Omaprakāśa Vālmīki

Naresh Kumar Jain

This is an English translation of fifteen stories of the leading Hindi dalit writer, Omprakash Valmiki, best known for his autobiography Joothan. Together these stories vocalise the anguish and anger of the lowliest of the low in the caste hierarchy. More specifically, they deal with their sufferings at the hands of the dominant high castes and their questioning of their oppressors; their slender hopes and their small dreams; and their problems of identity as they try to make their way up the social and economic ladder. Omprakash Valmiki lists women of all classes among the dalits and there is a story in the collection that shows a high caste woman suffering at the hands of her male relatives. Softer emotions of love and longing are also not left out. Valmiki is acutely aware of the caste hierarchy among the dalits themselves and his story 'Shavayatra' makes for a deeply poignant reading. 'Amma' of the title is almost an epic tale of a dalit woman's resolve to keep her progeny away from the broom and the canister. At their best the stories are not merely dalit stories but a deeply human collection that will compel attention, engage the sympathies of the readers and make them ask inconvenient questions. The stories will also add a new dimension to dalit discourse. The English translation is being published in the hope that the stories will reach a much wider audience and will sensitise readers to the travails of the dalits and their efforts to make a space for themselves, and help prepare the climate for social change.

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