With the intention of making Dalit literature available in a nutshell to students and research scholars, Kannada Sahitya Parishat (KSP) has taken up the ambitious task of brining them out in 10 volumes, covering all genres.
A committee of scholars headed by Mallepuram G Venkatesh, former vice-chancellor of Karnataka Samskrit University, has been formed for the purpose of bringing out representative volumes on Dalit literature. Scholars and writers, including Mudnakudu Chinnaswamy, former minister and writer B.T. Lalita Naik, Dr. Arjun Golasangi, Prof. Sannarama, Dr. B.M. Puttaiah and Dr. H.D. Pote, are members of the committee.
Each volume will run up to 250 pages, according to Dr. Manu Baligar, President, KSP. The work of editing these volumes is in progress and a corpus fund of ₹30 lakh has been earmarked for the purpose. “The plan is to release the works in the first week of February,” he said.
Describing KSP’s initiative as the first of its kind attempt to document representative writing of Dalit literature on this scale in the entire history of Kannada literature, Prof. Mallepuram Venkatesh said, “These 10 volumes will become the foundation and referral works for writing the history of Dalit literature in Kannada. It also traces the concept of Dalit consciousness in the Kannada literature of post-Independent era.”
Each volume will have representative writings, and the editors are experts and scholars in their own field. While Mr. Chinnaswamy is editing the poetry section, Prof. Venkatesh himself is focusing on research writings on Dalit literature.
Prof. Venkatesh said that Dalit literature has evolved over the years to such a level that it has virtually become the backbone of modern Kannada literature. “Dalit writers have produced some of the best works in the history of Kannada literature,” he said.
