How could we be so foolhardy as to offer fellowships based on the words of a Marathi abhang that is some five hundred years old? Should we get carried away by a song? Is less more? But then Kabir asks: “I felt light when placed on the scale / When found immeasurable, what do I say?” Shame will not lead you to the destiny you seekĪt Navayana, our small team of three barely manages to keep its head above the rising waters. But how?Īs Tukaram asks in his abhang – a song that is unbroken – of what use is clinging to trepidation? One thing became clear quickly: we needed to think of maybe ten fellowships, not just three. Given the quality and promise of the proposals, drawing up a long list of 32, and then culling this to a shortlist of 20 for the interviews, was challenging. We had a stellar and diverse jury lined up – Suraj Yengde, Thomas Blom Hansen, Yashica Dutt, Divya Malhari, Shailaja Paik, Aman Sethi – academics, writers and story-tellers who helped us think things through at every stage. We received two applications each in Marathi, Tamil and Hindi, with scope for – and the added work of – translations.Īlex George, editor at Navayana, and I read each application as it came, with anticipation, excitement and expectation. How did you go about selecting the fellows?īroadcast in a country of many tongues, the fellowship call was not limited to English, although Navayana publishes only in this language. This tongue speaks without fear of retribution I am reminded of how a Tuka abhang opens: Why didn’t I think of this earlier, I asked myself and I shared this regret with friends on the jury. Many who applied said they had grown up reading Navayana books and that it would be an honour to work on a book with and for us. We were amazed by the range, ambition and quality. After a sedate start, by 30 June we received an overwhelming 70 proposals, 52 of them from dalits, half from women. We announced this on 14 April, Babasaheb Ambedkar’s 130th birth anniversary. We came up with what we immediately realised was a long-felt need – two or three fellowships to write dalit history primarily, but not exclusively, for dalits. But caste was here, is here, and will be here. The virus may go, and the vaccines may work despite a murderous inhumane regime calling the shots. Excerpts from the interview.Ĭan you tell us the back story to the fellowships?Īhead of the Dalit History Month in April this year, I wondered how we could meaningfully talk about history at a time when we were faced with a dire present: a deadly second wave of Covid-19, and a lockdown that affected all life in all its bareness, and all work in all its late-capitalist caste-infested vulnerability. S Anand, publisher of Navayana, spoke to Scroll.in over email on the eve of the announcement of these fellowships. Six months later, eight fellows have been awarded the fellowship of Rs 1 lakh each to work on projects leading to books. Navayana, the independent anti-caste publisher, gave a call for the first ever Dalit History Fellowships in April 2021 on BR Ambedkar’s birth anniversary.
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