Writing the other way: A new anti-caste alphabet spells out identity, pride

Growing up in Nagpur, Yogesh Maitreya says he encountered few Dalit icons as a child, and little contemporary Dalit literature. As the founder of Panther’s Paw Publication, he’s on a mission to change that.

Maitreya, 36, is a poet, writer, translator and independent publisher. In 2016, after acquiring a Master’s degree from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, he set up Panther’s Paw, to offer a platform to Dalit writers and Dalit literature. So far, the outfit has published about 10 books by Dalit-Bahujan authors, a mix of new works and English translations. These include Maitreya’s Flowers on the Grave of Caste, the first English Dalit short-story collection in India, and Savitribai Phule and I by Sangeeta Mulay, a work of historical fiction aimed at young adults.

Now, Maitreya has also curated an abecedary of anti-caste histories (an A-for-apple collection, where A stands for Ambedkar, and so on). The abecedary was commissioned, via a fellowship grant, by Party Office, an art and social space in New Delhi. “We want to use it to introduce children and adults to 26 characters of Dalit origin,” Maitreya says.

A stands for Bhimrao Ambedkar, who crafted the Constitution of India and championed Dalit rights; B is for Buddha, to represent the neo-Buddhist, equality-for-all movement propagated by Ambedkar; C is for Chokhamela, a 14th-century Dalit poet.

The collection is a mix of historical and contemporary references. N, for instance, is for Nangeli, the 19th century Kerala woman who cut off her breasts to protest the tax on lower-caste women who covered their chests. J is for the social activist, educationist and thinker Jyotirao Phule. Q is for “Dalit, Queer, and Proud”.

See more of the anti-caste letters here

“The letter Q depicts (Hindustan Times staffer) Dhrubo Jyoti, (lawyer) Akhil Kang and Dhiren Borisa (now a professor; then a doctoral student), all of whom asserted the Dalit-queer intersection at Delhi Queer Pride in 2015,” says Vidisha-Fadescha, founder of Party Office. At the pride parade, the three of them held up hand-painted signs with the words Dalit, Queer and Proud on them, a statement on identity and visibility.

Back to the abecedary, the characters have been illustrated by Sunil Awachar, a Marathi poet, artist and professor at University of Mumbai. He and Maitreya had previously worked together when the former’s anthology, We, the Rejected People of India (2019), was translated into English by Maitreya and published by Panther’s Paw.

Awachar also creates protest comic art, which he posts on Instagram, usually in response to contemporary events. “My art, much like my writings, are about the Dalit and minority experience,” he says.

The collection is topped off by the writings of Kshitija Chavan aka Coral, editor of the book Towards a Dalit Structure of Archiving, an anthology of essays in Marathi and English brought out by Party Office. Coral wrote the descriptors for each letter in the abecedary.

A preview is available on Instagram, but already, the anti-caste alphabet is on the move. It is currently part of one of two Indian installations on display at Documenta, an exhibition of contemporary art held in Kassel, Germany, every five years. Party Office and Panther’s Paw Publication are also at work to turn it into a book, with the original artworks set to be showcased in exhibitions across India.