[Reader-list] A Millions Suns at Jaipur Literature Festival

[Navayana Publishing]

*A Million Suns: Focus on Dalit Writing at Jaipur Literature Festival, 2010
*
At this year’s Jaipur Literature Festival, as India commemorates 60 years of
being a Republic on 26 January 2010, the focus is on Dalit writing. There
shall be four sessions devoted to issues related to caste and Dalit writing.
Despite the Constitution being piloted by Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, a Dalit
and one of the architects of modern India, Dalits seem to hardly figure in
sectors where there is no affirmative action. Consequently, beyond
representation in jobs in the government sector (which too is begrudged to
them) and in politics, they continue to be shunned in the realms of culture,
literature and the arts. Dalits, who constitute 17 percent of the India’s
1.2 billion population, are subjected to everyday violence and brutalities.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau, every hour two Dalits are
assaulted, every day three Dalit women are raped, two Dalits are murdered,
and two Dalit homes are torched. Navi Pillay, the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights, said in 2009: “Caste is the very negation of
the human rights principles of equality and non-discrimination. It condemns
individuals from birth, and their communities, to a life of exploitation,
violence, social exclusion and segregation.”

It is from such a context of hidden apartheid that Dalit literature emerges.
The opening panel in the Dalit focus, Outcaste: The Search for Public
Conscience, befittingly derives its title from Ambedkar’s anxiety over the
lack of a public conscience in India when it comes to the issue of
discrimination against and oppression of Dalits.

In four sessions spread over five days, Dalit writers from Tamil Nadu,
Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Delhi and Maharashtra will share
platforms with nondalits who have worked on the caste question to debate
issues related to identity, literature and representation. P. Sivakami, Om
Prakash Valmiki, Kancha Ilaiah, Ajay Navaria, Desraj Kali, Iqbal Udasi and
Laxman Gaikwad shall be the key speakers/ performers. Christophe Jaffrelot,
Nirupama Dutt, S.S. Nirupam and S. Anand shall play the role of
interlocutors during these sessions.

The Dalit Focus at JLF is being coordinated by S. Anand of Navayana
Publishing and Namita Gokhale, founder-director of Jaipur Literature
Festival. For interviews with the writers related to the Dalit sessions and
further information on the Dalit focus at JLF 2010, please contact
anand at navayana.org and on +91-9971433117 or namita.jlf at gmail.com.

A description of the sessions below is followed by short biographical
sketches of the writers.

22 Jan 2010. 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Durbar Hall.
Outcaste: The Search for Public Conscience
Om Prakash Valmiki, Kancha Ilaiah, P. Sivakami and S. Anand

In a speech in 1952, Ambedkar says: “Public conscience means conscience that
becomes agitated at every wrong, no matter who is the sufferer, and it means
that everybody, whether he suffers that particular wrong or not, is prepared
to join him in order to get him relieved... [In India] there is South Africa
everywhere in the villages and yet I have very seldom found anybody
belonging to the upper castes taking up the cause of the Scheduled Castes
and fighting. Why? Because there is no public conscience.” This
agenda-setting panel seeks to use Ambedkar's words as a starting point to
examine the “absence of public conscience”, especially among the Hindus.



23 Jan 2010. 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Baithak.
Ab Aur Nahin: An End to Suffering
Ajay Navaria and Om Prakash Valmiki in conversation with S.S. Nirupam
Introduction by Christophe Jaffrelot

This session will have readings in Hindi by Omprakash Valmiki and Ajay
Navaria, with English translations. Introduced by Christophe Jaffrelot.
Moderated by S.S. Nirupam.



24 Jan 2010. 2.30pm – 3.30 p.m. Baithak.
The Grip of Change
P. Sivakami, Laxman Gaikwad and S. Anand on caste, patriarchy and literary
liberation.

When part of a literary movement that seeks to assert the humanity of the
marginalized, what does it mean to be a woman, to be a ‘criminal tribe’—to
be on the peripheries of the margin? Sivakami whose first novel (The Grip of
Change) offers an indictment of dalit patriarchy, and Gaikwad who lays bare
the anguish of being despised by the despised (Uchalya) explore the issue.
Anand, anchoring the discussion, shall speak on marginality and oppression
in brahmanical writings.



25 Jan 2010. 2.30 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. Baithak.
A Million Suns: A Celebration of Punjabi Dalit Literature
Desraj Kali, Iqbal Udasi, Nirupama Dutt

This session is presented by Nirupama Dutt, who will also read from the
works of Lal Singh Dil. Iqbal Udasi will sing the songs of her late father,
revolutionary Punjabi poet, Sant Ram Udasi. Des Raj Kali will read from his
work and discuss the provocation for his art.



