Our python fights often if I outgrow the role of a slave. It takes me into its hold in its befitting role of master. At the smallest error it becomes the penal code to devour me. These lines by the poet Varre Rani convey succinctly the Dalit anguish about centuries of oppression. Poignant and powerful, Dalit literature derives its strength both from the portrayal of the harsh reality of the world the lower castes of India inhabit and from their resistance ...