Baluta

Baluta quickly acquired the status of a classic of modern Indian literature and was also a bestseller in Hindi and other major languages. This is the first time that it has been translated into English.

Set in Mumbai and rural Maharashtra of the 1940s and ’50s, it describes in shocking detail the practice of untouchability and caste violence. But it also speaks of the pride and courage of the Dalit community that often fought back for dignity.

Jerry Pinto’s brilliant translation brings this classic of Indian literature to English-language readers for the first time.

Reviews

‘Baluta is a record of unspeakable humiliations in a caste-ridden society. Pawar spares no one and least of all himself. This is the book’s great strength.’ – Amitava Kumar, Hindustan Times

‘[An] outstanding example of self-writing…Daya Pawar ought to be seen as the heir to [the] radical intellectual tradition that harks back to Phule and Ambedkar’ – Biblio

‘One of the first Dalit autobiographies to be published. Baluta hit upper-caste critics and readers alike between the eyes. Pawar’s graphic description of life in rural Maharashtra and in Mumbai shocked readers. And it still does.’ – Shanta Gokhale