Annabhau Sathe

2022-05-20T22:23:17Z

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{{Short description|Indian Social Reformer, Author, Poet, and Activist}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Tukaram Bhaurao Sathe
| image = Annabhau Sathe 2002 stamp of India.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Sathe on a 2002 stamp of India
| birth_name = Tukaram
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1920|08|01}}
| birth_place =Wategaon sangli
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1969|07|18|1920|8|1}}
| death_place =Mumbai
| nationality = [[India]]n
| other_names = Sahitya-samrat, Lokshahir, Annabhau
| party = [[Communist Party of India]]
| occupation = social reformer
| years_active =
| known_for =Novel writer, poet, film story writer
| notable_works =Samyukt Maharashtra Movement
}}
'''Tukaram Bhaurao Sathe''' (1 August 1920 – 18 July 1969), popularly known as '''Anna Bhau Sathe''' (Marathi pronunciation: [[Help:IPA/Marathi|[əɳːaːbʱaːu saːʈʰe]]]), was a [[social reformer]], folk poet, and writer from [[Maharashtra]], India.<ref name="Jamdhade">{{cite journal
|url =http://www.the-criterion.com/V5/n3/Dipak.pdf
|title =The Subaltern Writings in India: An Overview of Dalit Literature
|last =Jamdhade
|first =Dipak Shivaji
|volume=5
|issue=3
|date =June 2014
|journal =The Criterion
|access-date =5 April 2015
}}</ref> Sathe was a [[Dalit]] born into the [[untouchability|untouchable]] community, and his upbringing and identity were central to his writing and political activism.<ref name="Prasad2007">{{cite book|first=S. K. |last=Paul |chapter=Dalitism: Its Growth and Evaluation|title=Dalit Literature: A Critical Exploration|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bg0rOOqvBMkC|year=2007|publisher=Sarup & Sons|isbn=978-81-7625-817-3 |page=36 |editor1-first=Amar Nath |editor1-last=Prasad |editor2-first=M. B. |editor2-last=Gaijan}}</ref> Sathe was a Marxist-Ambedkarite mosaic, initially influenced by the [[communism|communists]] but he later became an [[Ambedkarism|Ambedkarite]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forwardpress.in/2019/04/the-history-of-marathi-ambedkarite-literature/|title=The history of Marathi Ambedkarite Literature|last=पवार|first=J. V. Pawar जे वी|date=2019-04-13|website=Forward Press|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d3qcYgEACAAJ|title=The Life and Work of Annabhau Sathe: A Marxist-Ambedkarite Mosaic|last=Awad|first=Milind|date=2010|publisher=Gaur Publishers & Distributors|isbn=9788189441111|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://velivada.com/2017/07/18/annabhau-sathe-leftist-turned-ambedkarite/|title=Annabhau Sathe - Forgotten Hero, Communist Who Turned To Ambedkarite|website=velivada.com|date=18 July 2017|access-date=2019-08-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vjsHCwAAQBAJ&q=annabhau+sathe+ambedkarite&pg=PT319|title=Today's Pasts: A Memoir|last=Sahni|first=Bhisham|date=2015-11-10|publisher=Penguin UK|isbn=9789385890192|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loksatta.com/vishesh-news/feature-article-on-folk-singer-anna-bhau-sathe-on-occasion-of-113-jubilee-162493/|title=आजही अण्णा भाऊ..|date=2013-08-01|website=Loksatta|language=mr-IN|access-date=2019-08-01}}</ref> He is credited as a founding father of '[[Dalit literature|Dalit Literature]]'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/annabhau-sathe-dalit-writer-marathi_in_5d415c3ce4b0d24cde082f0d|title=Remembering Annabhau Sathe, The Dalit Writer Who Dealt A Blow To Class and Caste Slavery|date=2019-08-01|website=HuffPost India|language=en|access-date=2019-08-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://velivada.com/2019/08/01/annabhau-sathe-remembering-the-founder-of-dalit-literature/|title=Annabhau Sathe – Remembering The Founder of 'Dalit Literature'|website=Velivada|date=August 2019|access-date=1 August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://epaper.loksatta.com/2260797/loksatta-mumbai/28-07-2019#page/10/2|title=Loksatta loksatta mumbai epaper dated Sun, 28 Jul 19}}</ref> play vital role in sayumkta Maharashtra chalval

== Early life ==
He was born on 1 August 1920, in Wategaon village, part of present-day Maharashtra's [[Sangli district]], to a family that belonged to the untouchable Matang caste.<ref name="Scroll">{{Cite news |url=https://scroll.in/article/888453/ambedkarite-or-marxist-annabhau-sathe-1920-1969-chose-to-cast-his-lot-with-the-oppressed |title=Ambedkarite or Marxist? Annabhau Sathe chose to cast his lot with the oppressed |last=Bhattacharya |first=Aritra |date=1 August 2018 |work=Scroll.in |access-date=1 August 2018}}</ref> Members of the caste used to play traditional folk instruments in [[Tamasha]] performances.

