Scholars protest dropping of Dalit literature from DU syllabus

Amberkarite scholars and Dalit writers in the country are up in arms against the Delhi University for its decision to drop writings of Dalit writers, from the Bachelor of Arts (BA) English Honours syllabus.

The University has dropped the writings of Mahasweta Devi, Bama and Sukirtharani. The dropped writings include Druapadi, a short story by Mahasweta Devi; Bama’s autobiographical work and Sukirthani's poems Kaimaru (Debt) and En Udal (My Body). The short story Draupadi was dropped because of its description of a rape.

Amberkarite scholars and Dalit writers in the country are up in arms against the Delhi University for its decision to drop writings of Dalit writers, from the Bachelor of Arts (BA) English Honours syllabus.

The University has dropped the writings of Mahasweta Devi, Bama and Sukirtharani. The dropped writings include Druapadi, a short story by Mahasweta Devi; Bama’s autobiographical work and Sukirthani's poems Kaimaru (Debt) and En Udal (My Body).

A signature campaign demanding the restoration of the dropped text in the syllabus has been launched by Dalit Intellectual Collective and till now over 200 Dalit writers and scholars have signed the petition.

Dalit literature was included in the syllabus, after a protracted struggle by United Dalit Students’ Forum of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to include content related to marginalised people in the syllabus.

The Dalit Intellectual Collective’s petition describes the dropping of the text as a reflection of the “casteist and circumscribed mentality of the DU academic council”.

It adds, “Whose sentiments were hurt by these texts? Surely not the sentiments of those whose oppression was portrayed here. Must the sentiments of the privileged always shape academic programmes?”