The Oxford India Anthology of Malayalam Dalit Writing

Malayalam, believed to have evolved from tribal, Tamil, and Sanskrit mixes in roughly the 9th century, has a history of writing dating back to the 12th century. It is the youngest of the Dravidian languages, but its written tradition until the latter half of the 20th century has no visible Dalit presence. This anthology makes visible the ideological and aesthetic differences that Malayalam Dalit writing has from its mainstream writing which has already been widely translated. Because Dalit writing demands a different sensibility and ideological paradigm from readers, breakthroughs were slow. With 55 selections from songs, poems, short stories, excerpts from novels, biographical sketches, plays, and critical writings, this collection represents the work of 36 writers and 19 translators. Arranged genre wise and chronologically, the volume includes section introductions for each genre, and short bio-notes on the authors and translators. The General Introduction interprets the historical, cultural, and social contexts of Malayalam Dalit writing, and provides the logical and conceptual framework of the selections for a better understanding of this hitherto marginalized discourse. This volume will appeal to anybody who seeks to understand the ideology, origin, and development of anti-caste literature in South India because the appearance and rise of Dalit writing is one of the most important developments in 20th century Indian literature and politics.