Annabhau Sathe did not study beyond class four.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.firstpost.com/living/the-sound-and-fury-of-anna-bhau-sathes-words-an-icon-of-maharashtras-dalit-literature-4140067.html |title=The sound and fury of Anna Bhau Sathe's words: An icon of Maharashtra's Dalit literature – Firstpost |last=Maitreya |first=Yogesh |date=15 October 2017 |work=Firstpost |access-date=1 August 2018}}</ref> He migrated from Satara to Bombay, present-day Mumbai, in 1931, on foot, over a period of six months, following a drought in the countryside. In Bombay, Sathe undertook a range of odd jobs.<ref name="Scroll"/>

== Writings ==

Sathe wrote 35 novels in the [[Marathi language]]. They include ''Fakira'' (1959), which is in its 19th edition and received a state government award in 1961. It is a novel which tells the story of the protagonist; a stout young guy, named Fakira, his feat, his crusading for the rights of people of his community in the [[British Raj]] and his enmity towards the evil forces in the village. However, the cause from where the story progresses is the religious practice or ritual called 'Jogin' which gives a way to further actions. There are 15 collections of Sathe's short stories, of which a large number have been translated into many Indian and as many as 27 non-Indian languages. Besides novels and short stories, Sathe wrote a play, a travelogue on Russia, 12 screenplays, and 10 ballads in the [[Marathi language|Marathi]] [[powada]] style.<ref name="Jamdhade"/>

Sathe's use of folkloric narrative styles like [[powada]] and [[lavani]] helped popularise and make his work accessible to many communities. In ''Fakira'', Sathe portrays Fakira, the protagonist, revolting against the rural orthodox system and [[British Raj]] to save his community from utter starvation.<ref name="Jamdhade"/> The protagonist and his community are subsequently arrested and tortured by British officers, and Fakira is eventually killed by hanging.<ref name="Gaikwad">{{cite journal
| url= http://www.the-criterion.com/V4/n1/Baliram.pdf
| title =Manifestation of Caste and Class in Anna Bhau Sathe's Fakira and Baburao Bagul's Jenvha Mi Jaat Chorli Hoti
| last =Gaikwad
| first =B. N.
| date =February 2013
|volume=4
| issue=1
| journal =The Criterion
| access-date=5 April 2015
}}</ref>

The urban environment of Bombay significantly influenced his writings, which depict it as a dystopian milieu. Aarti Wani describes two of his songs – "Mumbai Chi Lavani" (Song of Bombay) and "Mumbai cha Girni Kamgar" (Bombay's Mill-hand) – as depicting a city that is "rapacious, exploitative, unequal and unjust".<ref name="wani">{{cite book |title=Fantasy of Modernity |first=Aarti |last=Wani |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2016 |pages=27–28 |isbn=978-1-10711-721-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A6kwCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA27}}</ref>

== Politics ==
Sathe was initially influenced by [[communist]] ideology.<ref name="Gaikwad"/> Together with writers such as D. N. Gavankar and Amar Shaikh, he was a member of Lal Bawta Kalapathak (Red Flag Cultural Squad), the cultural wing of the Communist Party of India,<ref name="Scroll"/> and a [[Tamasha]] theatrical troupe that challenged government thinking. It had been active in the 1940s and, according to Tevia Abrams, was "the most exciting theatrical phenomenon of the 1950s" before communism in India generally fragmented in the aftermath of [[independence of India|independence]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Tevia |last=Abrams |chapter=Tamasha |pages=282, 288 |title=Indian Theatre: Traditions of Performance |editor1-first=Farley P. |editor1-last=Richmond |editor2-first=Darius L. |editor2-last=Swann |editor3-first=Phillip B. |editor3-last=Zarrilli |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1993 |isbn=978-8-12080-981-9 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OroCOEqkVg4C&pg=PA282}}</ref> He was a significant figure also in the [[Indian People's Theatre Association]], which was a cultural wing of the [[Communist Party of India]],<ref>{{cite book |first=Binayak |last=Bhattacharya |chapter=The Left Encounter: Progressive Voices of Nationalism and Indian Cinema to the 1950s |pages=26, 38 |title=Salaam Bollywood: Representations and Interpretations |editor1-first=Vikrant |editor1-last=Kishore |editor2-first=Amit |editor2-last=Sarwal |editor3-first=Parichay |editor3-last=Patra |publisher=Routledge |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-31723-286-5 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wQLeCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA38}}</ref> and in the [[Samyukta Maharashtra Movement]], which sought the creation of a separate Marathi-speaking state through a linguistic division of the extant [[Bombay State]].<ref name="wani"/>

