1) Critical Summary of the Dalit Literature and Aesthetics by Sharankumar Limbale

Savarna critics are of the opinion that Dalit Literature must be evaluated strictly as Litertaure as that is how the
reader is going to perceive it. Criticism of Dalit texts must not give room to any extra literary traditions and it
should be performed on the basis of universal theories and literary criterias. Limbale is opposed to this view of the
Savarna critics as he feels that middle class criticism can never do justice to Dalit Literature which is the literature
of the oppressed and the discriminated factions of the society.
A major debate which comes up while discussing Dalit literature is centered around the monopoly of Dalit Writers
when it comes to penning Dalit Literature. The Savarna critics such as Kavi Anil and Vidyadhar Pundalik are of the
opinion that Dalit Literature can be written be anyone through the power of imagination that can envision the
suffering of the Dalits and give it literary expression. Critics such as Nirmalkumar Phadkule and Narhar Kurundkar
have gone as far as to say that even a Savarna can create Dalit literature and the writers status as an untouchable is
not necessary for the production of this stream of writing. However, Limbale opines that it is impossible for a nonDalit to write Dalit Literature as this Literature is the product of Dalit consciousness that is shaped by the lived
experiences of Dalit, peppered by their pain, suffering and feeling of rebellion and anger. A non Dalit cannot
possibly imagine all of this and be able to write an authentic account on the Dalits.
Another major debate which surrounds Dalit criticism is about the artistic standards or the aesthetic yardsticks that
must be employed to understand this literature. According to critics such as P.S. Rege and Balkrishna Kawthekar, it
is wrong of Dalit Literature to demand separate criterion for aesthetic evaluation as they feel that universal values
cannot be refuted and if the universal aesthetic principles are not being adhered to, then Dalit Literature will lose a
proper framework of evaluation. However, another school of thought advocates that every genre of Literature is
different from other hence a mechanistic critical tradition cannot be applied to Literature across the world. Since
Dalit Literature is unique in its insistence of social upliftment and the realistic portrayal of Dalit experiences of
pain and suffering along with voicing Dalit rebellion; as opposed to emphasis on beauty and pleasure, one must
develop different artistic standards for of evaluation for such literature. Artistic craft does not assume an important
place in Dalit Literature and the message forwarded by the text is given a higher position, hence artlessness can be
considered a virtue of Dalit Literature, thus necessitating the need of separate aesthetic criterion. If this demand of
Dalit writers would be fulfilled then faulty criticism by Savarna critics that views Dalit Literature as whiny and
aggressive will not exist.
Rohit Banerjee
Limitations of the criticism of Dalit Literature by Savarna Critics
The crux of what is being said here lies in the fact that Dalit literature is not subject to fair and objective criticism.
Criticism of any form of literature is necessary and in fact acts as a catalyst for improvement in the future output of
that genre. But the criticism of Dalit literature is either adulatory or negative. In the case of being adulatory( falsely
positive), the Dalit writers are praised more out of sympathy than actual admiration of their work. In the case of
negative criticism, the Dalit writers are critiqued subjective to feelings of animosity and non-appreciation. Neutral
criticism of Dalit literature never takes place and is one of the prime reasons behind its impeded critical growth.
Aesthetics of Dalit Literature
The aesthetics of Dalit literature is also discussed by Limbale in the essay wherein it is suggested that Dalit
literature being a revolutionary form of literature does not adhere to traditional principles of aesthetics. In the
Marathi literature, emphasis is put on the beauty factor of literature due to which pleasure is cited as the foremost
aesthetic value. Pleasure is said to be native to Marathi Savarna literature while pain is said to belong to Dalit
literature. Due to belonging to the lower caste, Dalit literature is often accused of arousing feelings of pain,
suffering and anger in the reader whereas non-revolutionary literature arouses feelings such as happiness and
delight. Overall Dalit literature is painted in a negative picture when it comes to aesthetic evaluation as it is
accused of portraying only grief and sufferings. It is said to not provide happiness as the literature of the upper and
middle class does. However, what needs to be considered is that the feelings of pain and suffering are the primary
feelings that a piece of Dalit Literature can evoke as it is a social document of rebellion designed for social
upliftment of Dalits and hence pleasure and beauty are not its chief considerations, unlike other literary works.
Hence analyzing a Dalit text on these pre-established universal aesthetic principles is a a meaningless futile
endeavor.
Karishma Dahal

