Humans, due to their inherent cognitive behaviour, are inclined to categorise various labours, objects and even individuals into distinct categories. But discrimination becomes destructive when prejudices tend to cultivate. Such prejudices often maintain a moral or intellectual superiority among certain groups or individuals and hence marginalise the rest as the ‘others’ in the community.

The epic characters of Ekalavya, Karna and Shikhandi from the Mahabharata and Bali and Shambuka from the Ramayana make us well aware of the deep-seated ‘otherisation’ present within the human community since the very beginning. Such characters were not given any voice in the narrative by the authors, therefore highlighting marginalisation and societal prejudices that existed in ancient times. Moreover, several atrocities faced by the dalit and/or marginalised communities in real life have made us quite conscious of the plight of the subalterns, particularly the double marginalisation faced by the women folk. Despite the presence of constitutional safeguards and special legislation, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reported that crime against Scheduled Castes increased by 1.2 per cent in 2021 (50,900) from over 2020 (50,291 cases). It is hence crucial to address the pressing issue of otherisation and marginalisation that subalterns still face within a nation with the world’s largest democracy.

Sanjukta Dasgupta, an Indian academic, poet, critic and translator, released her book, Ekalavya Speaks, at The Bengal Club on 6 June this year. Her book is a collection of 86 poems shedding light on the lives of subalterns immersed in discrimination and stigma. The book launch was moderated by Julie Banerjee Mehta. The esteemed panellists who graced their presence on the occasion included Gopal Lahiri, Sayantan Dasgupta and Chaitali Maitra.

Mehta exclaimed at how easily epics bloated into our everyday discussions and commented on the author’s skillful use of epics to combat prejudice.

Sanjukta Dasgupta then took centre stage to narrate her foundation in choosing the mythic character of Ekalavya from the texts of the Mahabharata as a voice to represent her thoughts. She said, “After the feminist books of mine, I felt a compelling urge to expand my exploration in the representation of the oppressed, exploited, marginalised minorities thrust into the peripheries of my beloved country. Gender neutrality was unavoidable, as men, women, and non-binaries are all helpless victims of the patriarchy, not only in India but all over the world. Myths provided me with the opportunity to learn countless stories about gods and goddesses. Among those divine individuals, too, it is impossible to miss the gender and caste hierarchy. So in the poem, Ekalavya Speaks, I decided to focus not just on gender inequality but also on caste hierarchy as well as economic class structures. As my primary voice, I choose Ekalavya. The story of Ekalavya was taught in school as an example of unquestioned obedience to the wishes of a mentor. Dronacharya, yet not teaching the former directly, did not suffer any call of conscience in asking him to donate his right thumb as guru dakshina. I chose this timeless epic moment in this epic as a single metaphor for class and caste oppression, which unfortunately persists even to this day. In my poems, I have used poetic freedom and endeavour to grant agency to the exploited, marginalised minorities in the epic who have remained docile, abject, silent members of our ecosystem”.

Dasgupta is the convenor of the English Advisory Board, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, and president of the Intercultural Poetry and Performance Library, Kolkata. She is also the professor in the department of English and former dean of the faculty of Arts, Calcutta University.

“As a teenager, I deeply suffered from Ekalavya’s silence, submissiveness, and unquestioned obedience. During those days of ignorance, I was not aware of the systemic otherisation at all, yet the feeling of inexplicable resistance to such class and caste authority troubled my mind for decades. So, I decided that in the 21st century, Ekalavya should become vocal. He should speak, question, challenge, and demand answers about his Shudra caste status, his invisibility, his voicelessness, and the sly way in which thousands of Ekalavyas have been denied power,” she added.

The event was followed by the other panellists providing their critical reviews and opinions on her book and also exploring certain perspectives of ancient epics, which have become the foundation of modern-world discrimination.

Gopal Lahiri said, “In her book and through her poems, she talks about freedom of mind. Through her poems, she wants to converse with the reader, and there is no place for a writer or a poet who depicts her journey from one solitude to another. She not only deconstructs mythical characters but also talks about marginalised, stigmatised and neglected people. A section in the first poem mentions ‘The accident of birth’. It is very important because birth as a subaltern is mentioned as an accident.”

Sayantan Dasgupta provided an additional perspective. He commented, “Two words that most aptly sum up this book are humane and contemporary. Hence, because of these two factors, the poems here have a universal appeal. This is a collection of poetry that celebrates camaraderie, empathy and inclusivity as opposed to rivalry and hatred. Poems here protest against hierarchies, and they do so because hierarchies seem to contradict the most basic tenants of civilisation, which are human dignity, equality and natural justice. Those are themes which struck me when I was reading the collection.”

Concluding the panel discussion, Chaitali Maitra remarked, “My first take here would be that birth is given a special importance when the myth of Ekalavya was established. Krishna gave Ekalavya a boon of rebirth to be able to kill Dron. Therefore, the concept of friendship is gradually getting problematised. I think Sanjukta di had this on her mind when she took Ekalavya as the name of the book. The cover of the book has a subtext of movement, a protest, a light in the dark.”