Speakers

Ajay Navaria

Ajay Navaria, 37, is the author of a collection of short stories (Patkatha
aur anya Kahaniyan, 2006) and the novel (Udhar Ke Log, 2008). Navaria has
been involved with the premier literary journal Hans as a guest editor for
special issues. He was bestowed with the Sahitiyik Kriti Award in 2008 by
the Hindi Academy, Delhi. Navaria teaches ‘Hindu Ethics’ at Jamia Milia
Islamia University, Delhi. Unlike the first generation of Dalit writers who
were preoccupied with autobiography as a form, Navaria has expanded the
boundaries of dalit writing with his explorations of issues of identity and
sexuality, in the process creating “casteless characters”. As a piece on him
in Tehelka noted: “Navaria is one of the first dalit writers to write
without any traces of nostalgia for the village left behind.” A collection
of his short stories translated into English by Laura Brueck is due from
Navayana by mid-2011.



Christophe Jaffrelot

Christophe Jaffrelot has been Director of CERI (Centre d’Etudes et de
Recherches Internationales) at Sciences Po (Paris) between 2000 and 2008. He
is Research Director at the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche
Scientifique) and teaches South Asian politics and history at Sciences Po.
His most significant publications are The Hindu Nationalist Movement and
Indian Politics, 1925 to the 1990s (Penguin India, 1996 and 1999), India’s
Silent Revolution: The Rise of the Low Castes in North India (Permanent
Black, 2003) and Dr Ambedkar and Untouchability: Analysing and Fighting
Caste (Columbia University Press, 2005). His latest book (an edited
collection) is the Rise of the Plebeians?: The Changing Face of the Indian
Legislative Assemblies (Routledge, 2009).



Desraj Kali

Desraj Kali (b.1971) lives in Jalandhar. His short stories include Chanan Di
Leek, Kath-Kali, Phaqiri and Chup Kitey (under publication). Novels by
Desraj include Parneshwari, Antheen, Paratham Pauran, Shanti Para amongst
others. Gadari Shahid Banta Singh Sanghwal, Gadari Bhai Randhir Singh are a
few of the history books authored by him. He was a researcher for the
documentary film Kite Mil Ve Mahi and has edited a magazine on Dalit issues
called Pancham. He has also published many research papers on the Ghadar
Movement, and the literature and culture of Punjab and Dalit issues.



Iqbal Udasi

Iqbal Udasi is a poet of Punjabi and an activist. Known for soulfully
singing the verses of her late father, Sant Ram Udasi, the famous Left-wing
Dalit poet, she works as a headmistress of a village school in Punjab.



Kancha Ilaiah

At the peak of the hindutva movement, Kancha Ilaiah wrote his pathbreaking
bestselling work, Why I Am Not A Hindu: A Sudra  Critique of  Hindutva
Philosophy, Culture and Political Economy (Calcutta: Samya, 1996). His
latest book is equally provocatively entitled Post-Hindu India: A Discourse
in Dalit-Bahujan, Socio-Spiritual and Scientific Revolution (Sage, 2009).
This critique of Brahmanism and the caste system in India that anticipates
the death of Hinduism has sold more than 6,000 copies within three months of
publication. Ilaiah, who teaches Political Science at Osmania University in
Hyderabad, is also the author of the bestselling children’s book Turning the
Pot, Tilling the Land: Dignity of Labour in Our Times (New Delhi, Navayana:
2007). According to Unicef-India's country director: “It's a hugely
important book. Every Indian child should read it.” This book has been
translated into Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam. His other books include
God as Political Philosopher: Buddha's Challenge to Brahminism (Calcutta:
Samya, 2001) and Buffalo Nationalism: A Critique of
Spiritual Fascism (Calcutta: Samya, 2004).



Laxman Gaikwad

“No native place. No birth-date. No house or farm. No caste, either. That is
how I was born.” Laxman Gaikwad’s autobiographical novel Uchalaya (1987)
begins thus. It was translated into English and published by the Sahitya
Akademi in 1998 as Uchalaya – The Branded. Gaikwad has worked among the
Denotified and Nomadic Tribes of Maharashtra from a young age. Uchalya is
also the name of a tribe that was notified as ‘criminal’ under the
provisions of the Criminal Tribes Act first passed in 1871 and subsequently
amended from time to time. Uchalaya was awarded the Maharastra Gourav
Puraskar. He has written a number of books thereafter and was awarded the
Best Writer Award by the Government of Maharastra in 2005. He continues his
work with the displaced tribes and has played a leading role in implementing
a Commission for All India Denotified, Nomadic and Semi Nomadic Tribes by
Government Of India in 2006.



