Dalit Literature is not simply literature…Dalit Literature is associated with a movement to bring about change….at the very first glance, it will be strongly evident that there is no established critical theory or point of view behind them; instead there is new thinking and a new point of view’ (Dangle, 1994).
Since Dalit writing is, by its very nature, revolutionary inasmuch as it seeks to overturn stereotypes and accepted norms of society and behaviour—therefore, also being transformational—it cannot be concluded that there is a radical ideology at work behind all Dalit writing. The mere fact of there being a literature that challenges the Dalit condition and caste is radical in itself.
This selection of short stories, with an introduction by the eminent activist and writer, P Sivakami, features luminaries from the world of Tamil writing—14 of them—all offering the reader slices of Dalit and village life that open up windows into the very soul of a community.