Dalit Cosmos: Understanding Caste, Marginalisation and Dalit Literature in India

Mudnakudu Chinnaswamy

Apr 2023 · Taylor & Francis

About this eBook

This book is a fierce argument against social and caste discrimination in India, especially untouchability and emphatic call for social justice. Written by a first-generation Kannada Dalit writer, the book provides an insider’s view of caste discrimination as the author has lived through and experienced it. It traces the roots of present-day activism against caste discrimination, the influence of Ambedkar, the rise of Hindutva, and the role of Dalit literatures in shaping discourses around caste in India.

An invigorating collection of essays and speeches by Mudnakudu Chinnaswamy, this volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of discrimination, literature, politics and political philosophy, exclusion studies, race, social justice, cultural studies, and South Asian studies.

About the author

Mudnakudu Chinnaswamy, a renowned Kannada Poet and Writer, hails from Bengaluru, Karnataka S. India. He has two post graduate degrees viz. M.Com., M.A.(Kan), and D.Lit., in Social Sciences. He was a Finance Executive in State Road Transport Corporations and retired as Director (Finance) in March 2014. He served as Visiting Professor for Ambedkar Chair at Mysore University during 2016-17.

Poetry is his passion but worked in other genres of literature as well, besides having a wide range of interests in culture, social work and theatre. He has brought out 40 books which include 8 collections of poetry, 5 of essays, 3 plays and 2 collections of short stories. A prominent Dalit voice, he has established a niche for himself through his empirical imaging in mellowed tone. His works have been translated into English and Spanish besides other Indian vernaculars and widely published. He has attended many International Poetry Conferences such as Granada, Nicaragua and Helicon (Tel-Aviv), Israel and also took part in Poetry recitations and Paper presentations at Andes University, Merida (Venezuela), East Anglia and Nottingham Universities (UK) and Paris (France). The Govt. of Karnataka has published his Complete Works in four volumes in 2018.

The weekly magazine “Outlook” of April 26, 2021[Ambedkar Anniversary Special] adjudged him as one among “50 Dalits, Remaking India” and carried a brief. He has been felicitated in and outside the country and graced with many awards which include Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award and Karnataka State Rajyotsava Award for life time achievement.