“Negative language in dalit writing persists because of the negative lives we’re forced to lead”

Urmila Pawar, author of the autobiography The Weave of my Life, and Jerry Pinto, the translator of the first dalit autobiography, Baluta by Daya Pawar, discuss the two books with Professor Gopal Guru at the recent Samanvay Festival in Delhi. Pinto speaks about the word Baluta preserving the history of bonded labour in caste discrimination. Urmila Pawar links the negative language in dalit writing with the negative lives they have been forced to live. The discussion also extends to dalit feminism, and its inclusive nature.