l am surprised how | have been chosen to give a talk on “Dalit literature” by a group of upper caste writers like you.
Though | have been a journalist with the Indian Express for 25 years and later Editor of Dalit Voice for 24 years, the upper caste society and its writers never took any interest in me — though | am the author of about 60 books which have gone into 2-3 editions and attracted international attention.
Foreign scholars take interest in my books and the journal but inside India, not only there is no interest but a total blackout. The upper 3astes (with minor exceptions of course) suffer from strong prejudice. My books are never reviewed. |
READING HABIT IS DEAD
Of course, book-reading, book review itself is dead in India. No newspaper is having any book review page – except the Hindu. Even in the Hindu, the books that are received and acknowledged mostly belong to the category of trash.
Reading habit itself is dead. Book shops are closing down. In our Bangalore Press Club, we have no library or reading room. Our only activity is drinking and playing chords.
This is the picture of “India’s Intellectual Desert”, (DSA – 1999) a subject on which | have written a booklet.
INTELLECTUAL DISHONESTY
The country is facing a crisis not only in one field but in all other fields. But of all the crises, the most important is the crisis of intellectual dstlishonesty. Every other crisis is the product of this principal crisis – namely intellectual dishonesty. If only we had enough number of intellectually honest people, we could have checked the drift of this country.
| am raising this subject here because this is a group of intellectuals. But | don’t know how many of you have the courage of conviction to remain intellectually honest. Perhaps it is this streak of intellectual honesty in you that made you invite me to your club. Can | take it that way?
CASTE PREJUDICES
I learn that your Writers Club is arranging a talk on “Dalit literature” for the first time though the Dalit literature has come to occupy a centre stage in the country’s literary world, despite all the prejudice, hatred, apartheid mentality of our upper caste writers.
With this brief introduction, | will now go into the subject with a warning. The warning is that | am not a Dalit writer. | don’t belong to the category of litterateurs. My writings deal “
Speech delivered at a gathering of English writers under the Katha Kshetre in Bangalore on May 25, 2003.
mostly with social science, philosophy, politics, religion though my works border on literature.
The problem with our upper caste writers is that though they are thinkers and scholars, they have not bid a good-bye to their prejudice, hatred which comes with their caste pride.
Thinkers and scholars have to be above pride and prejudice. They must call a spade a spade.
But India’s upper caste writers continue to be guided by their caste prejudice and hence continue to remain imprisoned in their narrow cell. They will not subscribe to the view: “Let a hundred flowers bloom and let a hundred thoughts contend”. They keep their age-old mental shutters and do not allow fresh air to cleanse their contaminated mind.
Look at our Union Education Minister, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, himself an “academic”. The person who is driving the country’s academic vehicle is mad. He talks of astrology, palmistry, swadeshi, Vastu sashtra, karma theory, miracle, godmen, rebirth —all the nonsense. He wants to take the country back. The Brahmin in him is controlling the brain.
RELIGION AS A DRESS
It is because of this mental block; our upper caste writers did not allow the Dalit literature to grow. Every effort was made to nip the Dalit literature in the bud. But a thought, whether good or bad, can never be suppressed.
Dalit literature being the “literature of the future” did grow, sweeping aside all the resistance. Today it is standing on its own feet though upper caste writers continue to offer all sorts of obstacles.
Dalit literature is the product of angry young minds protesting all man-made prejudices.
it rejects all that is undesirable in the old moth-eaten, tradition-bound, religion-soaked rubbish of the past. It revolts against exploitation, racism, oppression, male- domination. This is Dalit literature.
The writers of such literature are mostly the country’s lowest of. The low, poorest of the poor — who are none other than the Untouchables, victims of a religion called Hinduism though this name does not figure in any of the Hindu “sacred scriptures”.
The creators of such a Dalit literature are necessarily Untouchables. But Backward Castes, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs have also produced many Dalit writers because the religion in this country is only a dress. The blood, bone, muscles of these people are Dalit. They may join any religion but continue to be Untouchables. The caste stigma will not leave them even after conversion, generation after generation.
Writings of upper castes even if they write on such subjects like racism, prostitution, Devadasi, caste exploitation, etc. cannot be called Dalit literature because their writings do not come from their hearts but head.
Dalit literature, therefore, must be authored by Untouchables alone. Only such literature can be called Dalit literature.
DEFINITION OF DALIT WRITER
Some upper caste writers are trying to confuse those who are willing to be confused by saying that the Dalit writings cannot be identified based on caste but class. Even if an upper caste writer writes on caste exploitation, Brahminism etc., he can be called a “Dalit writer”. We don’t accept this definition. Marxists were the first to play this mischief, but it did not work. Brahmins maintain that temple priest must be only a Brahmin. The Supreme Court itself accepted this exclusive monopoly of a caste. When caste should be the criterion for the job of a temple priest (archaka) what objection can be there if we insist on the same criterion for a Dalit writer?
Marxism failed to attract the oppressed in this country because of this marxist mischief. The marxists are mischievous because they belong to the upper caste. And the upper castes have become rulers because of their mischief. And that mischief is the intellectual dishonesty to which | have already referred.
