About the Book

Gujarati Dalit Literatue is committed to the plight of Dalit Community, particularly the SC, the ST and the Baxi panch groups.  It straightforwardly deals with discrimination and exploitation of these communities.  It emphasizes the theme of exposition of the sufferings of non-high castes people and pays little attention to the forms of literary pieces.  It has been widly criticized for the lack of forms.  But Gujrati Dalit Literature is quite recent and to expect perfection of forms at this stage is too much.  We can only say that Gujarati Dalit Literature is rough diamond.  But more than this,  it is the theme that takes the form.  If the theme is powerfull, it will take the care of the form.  In this respect selected Gujarati Dalit Literature is the veritable example of the theme that takes the form at the same time.

This Anthology contains the creative writings by Dalit writers because they have direct experiences and realizations of Dalit Communities.  But it does believe that non-Dalit writers can also produce Dalit Literature provided they have commitment to dalit experience and dalit ideology.  However, due to paucity of pages, the writings of non-Dalit Literature could not be included in this anthology.  The editor regrets it.

Though Gujarati Dalit Literature is inspired by Dr. Amedkar’s ideology and Marathi Dalit Literature, It has its own independent identity.  A few Comparatively young and moderately Gujarati Dalit poets and writers, exposed to national and world literature, dedicate themselves to neglected areas of experiences in literature of the time.  They decide to expand the horizon of literature, they explicated the vision of treating of Dalit at least as a Human being.  This vision, It is sure, will be helpful to the researchers, professors, general readers and a Common man without fail.

Contents:

POETRY

1. Parveen Gadhvi,-Farewell to Arms,My Shadow,Brainwash

2. Dalpat Chauhan-Untouchable,The Conversation on a Magshar Night,The Tortured Time

3. Shankar Painter-From Broom to Mouth,A Journey by Bus Down the Countryside

4. Harish Mangalam-The Valley,A Complaint

5. Sahil Parmar-Conversation with Wife,When I was born,Mother, give me moon

6. Bhi. Na. Vankar-Overbridge,Misfortune,In a Chawl of Closed Mills,Honour be to You

7. Yashwant Vaghela-Identity,Mummy

8. Shamat Parmar-Self-Pride

9. Neerav Patel-The Song of Our Shirt,Exiled Flowers,Kaliyo

10. Raju Solanki-To Walk on the Feet Mattered Most,The Dalit Ghetto,The Two Divers

11. Raman Vaghela-Harsh Destiny  

12. A K Dodiya-Talk About, You Write

13. Purushottam Jadav-Do Something, The Corpse,You Awake, My Sister’s Son

14. Jayant Parmar-The Stink of the Hellpit,The Portrait  

15. Kisan Sosa-The Inheritance,Do You Hear It?,You Too

16. Pathik Parmar-Why Don’t You Write?, Gokul and Kaniyo

17. Madhukant Kalpit-Awareness,The Movement Day

18. Shyam Sadhu-When the Sixth Sense Awakens

19. Harjivan Dafda-Ghazal 1,Ghazal 2,Ghazal 3

20. Buddhidhan Visnagri-Equal Lines

21. Bipin Gohil -To the Fading Man I Sing, To A Poet at a Mushaira

22. Dan Vaghela- Eklavya Day, Another World 

23. Usha Makwana- Blessed Harijan 

24. Meena Kamle- Waiting 

25. Priyanka Kalpit- Cold-blooded Murder 

26. Parbat Parmar- In Memoriam – Narayan Dhule 

SHORT STORY

27. The Stable- Mohan Parmar 

28. Dasharath Parmar- Transposition of Body 

29. Dalpat Chauhan- Cold Blood 

30. Harish Mangalam- Faith 

31. Dharmabhai Shrimali- The Hell 

32. Jasumati Parmar- Queen of Black 

33. Neerav Patel- Creamy Layer

NOVEL

34. Joseph Macwan- Angaliyat 

35. Mohan Parmar- Daya Pashani Vadi 

36. Daxa Damodara- Savitri 

37. B. Kesharshivam- Spearlike Pain 

38. Harish Mangalam- Flame of the Heat 

DRAMA

39. Mohan Parmar- A True Saga of Satyanarayana

40. Dalapat Chauhan- At the Pasture of Patan 

41. Harish Mangalam- Switch it on Now! 

AUTOBIOGRAPHY

42. Lalit Parmar- Aatmakatha 

43. Khemchand Chavda- Many Remembrances of Past 

44. Vitthal ‘Rai’- Ektara Goes on Ringing 

45. Vinubhai H. Bhairaviya- The Destination of Freedom – Still Miles to Go 

46. Neerav Patel- What Did I Do – To Be So Black and Blue 

Select Bibliography 

Index