Writers and poets reflected on the legacy of Dalit literature, its transformation into a vehicle of critical consciousness, and its expansive future.

“We [Dalits] are still always asked, where is your literature, art and culture?” said Anita Bharti, the president of the Dalit Lekhak Sangh as the association of Dalit writers commemorated 25 years of its existence on the day India celebrated 75 years of its Independence. The Dalit Lekhak Sangh marked its silver jubilee with a day-long national conference on August 21 on the theme “Dalit Sahitya, Kala aur Sanskriti: Loktantra ke Aiyine Mein” or Dalit Literature, Art and Culture: Through the Prism of Democracy.

The conference marked a vital moment in the contemporary history of the Dalit movement as it critically reflected on the legacies of Dalit assertion and affirmation and laid particular emphasis on the radical possibilities of “breaking the caste system through literature”. While Bharti’s opening remark outlined the critical provocation for the conference, the entire event in Delhi was a consummate response – and counter – to Brahmanical charges that question the authenticity of Dalit-Bahujan existence or continue to define them in terms of a negation, as a void, an absence, a nullity.