That is why the poorest of the poor in India, namely the Dalits and Tribals, are not getting attracted to marxism. Marxism could not penetrate the huts of the Dalits because its propagators belonged to the Brahminical Social Order.
DR. AMBEKAR THOUGHTS
I have written a book itself on this subject: How Marx Failed in Hindu India (DSA-1988). This is sold out after having gone into three reprints. Today, the thoughts that attract the Dalits are that Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. Dalit literature is the literary exposition of Dr. Ambedkar’s burning thoughts. No superior philosophy has come so far excelling Ambedkarism. | request the writers here to read the 15 Volumes of Dr. Ambedkar Writings & Speeches published by the Maharashtra Govt. | assure you that once you read it, you will feel that you are reborn. Dalit writings stand for destruction of the existing caste-based hierarchically ordered Hindu value system of which the Dalits are the worst victims. This is because the Untouchables form the foundation on which the Hindu society is built. This foundation has to be destroyed. Dalit literature aims at such a destruction.
Remember: The Untouchables are not Hindu and were never Hindu. They were only made Hindu and called Hindu. But when they ask for a share in Hindu society, they are kicked, killed, burnt, raped and their little property destroyed. This is called the Hindu philosophy of non- violence. Sarve Jano Sukhino Bhawantu.
Dalit literature, therefore, rejects and seeks to destroy all these Hindu values that glamorise the existing exploitative society.
Our upper caste writers deliberately avoid writing on human beings because then they have to identify his or her caste. Identifying the caste will lead to controversy. Upper caste writers want to avoid all “controversy” because writings bordering on caste is dubbed controversial by the upper caste society. That is why they don’t choose a human being as their subject matter. They write on a pretty woman, sex, beauty of nature, animals or any such non-issues.
Dalit literature, therefore, seeks to build a new, refreshing society based on justice, truth, equality, humanity.
IN DEFENCE OF POLEMICS
The language employed by the Dali writers may be crude, blunt, harsh, angry. | face this charge from the- – upper castes. They say Dalit Voice is all polemics. But they don’t know that Lenin wrote a book defending polemics itself. (DV Edit Nov.16, 1986: “In defence of polemics”).
Over-fed upper caste exploiters have nothing to worry in life. They lead a life of leisure and endless pleasure. They are not angry people and hence use no harsh words. Because they have nothing to complain about. But that is not the case with Dalits — born in poverty, live in, _ poverty and die in poverty. Naturally they are angry, impatient in their search for a better life. When they see the overfed upper castes indulging in luxury at their expense, they will be naturally angry. When they use some harsh words, the upper castes dub them as terrorists and their language polemical. | was called a terrorist, arrested under TADA and put in jail. My writings are called polemical. But 1 don’t care. My writings and speeches have to be polemical.
Upper caste writers write for the entertainment of the well-fed sections of Hindu society to which they belong.
But a Dalit writer has a purpose in life. Hence, he or she writes to make “the Dalit think, act and make him angry against the wretched social system of which he is the chief victim.
So, the Dalit literature is exactly opposed to the values of upper caste literature of the leisured class. Most of the upper caste writings deal with Hindu gods, their sexual pursuits, drink and debauchery, their “sacred scriptures”. Some deal with nature and its beauty. Some with Sai Baba and such fakes and frauds. Such literature seldom deals with human beings. Even if it sometimes deals with a human Jeing, invariably we find there some mischief of the writer. We in Rarnataka had a powerful Dalit leader called Basavalingappa. He described such worthless, upper caste literature as boosa (cattle feed) literature. It is only the man in pain who groans, cries, shouts. But a man brought up with all the heavenly comfort speaks only “sophisticated language”.
He does not want to revolt. Revolt against what? He has no complaint. He seeks the status quo. Such people produce boosa literature.
DR. AMBEDKAR WAS HATED
But a man in pain shouts because he needs immediate relief. He has every right to be unartistic, obscene, crude, ugly, uncouth, even vulgar. That is the life he is leading and when describing it he | must write all these things which will not be liked by the upper castes.
I am sure you will describe my speech also as offending. But | don’t care. You invited me. Before inviting me | had warned you not to invite me.
Brahminical Social Order does not like our writers. Because ESO is guided by prejudice. It is this prejudice that made them to denounce the country’s greatest philosopher and statesman, Dr. Ambedkar, as anti-Brahmin.
Dr., Ambedkar, whom | have described as the Father of India, was anti-Brahmin because Brahminism stands for fascism, anti-humanism. Hence Brahminism is not only the enemy of all Indians but the enemy of Brahmins also, particularly the Brahmin women.
Unless Brahminism is destroyed, India cannot be rescued from its present plight.
Dr. Ambedkar was interested in rescuing India, and that is why he must be anti-Brahmin. Dalit writers also must be essentially anti- Brahmin.
Cultural revolution means uprooting Brahminism which is the cause of India’s downfall.
Thank you for your hospitality. M
