Joothan: A Dalit's LifeOmprakash Valmiki saw dalit literature as a vital part of the struggle for social justice. A pioneer in dalit writing in Hindi, his autobiography, Joothan, was translated into English for the first time from the original Hindi in 2003. As Sumit Guha, Frances Higginbotham Nalle Centennial Professorship in History, University of Texas, describes, A searing memoir of the life of a sensitive and intelligent Dalit youth in independent India. It tells us how he overcame contempt, humiliation and violence to gain an education and join the slowly growing ranks of Dalit intellectuals in India' Valmiki's story is one of terrible grief and oppression, of survival and achievement, of his emergence as a freer human being in a society that remains compassionless towards Dalits'. As he states bleakly, Dalit life is excruciatingly painful, charred by experiences, only he or she who has suffered this anguish knows its sting.' He talks of growing up in a village near Muzzafarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, in an untouchable caste, Chuhra, well before the defiant term Dalit' was coined. His forceful writing continues to inspire after his death on 17 November 2013. The translator has written a new note about working with him, revisiting his work and the past and understanding his writings from a fresh perspective. |
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Abey Ambedkar Ambernath asked Bahadur baithak Barla basti became become began Bhabhi Bhangi Bhikhuram Bombay Brahmin Brajpal brother called Chacha Chamars Chanda Chandrapur charpai chaturvarna Chuhra clothes Dalit literature Dalit writers Dehradun Dronacharya elder eyes feel felt friends Gandhi gone hand Harijan headmaster Hemlal high caste Hindi Hindus Hiram Singh hostel India Indresh Nagar inside Inter College Jabalpur Janesar Jasbir Jatavs jeep Joothan Kulkarni Kureishi Limbale literary lived Maharashtra Mama Marathi mother Muzaffarnagar Nagpur night Omprakash Ordnance Factory Patil Phool Singh piglet Pitaji police protest Ram Singh rotis rupees Saheb Savarnas Savita Shravankumar Shudras Singh Tyagi sitting social started studying Sudama Sukhbir Sukhdev Singh Sukkhan Singh Surjan Singh surname Taga's Tagas talk teacher temple told Tyagi untouchables upper caste Valmiki varna Vedpal Vijay village voice wanted wife writing