Eleanor Zelliot

Eleanor Zelliot
BornOctober 7, 1926
DiedJune 5, 2016
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Historian, Professor
Known forSpecialization in the History of India, Southeast Asia, Vietnam, and the Ambedkar Movement

Eleanor Zelliot (October 7, 1926 – June 5, 2016) was an American writer, professor of Carleton College[1][2] and specialist on the India, Southeast Asia, Vietnam, women of Asia, Untouchables, and social movements.[3][4][5]

Zelliot wrote over eighty articles and edited three books on the movement among Untouchables in India led by B. R. Ambedkar, on saint-poets of the medieval period, and on the Ambedkar-inspired Buddhist movement. She was one of the most prominent writers on Dalits of India.[6] Eleanor Zelliot was an Ambedkarite thinker, and she has done scholarly writing on the Ambedkarite movement in India.[7][8][9][10][11][12]

She completed her doctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania in 1969, becoming the first scholar to complete a doctoral thesis on Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, a key figure in the Untouchable Movement in India.[1][2] Zelliot's meticulous scholarship extended to the study of Bhakti saints, women saint-poets, untouchable saints, and Marathi Dalit literature. Her significant contributions include the translation of Marathi Dalit poetry in collaboration with writers like Mulk Raj Anand. Zelliot's translations, such as Keshav Meshram's "One Day I Cursed That Mother-F****r God" and Namdeo Dhasal’s powerful poems, provided a poignant insight into Dalit perspectives.[7][8][9]

Zelliot died at the age of 89 on June 5, 2016, in Minnesota.[13][14]

  1. ^ a b "Eleanor Zelliot". carleton.edu. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Teltumbde, Anand, A teacher and a chronicler: Eleanor Zelliot introduced Ambedkar and the Dalit movement to the West, Indian Express, June 27, 2016
  3. ^ ""AMBEDKAR, B.R." BY ELEANOR ZELLIOT". www.anti-caste.org. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
  4. ^ "Eleanor Zelliot (Carleton College)". www.columbia.edu/. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
  5. ^ "Ambedkar's World". www.navayana.org. Archived from the original on July 3, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
  6. ^ "Wear it Parsi style". Tribune. June 23, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
  7. ^ a b Gaikwad, Rahi (June 7, 2016). "American Ambedkar scholar passes away in Minnesota". The Hindu.
  8. ^ a b "A teacher and chronicler: Eleanor Zelliot introduced Ambedkar and the Dalit movement to the West". June 27, 2016.
  9. ^ a b Times, Economic (June 11, 2016). "Eleanor Zelliot, Dr. Ambedkar's greatest follower". The Economic Times.
  10. ^ "Eleanor Zelliot - Carleton College".
  11. ^ "What Ambedkar's anti-caste struggle shared with the US civil rights movement". October 14, 2016.
  12. ^ "The Atrocities of Nationalism Offer History Lessons Beyond Bhima Koregaon".
  13. ^ "Eleanor Zelliot (1926-2106) | H-Asia | H-Net".
  14. ^ Gaikwad, Rahi (June 7, 2016). Amerikan Ambedkar scholar passes away in Minnesota, The Hindu