Dalit literature is a genre of Indian writing that focuses on the lives, experiences, and struggles of the Dalit community over centuries, in relation to caste-based oppression and systemic discrimination.[1][2][3] This literary genre encompasses various Indian languages such as Marathi, Bangla, Hindi,[4] Kannada, Punjabi,[5] Sindhi, Odia and Tamil and includes narrative-styles like poems, short stories, and autobiographies. The movement started gaining influence during the mid-twentieth-century in independent India and has since spread across various Indian languages.[6][7][8]
In the colonial and post-colonial period, Jyotirao Phule's Gulamgiri, published in 1873, became a seminal work describing the plight of the Untouchables in India. Authors such as Sharankumar Limbale, Namdeo Dhasal, and Bama, and movements like the Dalit Panther movement in Maharashtra as well as Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, an advocate for Dalit rights, have played influential roles in shaping Dalit literature across India.
Dalit feminist writing such as the autobiographies and testimonios of Dalit women authors emphasizing the intersection of caste, class, and gender in the context of social exclusion came through this movement. Dalit women authors, such as Urmila Pawar and Baby Kamble, have written extensively about the complexities of caste, class, and gender in Indian society.[9]