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Dalit Panther – which, 50 years ago, stood in the way of rampaging feudalism

Authors normally use their pen to express their sensitivities. But these Dalit authors not only prepared a fertile ideological ground for the movement but also took part in it themselves, writes Dwarka Bharti

29 May 1972: The 50th birth anniversary of the Dalit Panther movement 

Inspired by the Black Panther movement of the African Americans in the 1960s, the Dalit Panther may not have become as famous but it was no less successful and effectual than its US counterpart. Dalit Panthers were as aggressive and as combative as the Black Panthers. Another common aspect between the two was that literature played a major role in their establishment. Marathi Dalit literature and authors were behind the Dalit Panther. In fact, we would not be entirely wrong if we say that Dalit Panther was a literary movement. Literary works that brought ideological citadels crashing down were the foundation of both the movements. These works influenced the ordinary folk in the same way as the sound of the bugle makes warriors jump into the battlefield. Marathi Dalit literature shaped this movement in the same way as a mother brings up her son, hoping that after he grows up, he will fight her battles.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: Dalit Panther – which, 50 years ago, stood in the way of rampaging feudalism

लेखक के बारे में

द्वारका भारती

24 मार्च, 1949 को पंजाब के होशियारपुर जिले के दलित परिवार में जन्मे तथा मैट्रिक तक पढ़े द्वारका भारती ने कुछ दिनों के लिए सरकारी नौकरी करने के बाद इराक और जार्डन में श्रमिक के रूप में काम किया। स्वदेश वापसी के बाद होशियारपुर में उन्होंने जूते बनाने के घरेलू पेशे को अपनाया है। इन्होंने पंजाबी से हिंदी में अनुवाद का सराहनीय कार्य किया है तथा हिंदी में दलितों के हक-हुकूक और संस्कृति आदि विषयों पर लेखन किया है। इनके आलेख हिंदी और पंजाबी के अनेक पत्र-पत्रिकाओं में प्रकाशित हैं। इनकी प्रकाशित कृतियों में इनकी आत्मकथा “मोची : एक मोची का अदबी जिंदगीनामा” चर्चा में रही है

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