All history is dalit history
As he was preparing to escape from German-occupied France in early 1940, the German-Jewish philosopher Walter Benjamin wrote in his essay, “Theses on the Philosophy of History”: ‘There has never been a document of civilization, which is not simultaneously one of barbarism.’ A few months later, Benjamin fled to Spain, where, fearing Nazi arrest, he died by suicide, alone, and a testament to his own warnings.
History often amounts to a ledger of atrocities, chronicles of how instruments of subjugation are continually devised across time. It is a vacuum that seals away all the possibilities of an otherwise world, and the dreams of people who wanted to free life from endless nightmare. The Dalit History Month is a reclamation of this possibility. It lays bare how the valorisation of Brahmanic Indian culture is nothing but a valorisation of caste atrocity. How the myths and values that structure our everyday life often amount to little more than hate crimes against Dalits, Adivasis, women and other oppressed communities. It is a recovery of those repressed histories of people across time who fought for an egalitarian world.
The Dalit History Month was first declared in April 2003 by a small magazine in Tamil Nadu, The Dalit, with the celebration of anti-caste writings from across India. The cover art for the magazine by stalwart artist Chandru, inspired by an excerpt from Aravind Malagatti’s autobiography in Kannada, Government Brahmana, eventually became the Navayana logo. Twenty-two years later, Navayana continues to hold out hope in the liberatory possibilities of the Dalit History Month. On this occasion, here is a list of books you can read to partake in the radical rupture:
- In Pursuit of Ambedkar: A Memoir by Bhagwan Das
The story of a young Dalit man from Shimla who joined the Ambedkar movement, after serving in the Royal Air Force in World War II. Bhagwan Das relates his personal and professional relationship with Ambedkar and how he grew to be one of the pioneering intellectuals of the anti-caste movement. - The Exercise of Freedom: An Introduction to Dalit Writing by K. Satyanarayana and Susie Tharu
An anthology of some of the best Dalit writings from across history. From Ambedkar and Omprakash Valmiki to Anna Bhau Sathe and Devanoora Mahadeva, read all the figures who laid the intellectual foundations of Dalit movement and thought. - A Word With You, World: The Autobiography of a Poet by Siddalingaiah
The story of a poet from a small Dalit colony at the edges of Magadi town in Karnataka, who joins student politics, becomes a leader of the Dalit Sangharsha Samiti, and eventually a legislator in the Karnataka assembly. Siddalingaiah writes with Chaplinesque wit, about incidents that delight and horrify in equal measure. - Antigod’s Own Country: A Short History of Brahminical Colonisation of Kerala by A.V. Sakthidharan
A history of the non-Brahmin and anti-Brahmanical myths, practices and culture of Kerala. This book shows how Brahmanism colonises these ancient beliefs. And how existing practices, like the celebration of asuras like Ravana and Mahabali, reveal the contested nature of history. - Give Us This Day a Feast of Flesh by N.D. Rajkumar
Sensuous and ferocious, N.D. Rajkumar’s poetry cracks open a magic-drenched, living dalit history. Born into a traditional shaman community in a border town between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, his poetry is populated by the angry goddesses and fearsome Others—nemeses of those who subjugate and dominate the simmering masses. - Beef, Brahmins and Broken Men: An Annotated Critical Selection from The Untouchables by B.R. Ambedkar
Ambedkar’s enduring work of history, where he asks how untouchability emerged and why historians have found it difficult to answer this question. This annotated edition of Ambedkar’s forensic enquiry will show how the writing of history is often rife with neglect and silences that we must force society to confront.
Also available on our website is the Navayana Library Box-Set, which will bring you all 75 titles available from Navayana. All individual Navayana titles are also available on our website for discounted prices this entire month.
