Bengali Dalits Speak: A Critical Study of Jatin Bala’s A Verse as a Sharpened Weapon

Abstract

Dalit literature in India emerged as a movement of Ambedkarite ideology to challenge caste discrimination. Poetry as a popular genre has been adopted by Dalit writers to disseminate revolutionary ideas to bring about a change in society. They significantly unmask how the upper caste Hindus hold the supreme power to ostracize the Namashudras (Dalits) in the name of religion and caste. A Bengali Dalit poet Jatin Bala with a liberal vision and mission, used his words to protest, revolt and negotiate with the domineering ideology. His poetry A Verse as a Sharpened Weapon not only breaks the myth that West Bengal is a casteless society but also carries a note of dissent against the upper caste hegemony. He has successfully constructed the poetic device with aesthetic values to showcase the domination and oppression that Dalits face in Bengal. As a revolutionary poet, Bala breaks the chain of age-old caste oppression and reverberates the message of liberty, equality and fraternity through his verse. The present article examines Jatin Bala’s poetry to explore the theme of exploitation and protest. It also shows how Bala’s poetry becomes the voice of resistance, liberation and emancipation of his community from bondage.