Dalit Rangabhumi
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Dalit Rangabhumi, that is Dalit Drama, was my chosen field of research for a thesis at Vienna University's
Institute of Social Anthropology. Dalits, meaning "the oppressed", are those people formerly
known by various names such as untouchables, pariahs or harijans. While untouchability has been constitutionally abolished, and
while due to the efforts of people like Mahatma Gandhi a general consciousness has taken root that untouchability is somewhat
sinful, the Dalits still face many problems. There exists a dissatisfaction which has expressed itself from the 70s onwards in
the present DalitMovement. In this movement gaining of self respect and breaking free from the psychological shackles
of the past play a lead role, aside from current issues of injustice and atrocities.
a little English version ...
[ Death Day or Liberation Day ]
[What is Dalit Drama?]
[Dharmantar, a Jalsa ]
[Avart(Whirlpool)]
One result of this research is the translation and commentary
of the Dalit Drama Death Day or Liberation Day.
This one-act play was written in the late 70s by Kamlakar Dahat,an author living in Nagpur, Maharashtra. At its time
this play was extremely popular. It was performed in each and every slum area of Nagpur in the form of "pathanatya" or street
theatre. Once it was performed on Nagpurs Dikshabhumi, and it is said that on that occasion 900,000 people were watching.
The question "What is Dalit Drama?"answers Ramnath Cahvan, an exponent
of the Dalit Drama Movement, in his; speech at the All India Dalit
Drama Convention of the year 1992: "It is the theatre which offers a challenge to the casteists. It offers a critique
of religion. It exposes and presents the naked reality of injustice and atrocities."
The development of Dalit Rangabhumi:Two art forms, which are predecessors
of Dalit Drama in a certain sense, deserve mention in this connection. These are Tamasha and Jalsa
Look for the description
of one particular Jalsa in the section:
Dharmantar (Conversion to Another Religion), a Jalsa
by Bhimrao Kardak
Avart (Whirlpool) is a beautiful one-act play by
Prof. Datta Bhagat, a well known figure of the Dalit Drama scene. Here are themes woven together ranging from
traditional Tamasha, traditional Bhakti, the Shiv Sena, the Ambedkar movement, the power of the Patil (the village headman),
to the story of Shudra Shambuk from the Ramayana. Of all the plays presented here, it is the most sophisticated one; it stands
in literary value on a different level, so to speak.
Links:
The Dalit Movement is not represented with a lot of web sites on the internet. At the web site of
The Other India Bookstore one can find out
what relevant literature is available in book form. The Ambedkar Center for Justice
and Peace in Toronto has a web site, which is currently under repair. There is the DATPERS mailing list:
"To Subscribe
to DATPERS (Dalit and Tribal Peoples Electronic Resource Site) send email to:
listserv@yorku.ca, with one line in the body
saying: subscribe datpers Your_Name"
e-mail:Georg Naggies
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