Dalit writings far and few between: Krishna

Mysore, Jan 19, DHNS:

The Bandaya literature (literature of rebellion) is disappearing these days and most of the people are becoming ‘Navabrahmins’ (neo-brahmins), said former Legislative Assembly speaker M Krishna.

He was speaking at the release of a book written by Dr P Chandrashekar on ‘First generation Dalit writer Late G Venkataiah’s life and literature’ here recently. Despite the increasing corruption, inequality and discrimination that is prevalent in the society, Why are people still being so silent and putting up with every thing these days? he questioned. He urged for the people to work towards reducing unequality and discrimination in the society. Taking a dig at Pejawar Mutt Seer Vishveshwatheertha, Krishna said that he came to visit a certain community to resolve the differences, but he didn’t even drink one glass of milk from any of the homes he visited. That creates a doubt in the mind of the people about his real intentions, Krishna added. Commenting on Venkataiah, Krishna said that the former would have become a better writer if he had mingled with other litterateurs. Even though Venkataiah didn’t have any guidance, he looked at the various problems facing the society and used literature to point it out to people. Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) Vice Chancellor Prof K S Rangappa and District Youth Congress Committee President Dr B J Vijayakumar were present.

Interview with L.Hanumanthaiah - Dalit writer, poet and former MLC

What is the status of Dalits in Karnataka today and how has it changed?
The Dalit movement had a very strong presence and character till 1985; when the decline of the movement started. Since 1995, the movement has been totally torn down and diluted resulting in a lack of focus on dalit issues and concerns and hence the dalits themselves. One of the reasons for this decline has been that the movement has transformed from an issue-based movement to a personality-based movement. The larger issues are sidestepped to make way for local and organizational issues driven by personal agendas.

Are there open spaces that can bring together people and nurture dialogue?
There is a basic need for a national level aggregation of initiatives and movements with respect to dalit issues. Just like the bank unions have been able to come together at a national level to highlight larger issues concerning bank employees, there is a need for all dalit organizations and local initiatives to come together on a national stage and work towards larger and basic issues regarding the dalits like education, housing etc.
What are issues/focus areas concerning dalits that need to be tackled at present both at a national level and in Karnataka?
Some of the issues which need definite national attention are:
• Reservation in the private sector
• Clearance of vacancy backlog in various governmental agencies/departments
• Fast-tracking of land allotment and registration for dalits
• Adoption of the Bhopal Declaration on Dalit Rights( http://tinyurl.com/nwdqeh), which has been implemented in Madhya Pradesh, all over India.
Two issues of importance in Karnataka are housing and education.
The "Ashraya" scheme which provides monetary assistance to solve housing needs is not the solution. The result is that an existing hut is replaced by a new hut and the family continues to live in a hut-settlement for generations. Instead, the focus should be on providing a dignified living space. Let there not be separate dalit living communities created (thus continuing the divide). Instead, create living communities based on economic needs where there are no dalit/non-dalit differentiations.
Education is a great leveler and hence the accessibility and quality of education has to be improved to change mindsets. Education is the only solution to eradicate the notion of "inequality by birth". An essential way to do this is to nationalize at least till primary education. At a higher level, this would actually mean a re-defining of the parameters of social and developmental equality.
The government has traditionally always looked at sop kind of solutions in this area. Is that the answer?Sops are hardly the solution to the issue. In fact, something like reservation is not at all the solution; it is just a small part of the solution. It could perhaps only be used as a tool to benefit the poorest of the poor and the most disadvantaged sections on the society and not just dalits. The idea of inclusive development and breaking of barriers is more mindset and thought based. Hence it would require changes and work at policy and program level. As mentioned earlier, tackling core issues like equality in education, housing, employment etc. at national and systemic would be essential.
What inspires the poet in you? How has being a dalit shaped your identity as a writer?

Literature has its own limitations in bringing about change, but still plays a significant role. My poems are a reflection of my personal experiences, the inequalities and differences that I have encountered. I am a noted poet and literateur, a Ph.D, I live a good life in Bangalore. Even today, when I visit my village, the sense of inequality and divide is very evident and obvious. The dalit communities live separately from the main communities and they can't enter the village temple. This is what finds a voice through my poems.