The Oxford India Anthology of Telugu Dalit Writing

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 movements. This anthology showcases the works of nearly eighty Telugu Dalit writers and public intellectuals. It presents Dalit perspectives on caste oppression, their stinging critique of Hinduism and the Left, and their angst against a social order that relegated them to a life of abject poverty by ignoring their culture, literature, and history. Representing nearly a century of Dalit writing and movements, the thought-provoking selections range from songs and poems to short stories, excerpts from novels, critical writings, and more. They bear witness to the diversity of Telugu Dalit writing, which is deeply embedded in modernity, in the changing paradigms of culture, and in the politics of the region and the nation.