New Delhi: The second edition of the Dalit Literature Festival was held in Delhi University’s Kirori Mal College on Sunday and Monday.Among the notable people who participated in the fest were writer Mamta Kalia, poet Balli Singh Cheema, literary critic Chauthi Ram Yadav, activist Chandra Bhan Prasad, academic Vimal Thorat, professor Vivek Kumar and activist Medha Patkar.Speaking on the first day of the fest, Thorat made mention of the fact that Dalit women have to face oppression on several counts. “There are three layers of Dalit women oppression – caste, class and gender,” said Thorat, who teaches and is known for her specialisation in modern Indian literature for and by Dalits and women.Thorat was chairing a session on the topic, ‘The Society of Dalit, Tribal, Minority, Women’. The talk also underlined that while tribal societies have a degree of gender inequality, their women have been increasingly subject to atrocities and oppression due to the plunder of their natural resources by the government and corporations.Also read: Dalit Literature Fest Highlights Issues Facing Marginalised CommunitiesSpeaking to The Wire on the sidelines of the fest, one of the organisers, Sanjeev Kumar Danda, said there was apprehension on whether the fest could be held this year. “This is because a large number of our supporters are busy with the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the impending National Register of Citizens. Despite this and the fact that ours is not a corporate or government funded fest, we were able to hold it,” he said.Apart from highlighting the literature of and by Dalits and the voices of other marginalised communities such as Adivasis, Muslims and women, this year the fest also had a special panel on issues related to LGBTQI+ communities in India. “This was done to discuss the socio-literary expression of their oppression,” he added.However, he emphasised that the idea behind the fest is not just to discuss atrocities “but also build solidarity and explore what can be done to make future better and what role literature can play in this.” The session on the LGBTQI + communities took place in the Kaifi Azmi auditorium and was chaired by Sunita Mangla, who teaches at Kalindi College of the University.One of the main topics at the Dalit Literature Festival was the necessity to defy Brahminical materialism. Photo: The WireSpeaking on the panel, activist Mohini stressed on educating people in terms of gender diversity and getting rid of their prejudices. Referring to works in Hindi literature, Ashok Kumar took this very narrative thread forward when he said that while in recent times, Hindi writers have been forming a body of LGBTQIA+ literature in the language, there is still a lot left to be done. “The Hindi world is still not very vocal about gender sensitivity,” the panelists agreed.Talking about the discrimination faced by the members of LGBTQIA+ community, Ray, a law student and member of the community said, “There are caste and class-based discriminations prevalent even within LGBTQIA+ communities and as a collective we need to counter this.”Recalling her own struggle as a transgender person, she further said that “public places still lack room for people who divert from gender norms and stereotypes.” According to her, “there are layers of discrimination in and against the community and voices of the oppressed needs to be given space.”During the discussion on ‘Dalit Community: Oppression, Struggle and Constitutional Rights,’ social researcher Rajendra Ravi emphasised that even in their daily lives, people have to adopt indigenous cultures and not to run after Brahminical materialism.He talked about returning to coarse grains and coarse clothes, which the world is adopting today and which was once considered the food and clothing of Dalits and backwards people. Another speaker on the panel, Tek Chand, said, “If you want to die, die having fought for justice.”The session on LGBTQIA+ in Dalit literature. Photo: Special arrangement.Author and activist Bhanwar Meghwanshi expressed concerns over the reign of inequality in the country. All the speakers underlined the importance of the constitution in Dalit emancipation.The fest is an annual event and is organised by the Ambedkarwadi Lekhak Sangh in association with the Hindi department of Kirori Mal College, the Delhi University and several other organisations. Like last year, the fest was attended by more than 500 people on both the days; many of the attendees were young people and some were from Nepal. This year’s theme was ‘literature will create a new world.’Ashiqa Shivangi Singh, a student of political science at DU’s Miranda House college, who was attending the fest for the first time said, “Festivals like these inform us that everything is not about dominant castes and classes.”“We are often told that sahitya samaj ka darpan hota hai (‘literature is a mirror of society’) but it is hardly true in the real sense as more often than not, literature fails to live up to this claim,” she added.According to her programme like this provides an alternative worldview which are missing from mainstream discourses.The second edition of the Dalit Literature Festival. Photo: The WireA play based on legendary Hindi progressive writer Premchand’s stories Thakur ka kuan and Sadgati was staged towards the end of the fest by the Blue Feather Theatre Group, depicting caste oppression in rural society.In the closing session, noted activist Medha Patkar said that literature can challenge the new forms of discrimination being invented by the Brahminical system. In a statement released by the organisers, she further emphasised on the potential of literature by quoting Hum dekhenge by Faiz Ahmed Faiz and noting how it terrifies the ruling dispensation.Patkar also said that it would be great if this festival is taken to the Adivasis from tribal belts, struggling people from Narmada Bachao Andolan and kids from Jeevanshalas.In the same vein, noted Dalit writer and activist Chandrabhan Prasad said, “Literature must recognise the valour, contribution and success of Dalits.”