Special cell sought for Dalit literature in Sahitya Akademi

‘Advisory board for it should have non-academic writers’

Jithender Manu, South Indian organising secretary, Bharatiya Dalit Sahitya Akademi, at the B.R. Ambedkar Memorial Hall in Puducherry on Saturday.

The Bharatiya Dalit Sahitya Akademi (BDSA) has urged the Centre to take steps to recognise Dalit literature and establish a special cell for the genre in the Sahitya Akademi. A resolution was adopted at the first executive committee meeting of the BDSA here on Saturday.

Jithender Manu, south India organising secretary of BDSA, said Dalit literature had been ignored and neglected so far. It must be duly recognised by society, and Dalit writers should be encouraged and rewarded for their writing. The academy, at present, recognises only 24 Indian languages. Some more languages should be recognised by the Akademi, Mr. Manu said.

Though Dalit literature has been present right from ancient times, the National Academi of Letters – Sahitya Akademi under the Union Ministry of Culture has failed to bring out even a monograph of B.R. Ambedkar literature in any of the 24 languages recognised by the Akademi.

Mr. Manu pointed out that Sahitya Akademi had recognised 24 Indian languages, including tribal languages such as Bodo, Dogew, and Sindhi. Though advisory boards had been set up for all these languages, there was hardly any representation for Dalits and the Scheduled Tribes in any of the Boards or committees constituted by the State governments. Ponugumatla Vishnumurty, president, South Indian States Committee, said Dalit literature was born out of personal experiences of Dalits on social cruelty, discrimination, ill-treatment in public life and sexual harassment. The literature was meant for awakening of society but the Sahitya Akademi had failed to give due recognition.

Dalit literature should be recognised by the Sahitya Akademi and an advisory board should be constituted with non-academic writers, who were the real heroes at the grassroots level. Recognition of Dalit literature would be a fitting tribute to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on the occasion of his 125th birth anniversary, Mr. Vishunmurty said.

The Puducherry government, too, had failed to recognise Dalit literature. There was no representation for Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in any of the advisory committees constituted by the Department of Art and Culture.

The BDSA also demanded that the Centre create a separate cell for Dalit literature in the Sahitya Akademi and earmark special funds in its budget to develop Dalit and tribal literature.

State presidents Dhanasekhar (Andhra Pradesh), S. Chelvaraju (Karnataka), Thuttapallli Balakrishnan (Kerala), Gopi Chandran (Tamil Nadu), and general secretary Vasuki Jayaraman (Puducherry) attended the meeting.