society. Sharankumar Limbale