Sathe shifted toward Dalit activism, following the teachings of [[B. R. Ambedkar]], and used his stories to amplify the life experiences of Dalits and workers. In his inaugural speech at the first Dalit Sahitya Sammelan, a literary conference that he founded in Bombay in 1958, he said that "The earth is not balanced on the snake's head but on the strength of Dalit and working-class people," emphasising the importance of Dalit and working-class people in global structures.<ref name="Gaikwad"/> Unlike most Dalit writers of the period, Sathe's work was influenced by Marxism rather than [[Dalit Buddhist movement|Buddhism]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Language and Civilization Change in South Asia |editor-first=Clarence |editor-last=Maloney |publisher=BRILL |year=1978 |isbn=978-9-00405-741-8 |first=Eleanor |last=Zelliot |authorlink=Eleanor Zelliot |chapter=Dalit: New Cultural Context for an Old Marathi Word |pages=78, 82 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M_oUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA78}}</ref>

He said that "Dalit writers are entailed with the responsibility of liberating and shielding Dalits from the existing worldly and Hindu tortures as the long standing conventional beliefs cannot be destroyed instantly."<ref name="Gaikwad"/>

== Legacy ==
[[File:Annabhau Sathe 2019 stamp of India 2.jpg|thumb|Anna Bhau Sathe 2019 stamp of India]]
[[File:Anna bhau sathe.jpg|thumb|Annabhau Sathe statue in Maharashtra]]
Sathe has become an icon to [[Dalit|Dalits]], and especially the [[Mang (caste)|Mang caste]]. The Lokshahir Annabhau Sathe Development Corporation was established in 1985 to further the cause of the Mang people, and women in local branches of the Manavi Hakk Abhiyan (Human Rights Campaign, a Mang-Ambedkarite body)<ref>{{cite book |first=Suryakant |last=Waghmore |chapter=Challenging Normalised Exclusion: Humour and Hopeful Rationality in Dalit Politics |page=151 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N18lDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT151 |title=From the Margins to the Mainstream: Institutionalising Minorities in South Asia |editor1-first=Hugo |editor1-last=Gorringe |editor2-first=Roger |editor2-last=Jeffery |editor3-first=Suryakant |editor3-last=Waghmore |publisher=SAGE Publications |year=2016 |isbn=978-9-35150-622-5}}</ref> organise jayanti (processions) in his name and those of [[Babasaheb Ambedkar]] and [[Savitribai Phule]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Civility against Caste: Dalit Politics and Citizenship in Western India |first=Suryakant |last=Waghmore |publisher=SAGE Publications |year=2013 |isbn=978-8-13211-886-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PPenAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA34 |pages=34, 57, 71–72}}</ref> Political parties, such as the [[Indian National Congress]] and the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]]-[[Shiv Sena]] alliance, have attempted to appropriate his image as a means of [[votebank|drawing electoral support]] from the Mangs.<ref>{{cite book |title=Civility against Caste: Dalit Politics and Citizenship in Western India |first=Suryakant |last=Waghmore |publisher=SAGE Publications |year=2013 |isbn=978-8-13211-886-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PPenAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA152 |page=152}}</ref>

Sathe was commemorated with the issue of a special {{INR|4}} postage stamp by [[India Post]] on 1 August 2002.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://postagestamps.gov.in/Stamps2002.aspx |title=Stamps 2002 |publisher=Department of Posts, Government of India |accessdate=31 July 2017}}</ref> Buildings have also been named after him, including the Lokshahir Annabhau Sathe Smarak in [[Pune]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pmc.gov.in/en/lokshahir-annabhau-sathe-smarak |publisher=Pune Metropolitan Corporation |title=Lokshahir Annabhay Sathe Smarak |accessdate=31 July 2017}}</ref> and a [[Overpass|flyover]] in [[Kurla]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Mumbai: 24-year-old woman stabbed to death in broad daylight |first=Shiva |last=Devnath |date=25 May 2016 |work=Mid-day |url=http://www.mid-day.com/articles/mumbai-24-year-old-woman-stabbed-to-death-in-broad-daylight/17269152 |accessdate=31 July 2017}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Annabhau Sathe}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sathe, Annabhau}}
[[Category:Writers from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Marathi-language writers]]
[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:1969 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian social reformers]]
[[Category:Activists from Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Indian communists]]
[[Category:Ambedkarites]]

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Annabhau Sathe