It is not possible for literature to be larger than revolution- P S Rege,

One sees it as a challenging task when it comes to placing the subject of aesthetics in dalit literature. The en route
to dalit aesthetics emits a bitter sweet feeling because it does not deliver aesthetics based on pleasure giving
beauty. When it comes to dalit literature the idea of beauty needs to be re-examined and re-analysed. Commonly
the idea of beauty is associated with spiritualism but dalit aesthetics is derived out of a sense of artistic reality.
Hence dalit aesthetics bends more towards materialist rather than spiritualist.
It is a well known fact that writers gain their share of popularity through readers. The relationship between a writer
and reader decides the faith of a book. The same can be applied to dalit literature. Most of the Dalit writers derive
their inspiration from Dr. B.R Ambedkar. He has become a cult figure in the field of dalit literature but dalit
aesthetics can only be uprooted when a Dalit writer succeeds in plunging dalit consciousness among the readers.
The process demands a heightened sense of ambedkarite consciousness from the writer. The ambedkarite
consciousness comprises of a firm assertion of dalit identity and calls for justice, freedom and equality. Dalit
aesthetics is built upon three major components- the artist, the artistic creation and the reader. The artistic creation
binds the artist and the reader. The artist pours out his experience and inspiration in his artistic creation. The reader
develops a sense of understanding about the artists experience but a dalit readers level of relativity will be more
intense when compared to a non-dalit reader. Thus the idea of beauty in dalit literature cannot be called as
universal because the intensity of consciousness among the readers differs in varying volumes. On the other hand
the ambedkarite inspiration in dalit literature possesses a universal value.
Dalit writers do not keep the urbane readers in a pedestal while creating a work of art. Their main intention is to
inform and expose the evil practice that shapes Indian society. They write in order to throw a light on the problems
of society. Unlike other writers they do not have pre conceived sets of audience or readers to acknowledge their
work. It is also important to note that form is something which a dalit writer is not concern about because the
context lays the foundation in their writing. Therefore the readers have to set aside their preference for form over
content while reading works produced by dalit writers.
There are four main standards of dalit literature
1: artists must be motivated by their experience
2: artists must socialize their experience.
3: artists experiences must cross provincial boundaries
4: artists experience must seem relevant to all time.
When it comes to dalit aesthetics one cannot rely on pleasure giving beauty and taste. Dalit literature calls for
liberation and freedom. The fact that it shouts out loud for peace and equality makes it a revolutionary literature.
The paradigm of measuring a work of art should not be only based on pleasure giving sensation but arousing a
sense of social consciousness can have its own aesthetic value. Revoulutinary writers such as Rosseou, Marx,
Phule and ambedkar sealed the deal when they dedicated their writing to being about a social consciousness.
The dalit writers are not very well received by the critics, the savarna Marathi critics have always passed their
judgment on dalit literature. Some call it plain flat but some pass their approval to give it the tag of literature. It is
commendable that the dalit writers never resorted to traditional form of writing but they build their own platform to
deliver their dalit reality and experience.
Limbale is a prominent Dalit author, poet and literary critic. The following is an edited version of the paper he
read at the Festival of South Asian Literature and the Arts session on One World, One English, the Many
Languages of Imagination.
I
am an Indian Dalit writer. I have written 35 books in Marathi, three of which have been translated into English. I
started writing in 1982 and for the last 30 years I have been writing on the problems of Dalits.
I am an activist writer. I am committed to my movement that was started by Dr. BR Ambedkar to emancipate
Indias Dalits. This movement is an integral part of my being. Without the movement, I cannot write. The
movement is an ink for me. My literature is the literature of protest because of my commitment to the Dalit
movement and the inspiration of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkars thoughts.

