The appointment of prominent Marathi writer Raosaheb Kasbe as president of the Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad a few months ago has set the literary world abuzz. His appointment is being lauded as a landmark move within literary circles as Kasbe is the first Dalit to head the 115-year-old autonomous body, which is considered the first literary collective for Marathi language. A thinker and a prominent voice on Dalit and adivasi issues, Kasbe, who is from Sangamner in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, has been a significant contributor to Marathi Dalit literature. His autobiography titled Jhott is considered one of the more important works in the field. However, his Ambedkar Aani Marx, where Kasbe has studied Ambedkarite thought through a Marxist lens, remains his most noted book. Kasbe’s appointment is being viewed as a sign of changing times and hope for a possible revival of the Dalit literary movement that emerged in the ’60s and which Kasbe was a part of. “This is a sign that Dalit literature has finally been acknowledged and embraced by Marathi literature,” said Kasbe, who resides in Nashik. Arjun Dangle, a prominent Mumbai-based Dalit writer and a founder member of the Dalit Panther Party, says that for the post of the president, Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad had so far appointed writers from the upper castes, chiefly Brahmins. “Dalit writers never found space in mainstream publications until the emergence of the Dalit literary movement in the ’60s, which was rooted in independent publishing. Even at the peak of Dalit literary movement in the ’70s, no prominent publisher touched Dalit writers. The upper caste Marathi authors kept their distance,” says Dangle, whose Poisoned Bread is a compilation of works by some of the finest Marathi Dalit writers. The appointment, however, is largely being attributed to the change in the composition of the committee at Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal committee, headed by Shripad Joshi, which selects the president for a five-year term. Kasbe as well as his contemporaries view his term as an opportunity to revive Dalit and Left literature. “We are working towards revamping the association for Marathi Progressive Writers so as to bring together thinkers from the Left and Ambedkarite thoughts,” says Kasbe. However, the new president realises that it won’t be easy as the Dalit ideologues do not see eye-to-eye with the Left. Kasbe acknowledged the fact that the differences between the Left and Ambedkarites have, over the years, only increased, but he believes it is now time to bridge those. “Ambedkar was heavily influenced by European socialism and has a lot in common with the Left. But the Left’s biggest failing was its decision to address class gap without acknowledging caste and gender issues. But now, these need to come together to fight caste, gender and class biases,” he asserts. Kasbe is already taking steps towards this goal. The collective organised the first literary meet for Marathi Progressive Writers in Nagpur on June 19. “The theme was the Ambedkarite thought and we had both Prakash Ambedkar as well as Jabbar Patel there. In future, we’ll be hosting literary meets dedicated to feminist and Dalit writings,” he said.
