IIttibrite Chandal Jibon records the life of ‘a rickshaw-wallah’ writer. It records the Dalit experiences of oppression in Bengal, which is otherwiseknown as a ‘casteless society’, as claimed by many a bhadralok. Being a Dalit is central to Manoranjan Byapari’s writing. As he says, “I’m a Dalit by birth. Only a dalit, oppressed by social forces can experience true dalan (oppression) in life. There should be that dalan as a dalit in Dalit writing. Dalit literature should be based on dalit life. Some of my writings deal with dalit life; some to be judged neutrally, without any preconceived estimation”. He says he is a chandal in two ways, by birth and by rage (krodha chandal).
This second part of Byapari’s memoir burns with the rage of a krodh chandal. Byapri’s investigation into his identity is layered. Besides his cause identity (Byapari is a Namashudra) he has also been a refugee, a Bangal, a Naxal, a communist, an activist, a writer and so on. Byapari’s autobiography talks of things that have been written about many times. But the voices from within are few and far between, even these rarely find their way into the so-called mainstream. His narrative is about the need for compassion and dignity in all human relationship. It is powerful, affecting memoir about hunger and deprivation also endurance, struggle and a fierce will to live. It is about the one word that changed Byapari’s life forever: Jijibisha.
The Book has been translated in English as "Interogatting My Chandal Life: An Autobiography of a Dalit"
If there’s one writer you must read, it is Manoranjan Byapari, without a doubt.
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