Guest of the ilb 2001
Namdeo Dhasal was born in a village near Poona, India, in 1947. As
a member of the Dalits, the casteless (or ›untouchables‹) he grew up in
direst poverty. Dhasal spent his childhood in Golpitha, a red-light
district in Mumbai/Bombay, where his father worked for a butcher.
Following the example of the American Black Panther movement, he
founded the Dalit Panther with friends in 1972. This militant
organisation supported its radical political activism with provocative
pamphlets. Dhasal was one of the most famous and most outspoken members
of this group.
In 1973 he published his first volume of poetry,
»Golpitha«, which caused an uproar in literary circles. It was followed
by further poetry collections, among them »Moorkh Mhataryane« (t: The
Foolisch Old Man), inspired by Maoian thoughts, the volume »Tuhi Iyatta
Kanchi?« (t: How educated are you?), the erotic poems »Khel«, and
»Priya Darshin« about the Indian Prime Minister Indira Ghandi. Apart
from two novels he also published pamphlets such as »Andhale Shatak«
(t: Century of Blindness) and »Ambedkari Chalwal«, a reflection on the
socialist and communist concepts of B.R. Ambedkar, the founder of the
Dalit movement.
In 1982 cracks began
to appear in the Dalit movement. Ideological disputes gained the upper
hand and eclipsed the common goal. Dhasal wanted to engender a mass
movement and widen the term Dalit to include all oppressed people, but
the majority of his comrades insisted on maintaining the exclusivity of
their organization. Serious illness and alcohol addiction overshadowed
the following years, during which Dhasal wrote very little. During the
1990s he became more politically active. Dhasal currently holds a
national office in the Indian Republican Party, formed by the merger of
all Dalit parties. His work has earned him many honours and prizes.
The Dalit literature
tradition is very old, although the term was only introduced officially
in 1958. Dhasal was greatly inspired by the work of Baburo Bagul, who
employed photographic realism to draw attention to the circumstances
which those deprived of their rights from birth have to endure.
Dhasal’s innovative poems broke away from formal and stylistic
conventions. His use of vulgar language offended literary taste. He
wrote in Marathi, the official language of the state of Maharashtra,
but included many words and expressions which only the Dalits normally
used. In »Golpitha«, for example, he adapted his language to that of
the red-light milieu, which shocked middle-class readers.
The Establishment’s
assessment of Dhasal’s political, as opposed to his artistic,
achievements may differ drastically, but for the writer they are
inextricably linked. In an interview in 1982 he said that if the aim of
social struggles was the removal of unhappiness, then poetry was
necessary because it expressed that happiness vividly and powerfully.
Later he stated, »Poetry is politics«. Dhasal adheres to this principle
in his private life. He told the photographer Henning Stegmüller, »I
enjoy discovering myself. I am happy when I am writing a poem, and I am
happy when I am leading a protest of prostitutes fighting for their
rights.«
Recently
Dhasal wrote colums for the Marathi newspaper »Daily Saamana«, read by
60 million poeple, and worked as an editor for »Weekly Satyata«. He
published the two collections of poetry »Mee Marle Suryachya Rathaache
Saat Ghode« (t: I killed the seven Horses of the Sun King) and »Tuze
Boat Dharoon me Chalallo Aahe« (t: Holding the father's finger the
child is following him). For his political oeuvre Dhasal was honoured
with numerous prizes such as the Soviet Land Nehru Award (1974), the
Maharashtra State Award (1973, 1974, 1982, 1983) and the State Award
Padmashri for literature (1999). In 2004 he received the Golden Life
Time Achievement Award by the Sahitya Akademi.
© international literature festival berlin
Bibliography:
Tuhi Iyatta Kanchi?
Ambedkara Prabodhini
Mumbai, 1981
Ambedkari Chalwal
Ambedkara Prabodhini
Mumbai, 1981
Andhale Shatak
Ambedkara Prabodhini
Mumbai, 1997
further works:
Poetry
Golpitha
Moorkh Mhataryane
Tuhi Iyatta Kanchi?
Khel
Priya Darshin
Ya satteth Jiv Ramath naahin
Gaandu Bagichha (The Concept of Garden Eden)
Mee Marle Suryachya Rathaache saat ghode
Tuze Boat Dharoon me Chalallo Aahe
Prose
Hadki Hadavala
Negative Space
Ujedaachi Kali Dunia
Political Works
Savva Kaahi Samashtisathi
(Columns written in "Daily Saamana")
Buddha dharwa: Kaahi Shesh prashna
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