Dr. Sharankumar Limbale: A Dominant Literary Voice Striving for
Liberty, Justice and Humanity for Dalits
A Literary Interview by Capt. Dr. Arvind Nawale
“Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar's thoughts and movements inspired me to write.
The pains and pangs of Indian
Dalits are subjects of my literature. I stand for human dignity. The world of oppressed is
battlefield for me.”
- Sharankumar Limbale
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The Present interview is published in my book Nation with
Discrimination, ISBN 978-81-921254-5-9, ACCESS, NEW DELHI
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Sharankumar Limbale (b. 1956), a well-known Dalit activist, writer, editor,
critic and author of 40 books is one
among the most renowned Dalit voices in India. Most of his writings are in
Marati and translated into English and other languages. At present, he is
working as a Professor Regional Director (Pune Division) of the Yashwantrao
Chavan Maharashtra Open University, Nashik. He is a good academician as well as
a writer and he occupied so many positions till date. He is an illustrious
writer and his writings mostly rest on the Dalit struggle and identity. He is
known for his poetry, short stories and particularly for his master-piece,
autobiography Akkarmashi (2004). His autobiography is written in Marati
language and translated into Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Punjabi, Gujarathi,
Malayalam languages. Anyhow, it caught the attention of the world especially
after translated into English as The Outcaste by Santhosh Bhoomkar. He got many
awards and won the wider acclaim from the public for his literary talents. His
critical work Towards an Aesthetics of Dalit Studies (2004) is considered as a most resource book on Dalit criticism. He is
a member of many academic and cultural organizations and many scholars did and
engaged in active research on his writings. He won prestigious 14 awards for his
literary and social contribution. His other books include Udrek [poetry
collection], Bahujan, Zund, Hindu, Upalya,[ novels] Dalit Brahman,[ short
stories] Dalit Sahityache Saundarya Shastra[ criticism] and so on.
Email: sharankumarlimbale@yahoo.com
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AN: Thank you for agreeing to this interview. Please tell us a little
about yourself. Who is true Sharankumar Limbale? Dr. Sharankumar Limbale, a
Professor or Sharankumar Limbale a Dalit writer. Which Limbale you love most?
SL: Sharankumar Limbale as an author. I love my writing because of it’s
commitment to the movement and masses. I am writing for social change. It is my
responsibility being an author and born as dalit. I am tightly fastened with
expectons of downtroddens. I can’t survive witout masses. I am not human being
but a living weapon. I am a war. My writig is a battlefield. It is my noble
duty to write for dalits.
AN: Who/what made you want to write?
SL: Thoughts of Dr. Ambedkar and dalit movement inspired me to write.
Atrocities against dalit made me to react. My writing is reaction against
brutal and unhuman caste system. Equality, freedom, justice, democracy are
streams of my blood. I never tolerate injustice against common man irrespective
of his caste. I want to see a beautiful Nation without exploitation, corruption
and atrocities. From thousands of years dalits are neglected. Now we are aware
of our rights and power. Dalit literature is a manifesto of our movement. My
life is part and parcel of dalit movement. Movement is MY LIFE.
AN: You are one of the major voices in Dalit literature. How Dr.
Ambedkar’s writing and thoughts influenced on writer in you? Can you say about
your journey as a Dalit writer? Apart
from Dr. Ambedkar, who else has made an impact on your writing?
SL: I am writing from my school days but it was an immitaion of high
caste authors. It was not true feelings. I came in contact with dalit movement
in my youth and I am changed totally. This change is new birth for me. It made
me to march towards masses. But it is true the writing of Marathi progressive
writers influenced me in my college days to think.
AN: What books have most influenced your life most?
SL: An Annihilation of Caste by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Golpeetha by Namdev
Dhasal and Baluta by Daya Pawar. These books are search lights in my life.
AN: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
SL: I want to be an author. It was
my lovable dream. But dalit movement made me dalit writer. Now I can’t
write imaginative, false and entertainment literature.
AN: Will you please tell us
something about your childhood memories? How was your parentage and bringing up
all about? Is this background flowered writer in you?
SL: I have written my autobiography The Out Caste: Akkarmashi. It is
published by oxford university press. Please see it. I have written everything
in it. It is not an autobiography of a person but a social document of dalits.
It is helpful to understand me as well as dalit community and its struggle.
AN: What inspired you to write your much acclaimed autobiography, The
Outcaste?
SL: My different and defamed life story. Daya Pawar wrote his
autobiography named Baluta and then Laxman Mane wrote his autobiography Upara.
These two books are well received and debated. There was need to come forward
and to continue this literary form. This was the beginning. I feel to place me
on public front because my life has social meaning. It is the example of dalit
community how they are harassed. I have written this book for social cause.
AN: How did you come up with the title The Outcaste?
SL: I, translator Santosh Bhoomkar and editor Mini Krishanan of this
book decided the title. It is matched the original Akkarmashi.
AN: How your family helps in your writing,
SL: No.... no. they are uneducated. I took help from my friends. I had
discussed with them when I was writing. This was beginning period. No one knows
how to write and what to write a dalit autobiography. Daya Pawar was
pathfinder. We followed him.
