Challenges facing contemporary Indian literature at IIAS tomorrow

Shimla, Nov 13 (UNI) Some of the country's top Dalit and non-Dalit intellectuals will join heads tomorrow at one of the country's premier think tank institutes, the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) here, to grapple with challenges facing the contemporary Indian literature with special reference to Dalit literature.

The three-day seminar, titled provocatively ''Concept of Social Justice in Contemporary Indian Literature'' takes off at a time when the muzzled voices were crying for their rightful place in the society.

At a time when the national political coalitions and equations were fighting or pretending to fight for Dalits, this seminar from November 14-16, 2007, assumes a special importance, said Sheoraj Singh Bechain, coordinator of the Seminar.

The exercise would strive to give a resolute thrust to the agenda of inducing positive changes in the domains of literature, media, academia, religion and culture ''reflecting the dynamics of a vibrant social democracy in keeping with the spirit of modernity and our Constitution''.

Dr. Bechain, an IIAS Fellow, who is working on the first ever history of Dalit Literature, said while the number of those writing on or about Dalits was fast increasing, a strong tendency towards self-representation has been emerging among those discriminated against for centuries.

UNI