English Is Necessary To Get Wider Audience: Ex-RSS Dalit Writer Bhanwar Meghwanshi

바카라�Hindi has its limitations and English has its advantages,바카라� says Meghwanshi, whose memoir Mei Ek Karsevak Tha was first published in Hindi in 2019 by Navarun.

The Hindi original did not get much attention from either readers or critics. 

바카라�People read it, they said it바카라�s a fine book,바카라� says Meghwanshi. 바카라�But no major Hindi newspaper reviewed it. Some of the readers wrote about the book on social media, including their own experiences. But this, too, did not attract the attention of Hindi litterateurs.바카라�

However, when the English translation by Nivedita Menon, professor of political thought at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi, was published by Navayana in early 2020, not only was it reviewed by the English media, Hindi newspapers and litterateurs also revisited it. 

바카라�At times, you get validation from an English translation,바카라� says Meghwanshi.

Creative process and controversy fears

The book has a rather long gestation period 바카라� from social media posts to English translation and critical acclaim. 바카라�I wrote 52 chapters on Facebook about my days in the RSS,바카라� says Meghwanshi. 바카라�My friends insisted that I give it the shape of a book.바카라�

However, getting the book published was not an easy task. 바카라�Between 2014 and 2019, I sent the book to many publishers who asked for it. But neither did they reject it, nor did they publish it,바카라� says Meghwanshi. 바카라�No one was ready to publish it.바카라� Finally, in 2019, Navarun decided to publish it. 바카라�However, they were worried that it might lead to a controversy,바카라� says Meghwanshi. 바카라�I told them if anything happened, we would fight it together.바카라�

Despite the lukewarm reception that the Hindi original received, Meghwanshi was keen on an English translation. S Anand, the founder of New Delhi-based independent publisher Navayana, which specialises in bringing out Dalit writing, connected him to Menon. 바카라�I was familiar with her work, but I had never met Professor Menon,바카라� says Meghwanshi. 바카라�I sent her a message requesting her to translate my book.바카라�

At first, Menon was sceptical about taking up the project. She felt that a non-Dalit writer translating a book by a Dalit writer might be criticised. However, Navayana had already published an edition of B R Ambedkar바카라�s Annihilation of Caste, with an introduction by Arundhati Roy, and it had been very well received. 

바카라�I also told Professor Menon that if any issues cropped up, we would fight it together,바카라� says Meghawanshi. 바카라�She liked my message and agreed to translate my book.바카라�

The translation did not provoke any controversy among Dalit intellectuals. On the contrary, it was very well received. French political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot, who studied electoral self-assertion by Dalits in his book India바카라�s Silent Revolution, reviewed Meghwanshi바카라�s book: 바카라�The book바카라�enlightens the reader about the situation of the Scheduled Castes within the Sangh Parivar and in today바카라�s Indian society at large.바카라�

The need to write

Megwanshi believes it is necessary for people from oppressed communities to write about their experiences. He says that writing such accounts in the first person can be especially appealing. 바카라�A first-person account is more authentic and appeals to the masses,바카라� he adds. 바카라�It is a simple way to connect with people. After reading your account, people will identify with your story and your message.바카라�

This is not only a narrative strategy but also the need of the hour. 바카라�If you do not speak up now, whatever you might have said previously will be a waste,바카라� says Meghwanshi.

A memoir is a particularly poignant genre, he adds. 바카라�Writers from oppressed castes and communities [such as Muslims] must write their memoirs. If they don바카라�t, who will? One should not be shy about using the first person. Many people told me I was too young to write an autobiography. I said I was not going to wait till my death to write it. My experience with the RSS resonated with people,바카라� says Meghwanshi.

Meghwanshi believes his book will inspire a lot of people to write about their experiences. He gives the example of Mool Chand Rana, another former member of the RSS, who founded an organisation for advocating Dalit rights, Samajik Samrasta Manch. 바카라�He is also writing about caste-based discrimination in the RSS,바카라� says Meghwanshi. 바카라�It is now time to write our narrative.바카라�

Meghwanshi was recently in Kashmir to meet Right to Information (RTI) activists.

바카라�RSS produces a lot of literature about Kashmir. It has been going on for a long time. Kashmir, Kashmiri Pandits, and Article 370 are subjects dear to RSS leaflets, books, and newspapers,바카라� he says. 바카라�I don바카라�t think Kashmiris have written as much about the region as people from the RSS.바카라