AN: How your family members react on your confessional mode of writing?
Was there no disliking on your confessional mode? For example- You described in your The
Outcaste in very frank language how you are outcaste, your childhood where you
and your fellow Dalits were brazen out with grinding poverty and hunger as well
as rank inequity by high-caste Indians. You described bigoted incidents in your
public school where you and other Dalit children were expected to accept
leftover food from the high caste children. You also were not allowed to draw
water from public wells. You had to wait for high caste people to draw the
water for you and pour it into your hands or cups. You exposed about how Dalit
women have been either beguiled or forced into sexual encounters with high
caste men. The high caste men, who think
touching a Dalit might "pollute" them, never think themselves
‘polluted’ while raping a Dalit woman. What were reactions of your family and
relatives after publication of book?
SL: At the first time of publication, I had been attacked by every one
of my family and community. When my autobiography received and well debated I
became a hero, then the resistance became normal.
AN: Is any distressing/embarrassing experience you faced after
publication of The Outcaste?
SL: Before publishing the book only my villagers were known that I am
an outcaste boy. Even today sometime I faced ill-treatment especially in
marriage engagement of my children, but not in movement and social life.
AN: Are experiences depicted in your writing based on someone else you
know, or events in your own life?
SL: Movement is person for me, friend for me, society for me, life for
me and mother for me. I have depicted only the movement.
AN: Name few others that you feel supported you outside of family
members.
SL: My friends. Suryanarayan Ransubhe, Nishikant Thakar, Laxman
Gaikwad, N. M. Shinde, Hrishekesh Ayachit and others.
AN: Are you feeling optimistic about the possibilities for creating
social change through your literary work? Do you think it’s important for
writers to be socially active?
SL: Yes.
AN: What is your biggest struggle with your writing?
SL: Time is the biggest struggle.
AN: What are some of the unexpected and notable responses to your
writings?
SL: The great writer Amaruta Pritam, Kamaleshwar, Rajendra Yadav,
Ramnika Gupta, Alok Mukharjee, Arun Mukharjee, Hon. Sushilkumar Shinde, Ajit
Kour are the persons who admired me always.
AN: You got many awards and won the wider acclaim from the public for
your literary talents. That's really great! How have your life and/or your
relationship with writing changed since such awards?
SL: No ...no. Awards are only recognitions. Awards can help to reach
public at large but can’t change writing process. I am not writing for any
awards. I am writing for social cause.
AN: With the growing translation of works by Dalit writers from various
regional languages into English, Dalit literature is on the edge to attain a
national and an international attendance as well as to masquerade a major defy
to the traditional concepts of what forms literature and how we read it. What
do you think about it?
SL: We have to understand caste system of India, and then we can
understand dalit literature in true sense. But it is impossible for every
reader. Literature is a mirror of society. One can understand the social
structure of Indian society which is based on discrimination and inequality
thorough dalit literature. No one can read dalit literature for the
entertainment. It is a literature of social cause and for social change. Reader
can know social reality about Indian dalits thorough dalit literature. One can
take inspiration to struggle against injustice in his life. Dalit literature is
a noble message to live and let live as human.
AN: What do you think of future of Dalit literature?
SL: Whenever there is caste system and inequality in society dalit
literature will be there to defend human values.
AN: What do you think the future holds for a Dalit writer?
SL: We should think to rebuild beautiful and progressive India. We should
work together to minimize the age-old gap between dalit and non dalits. We
should prepare to ready for new changes because of globalization. We should
talk on national problems. We should talk on population, unemployment and
command man. We should talk on brotherhood and sisterhood.
AN: What aesthetic considerations should be taken into account in
interpreting Dalit writing?
SL: I have explained in detail in my book Towards An Esthetics Of Dalit
Literature published by Orient Longman.
AN: Is it appropriate to apply to Dalit literature, the criteria used
in assessing the work of non-Dalit writers generally, and high-caste Hindu
writers in particular?
SL: Why not? How can we compel literary critics to follow our
parameters? One can use his criteria to assess dalit literature. It is another
way to understand the dalit literature. It will help us to know other side of
our literature and we should welcome our critics. This is the healthy way. We
should welcome and appreciate our critics. It is the need to assess the dalit
literature on base of art, but no one dare
AN: Your novel, Hindu translated from the Marathi into English, mirrors
present-day conflicts in India and intensely demonstrates the negations within
most individuals, their negotiations, densities
and the plight of women who suffer gender discrimination regardless of
their caste. Please tell where did the seed for this novel come from and how
did you develop it?
SL: I have written trilogy. Hindu is second novel in this trilogy. I
want good translator to translate this trilogy.
AN: What kind of criticism you longs to have on your writing?
SL: Very welcoming, encouraging and supportive.
AN: What are you working on now? What can we expect soon?
SL: I am writing in Marathi. Only Marathi readers can read me soon.
AN: Thanks. Let your pen run and should keep on running for issues
around you. All the best for your future literary ventures.
- Capt. Dr. Arvind Nawale
