e n

Raidas: Poet-saint of the Bahujan-Shraman culture

There is a long tradition of poetry among the so-called Shudra and Ati-Shudra castes. Raidas is one of the key poet-saints of this tradition. He mounted a decisive challenge against the Varna-caste system and dared to dream of an egalitarian society that also didn’t discriminate along religious (Hindu-Muslim) lines – a society where man was looked up to not on the basis of his birth but his human qualities

Dr Siddharth Ramu January 30, 2018
Share on Like on Facebook Share on WhatsApp Share on Telegram

This post is only available in Hindi.

Visit the Forward Press Facebook page and and follow us on Twitter @ForwardPressWeb

Forward Press also publishes books on Bahujan issues. Forward Press Books sheds light on the widespread problems as well as the finer aspects of Bahujan (Dalit, OBC, Adivasi, Nomadic, Pasmanda) society, culture, literature and politics. Contact us for a list of FP Books’ titles and to order. Mobile: +919968527911, Email: info@forwardmagazine.in)

The titles from Forward Press Books are also available on Kindle and these e-books cost less than their print versions. Browse and buy:

Mahishasur: A people’s hero

The Common Man Speaks Out

Jati ke Prashn Par Kabir

The Case for Bahujan Literature

About The Author

Dr Siddharth Ramu

Dr Siddharth Ramu is an author, journalist and translator. His books include ‘Samajik Kranti ki Yoddha Savitribai Phule: Jivan ke Vividh Aayam’ and ‘Bahujan Navjagran aur Pratirodh ke Vividh Swar: Bahujan Nayak aur Nayika’. He has translated Badrinarayan’s ‘Kanshiram: Leader of Dalits’ under the title ‘Bahujan Nayak Kanshiram’ (Rajkamal Prakashan). He has also edited and annotated Ambedkar’s ‘Jati ka Vinash’ (translated by Rajkishore, Forward Press)

Related Articles

How Kanshi Ram’s slogans became the gospel for the masses
Ritesh Jyoti
It is time we revived these slogans in our political spheres, in our social spaces and university corridors and connected with villages, bastis and...
Virendra Yadav’s struggles in the ‘progressive’ camp
Dhiresh Saini
Virendra Yadav’s heart was riddled with barbs hurled by his ‘own’ people. But he kept fighting for secular-progressive ideas. He could have easily immersed...
Virendra Yadav was an incisive intellectual with a vision for social justice
Ramkrishna Yadav
Virendra Yadav’s biggest contribution is the inculcation of a sense of moral-social accountability in Hindi criticism. Through his writings, he tried to establish that...
Discovering young Ambedkar’s Indo-US trade petition
Nikhil Bagade
‘We, the representatives of India and members of the Indian Society for the Promotion of Commerce, request to the high-intelligence of the officers of...
Beyond Sacrifice: Reflections on the multifaceted life of Ramai
S.P.V.A. Sairam
Was Ramabai just a dutiful housewife of Babasaheb, or was she an active co-emancipator who, like Babasaheb, envisioned a society free from man-made divisions...