Nirupama Dutt

Nirupama Dutt is a poet, literary/art critic and journalist. She worked with
leading newspapers and journals. Nirupama’s first anthology of poems Ik Nadi
Sanwali Jahi (A Stream Somewhat Dark) won a Punjabi Akademi award. She has
edited several fiction and poetry anthologies and translated into English
major writers of Punjabi and Hindi. She has edited anthologies of Pakistani
short stories in English called Half the Sky and Children of the Night. She
has also edited a poetry anthology of SAARC writers called Our Voices. She
has published a book of her Punjabi poems in English translation called The
Black Woman. Penguin India is bringing out this year an anthology of Punjabi
short stories translated by her into English and called Stories of the Soil.
She has also completed a book on the famous Dalit poet from Punjab, Lal
Singh Dil. She is presently working on a book on Punjab and a novel.



Omprakash Valmiki

Omprakash Valmiki is a leading Hindi writer and author of the celebrated
autobiography Joothan (1997) which was translated into English by Arun
Prabha Mukherjee as Joothan: A Dalit’s Life (Samya, 2003). It won New India
Foundation Best Book Award 2004. Valmiki has also published three
collections of poetry Sadiyon Ka Santaap (Centuries-old Anguish, 1989) Bas!
Bhut Ho Chuka (Stop It! That’s Enough, 1997), and Ab Aur Nahin (Not Any
More, 2009); and two collection of short stories, Salaam (Obeisance, 2000)
and Ghuspethiye (Intruders, 2004). He is also the author of Dalit Saahity Ka
Saundaryshaastra (The Aesthetics of Dalit Literature, 2001), and a history
of the Valmiki community, Safai Devata (God of Cleanliness, 2009).



P. Sivakami

In 1989, P. Sivakami became the first Tamil dalit woman to write a
novel—Pazhaiyana Kazhidalum. A literary and commercial success, the novel
created a stir by taking on patriarchy in the dalit movement. Translated by
the author, it was published in English as The Grip of Change (Orient
Longman, 2006), and The Hindu review said—“Sivakami’s translation makes you
forget it was written originally in Tamil.” Sivakami has written four
novels, numerous short stories and poems. She is founder-editor of the
literary magazine Pudiya Kodangi. The English translation of her acclaimed
second novel Anandayi is being published by Penguin in 2010. Sivakami was a
secretary-ranked bureaucrat in Tamil Nadu till 2008, when she quit the
administrative service, joined the Bahujan Samaj Party, contested the Lok
Sabha poll from Kanyakumari and lost. In December 2009, she founded her own
political party, Samuga Samathuva Padai (Forum for Social Equality).



S.S. Nirupam

Satyanand Singh Nirupam, Hindi Editor, Penguin-Yatra Series, holds an
M.Phil. in Hindi Literature from Delhi University. He joined Penguin-Yatra
in March 2009 and is responsible for the successful launch of important
titles like –Pushpraj's Nandigram Dairy, Jarnail Singh's Kab
Kategi Chaurasi, Chitra Mudgal’s Gend and Raji Seth’s Martha ka Desh. He
also works closely with popular Hindi bloggers for promoting Hindi content
online.



Namita Gokhale

Namita Gokhale is a writer and publisher. Her books include Paro: Dreams Of
Passion, Gods Graves And Grandmother, A Himalayan Love Story, Mountain
Echoes, The Book of Shadows, The Book Of Shiva and Shakuntala: The Play of
Memory. Gokhale’s retelling of the Mahabharata for young readers, The Puffin
Mahabharata, was launched in January 2009. In Search of Sita, an anthology
of essays co-edited with Malashri Lal, was published in October 2009. Namita
Gokhale is a director of Yatra Books, which co-publishes with Penguin India
in English, Hindi, Marathi and Urdu. Besides being a co-director of the DSC
Jaipur Literature Festival, Namita Gokhale conceptualized the International
Festival of Indian Literature, Neemrana 2002, and the Africa-Asia Literary
Conference, Neemrana 2006.



S. Anand

Anand is the co-founder of Navayana, an independent imprint that focuses on
issues of caste inequalities. Previously a journalist, Anand’s social
entrepreneurship and deft maneuvering within the field of publishing to
create a commercially viable space for independent voices won him the London
Book Fair-British Council International Young Publisher of the Year award in
2007. He is a contributing editor to Himal Southasian.

Also see http://jaipurliteraturefestival.org/

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