ARJUN
DANGLE
Arjun Dangle, born in Mumbai in
1945, is an important name in the politics and literature of Maharashtra. A
founder member of the militant Dalit youth organization, the Dalit Panthers, he
has also been the president of the State Unit of the Bharatiya Republican Party
of India. Dangle’s poetry, essays and short stories, published to critical
acclaim, have been translated into several Indian and foreign languages. He
has not only contributed himself to the Dalit literary movement but guided
aspiring authors of generation after generation. He not only dreamt of social
equity on the lines of one enshrined in the Constitution, but as a political
activist participated in many agitations and led the masses for achieving goal
through political means. His contribution to Marathi literature, social reform
movements, and fine understanding of Maharashtra's socio - political ethos
needs to be recognized by the society.
Defiance
and protest was the hallmark of Dalit literary movement. Dangle has been one of
the prominent authors who spearheaded this defiance and protest through his
"Dalit Vidroh" a collection of works which decisively defied the old
myths prevailing then in the mainstream literature. He established new norms,
ideals and icons through his writings. As
a poet, he not only won acclaim from the literary world but he was also
accorded recognition from the Government of Maharashtra by honoring him the
Rajya Puraskar to his "Chhavni Halte Ahe". Suppressed and oppressed
voice of Dalits was given very subtle expression in his "Bandhavarchi
Manasa". The real world of Dalits was picturised in this poetry and short
stories which went on to become iconic legends in Dalit literature.
I
will Belong to It
That
one should, at masturbating age,
Sit
twisting rope instead
And
at the age of eternal gazing
Upon
a moonlike face
Wander
the town wearing down soles
At
playing-with-grandchildren age
Let
disease play upon one’s self.
Is
this my life?
There,
outside the village,
It
is my blood that rots
Here
in this lean-to I
Am
the city edition of that same blood.
To
whom can I tell this?
To
the soil here?
The
soil which has not allowed
The
footprint of my existence
To
make its mark upon her yet?
To
the sun and moon here
Who
wrench away the rays that fall upon my home?
To
whom…to whom. shall I tell?
In
the land of fifty eight crores
This
is how I must continue to live,
Who
will listen to whose agony
In
this density of people?
I
want a life
That
has the vital sap
I
want a soil
That,
smeared on the brow,
Will
bring tears to the eyes
I
want a sun and a moon
Who
will with their rays lasso me to them and caress
I
don’t want mere crowds, mere land
I
want for it a name whose meaning
May
engrave itself on my heart,
And
gently blow upon my endless pain.
It
will belong to me and I belong to it.
Translated
by Shanta Gokhale
The poem ‘I will belong to it’ is a part of anthology Poisoned
Bread edited by Arjun Dangle which is a repository
of the ‘Marathi Dalit experience. It was
published in 1992. ‘Poisoned Bread’ was the first anthology of
Dalit Literature. Dalits were meted out with inhuman treatment in the form
social-exclusion, oppression, humiliation, and deprivation. Dalit literature
first appeared on the literary scene of India in the Marathi language and then
found its way in other languages. The
revolutionary social movement launched by their leader, Dr Ambedkar, was
paralleled by a wave of writing that exploded in poetry, prose, fiction and
autobiography of a raw vigour, maturity, depth and richness of content and
shocking in its exposition of the bitterness of their experiences. One is
jolted too, by the quality of writing of a group denied access for long ages to
any literary tradition.
The poem ‘I will belong
to It’ is one such work which is outcry of a dalit towards the injustices
practiced upon the people whom society deemed and categorized as untouchable. The
poem is written in first person narration and traces the poet’s whole life
along the lines of the space that had been confined to by the society. It expresses the
epileptic and diseased
condition of the
society and country.
The poet talks about the discrimination he has to face on the name of
caste. He says that he is wandering aimlessly in the town ‘at masturbating age’ And at the age of eternal gazing, Upon a moonlike
face’. . Being a dalit he has realized the hardships of life and the
differences created by society. He asks to whom he can share his pain and agony;
to whom-the soil, the sun, the moon or to the people with whom he does not feel
any connection or belongingness. The poet
throws light on unheard
condition of the
Dalit; no-belongingness, aggressive
mood for the
social exclusion, the sense
of nonbeing, indignant
unsocietal persona standing
to face challenges
to the politics
of survival with perseverance, “To
whom... to whom...shall I tell? In this land of fifty-eight crores, This is how
I must continue to live. Here he attacks on civil societies, organization
and institution, “Who will listen to
whose agony. In this destiny of people? I want a life, that has a vital sap. I
want a soil That, smeared on the brow, Will bring tears to the eyes”. He
wants a name, an identity, a life world made of his expectation and attempt, whose meaning may engrave itself upon my
heart, and gently blow my endless pain. He
says that he wants a place where he can feel belong to and someone who
gently blow my endless pain, the last line of the poem again expresses his
deep desire to have something of his own, something which he can rightfully
claim, It will belong to me and I belong to it. The
title of the poem shows his deep desire of belonging. It tells many of the
aspects and the depth of dalits sufferings, humiliation, and the purposefully
so called upper class people creates hurdles in their way to progress.
Dalit
Literature is showing the true face of Indian Society. Equality is there on
paper for the name sake and even today in many corners of India dalits are
living the life of slave. Dalit Literature is full of suffering, trouble,
torture and humiliation. The literature created by Arjun Dangle focuses on the
social, political and economical status of dalits- yesterday and today. His
writing is based on their experience and the observation of the society. A kind
of experience Dalit gets; and their experiences are the source of their
writing. He has gone through unexpected and unwanted experiences and he feels
upcoming generation should not be the victim of the system. All his efforts of
writing are bringing a positive change in Indian Society. Dangle has a great
hope that a day will come and caste will be vanished from the Indian Society. Dangle has reached to the world through his
literature. His literature made him great literary man. He became uncommon from
the common and known from the unknown. He is one of the greatest literary-men’s
in the history of Indian Literature.
Sources:
https://mayday.leftword.com/author/post/arjun-dangle
The Poetics of Societal Hypoxia Prof. (Dr) Supriya Agarwalal
The Subaltern Expressions In Dalit Literature: A Study Of Arjun Dangle’s Poisoned Bread -Poorwa R. Naik