I never have and never will write for entertainment. I am a writer of people. How can I forget problems of my
people? How can I neglect the cry of my people? The unrest of my people charges me to think and to write. Dalit
literature is not the literature of imaginations. It is a literature of atrocities inflicted on the Dalits by high caste
Hindus.
Dalit writers objective is to explain to people his own pain, problems and questions. We are educated and we
know the roots of exploitation of our community. If we stay quiet, it would be crime against humanity and crime
against our movement. It is our birthright to protest against inhumanity.
For me and for other Dalit writers, writing is a form of rebellion. Our protest is both on the streets and on paper.
My words are my weapons. For me, struggle is the paper and people are the contents. Literature is Parliament for
me where I want to discuss my rights and demands, which have been neglected for thousands of years.
When I wrote my first poem, I wasnt aware of the form and content of literature. Like me, many Dalit writers
didnt know the features of literature. We didnt know the meaning of writing. We wrote because we wanted to
share our pains with others, share our sorrows, depict the atrocities we face, share and our problems with the
people and ask them to recognize us as human beings.
Our readers were shocked by our words. For them our experience was new and bitter, and our tongue was very
rude. This was a new, strange and shocking experience for the middle class readers. Dalit literature is the mirror of
the caste society. The traditional reader of the literature is shocked by this literature. It is through Dalit literature
that the reader became aware of the social reality and inequality.
Not surprisingly, the traditional reader didnt enjoy literature, at least initially. After all, how anyone can enjoy
atrocities? How anyone can enjoy the pains and pangs of others? The traditional reader wants to enjoy the arts and
literature. However, Dalit literature is radically different. There is a conflict between the author and reader.
Dalit literature creates huge social tension. This is the tension between haves and have-nots. The haves asked to the
Dalit writer not to write this type of literature, because it would lead to tension and division in the community. The
have-nots ask the Dalit writer to write about their honest and noble struggle for equality, justice and freedom.
Not surprisingly, in the initial phase of Dalit literature, the mainstream literary critics questioned the very basis of
Dalit literature. They asked in all seriousness: Can Dalits write literature? Can Dalit be subject of literature? They
attacked Dalit literature saying that the dirty experiences of Dalit life would spoil the literary mainstream.
Their contention was that Dalit literature is not literature. According to them, It was the drainage of dirty water;
it was slang literature. It had to be stopped otherwise it would harm the religious feelings of the higher castes.
We didnt care for such allegations. We didnt stop writing. For us, it was very simple to write in our own language
and write about the tragedy of our life. And by writing the way we did, we changed the definition of writing and
the writer.
Dalit literatures distinct language, its revolutionary ideology, its aggressive character, its refusal to quietly accept
inequality, and the human values ingrained in it has led to many proponents and opponents of Dalit literature.
Dalits havent been portrayed truthfully or with fairness right from the time of Hindu religious literature to
contemporary Indian literature. As a Dalit writer, I reject this alienating literary tradition.
I
am often asked about the future of the Dalit literature. I find this ironic because we are worried about our future
and our critics are worried about our literature. Dalit literature is a response to the exploitation and the humiliation
of the Dalits, and as that is unlikely to end soon, Dalit literature will flourish.
Whenever there is inhumanity and discrimination in the world, then there will be Dalit literature. Dalit literature
has expanded the horizon of Indian literature and criticism and transformed peoples preferences. Dalit literature
has awakened many new social strata and made new literary contributions.
Equality, freedom and social justice are the basis of Dalit literature. Dalits have been deprived of these. These
people were silent and mute in the history. The Hindu philosophy and ideology is based on inequality. The Hindu
religion, Hindu Gods, Hindu culture and Hindu social fabric deny equality, justice and freedom to Dalits.
For thousands of years Dalits politely served the high caste society. It was the destiny of Dalit people. They never
revolted against God, religion and social structure. They believe that this was the way of life for them.
Dalit has been humiliated and exploited for thousands of years. Dalit is rejected by high caste as human. The touch
of Dalit, the shadow of Dalit and the voice of Dalit treated as impure. Dalit lived out of village, out of city and in
separate sections. Dalit cannot enter in the temple of high caste. Dalit cannot drink water on the river bank of high

caste. Dalit cannot cremate the dead body in the graveyard of high caste. Dalit cannot marry, cannot eat, and
cannot live with the high caste. He was only slave. He had no rights.
After independence and thanks to the revolutionary movement of Dr. Ambedkar, Dalits became aware of their selfrespect and equality. Now, the Indian caste system is changing but not fast enough. The speed of social change is
very slow, but there is change.
Over the years, Dalit literature has been able to break down barriers, overcome opposition and gain acceptance and
popularity. Why is Dalit literature so popular? Why it is well received by readers? What is the cause of Dalit
literature?
The answers to these questions are straightforward: Dalit literature is the rebel against exploitation and humiliation.
A common man is the hero of this literature. He revolts against the inhuman oppression. He wins in his struggle of
self-respect. This is the real beauty of this literature.
Irrelevant of caste, class and colour, the reader loves the brave tongue and gets motivation from the struggle of
common man. The common man becomes searchlight for him to find way of life. I believe, the common man is
brave and faithful. Dalit literature gives this message to the readers.
If you want to understand the literature of movement, if you want to learn struggle of emancipation, if you want to
listen the cry for humanity, I think, you have to read Dalit literature. It is the literature of life.