‘An eternity of oppression’ has defined the lives of Dalits. Yet, they survive, resilient and defiant. Drawing on the works of Dalit writers, Survival and Other Stories is a collection of Bangla fiction in translation, that speaks of Dalit lives lived on the edge and of suffering, negation and revolt.

A mason is tortured for claiming equality with ‘upper-caste’ people but he refuses to yield. A ‘gunin’, or witch doctor, holds a woman responsible for the illness of her grandchild; her son kills her but the child dies, so the man kills the gunin too. A zamindar repeatedly taunts another for his ‘lowly’ ancestry: the latter forces him to drag a plough—replacing a bullock! A penniless man, woman and child wage a fight for survival with a poisonous snake: it’s coiled up in a hole full of grains. A proposal for marriage from the progressive-minded son of a corrupt politician is turned down by his ‘low-born’ lover believing that society is not ready to accept their union. A stick-wielding hireling of landlords, and later of a political party, learning in old age from his erstwhile Muslim adversary that they had been cynically exploited, reluctantly accepts his friendship. Evocative of the indignities heaped on the Dalits, these stories are insightful and perceptive. They are a sensitive retelling, that retains the rhythms and idioms of the original Bengali narratives.

The spectrum of experiences as depicted in these probing and absorbing stories is a must read for students and scholars of Dalit and caste studies, development studies, Indian Literature in Translation, and gender studies.

Each story has a glossary with meanings of non-English words in the end.

Sankar Prasad Singh is Professor in the Department of English, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, West Bengal.

Publisher’s Acknowledgements
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction

The Deceived
Achintya Biswas

Footprint of an Elephant
Anil Gharai

Reincarnation of Parashuram
Anil Gharai

The Sky of Drought
Anil Gharai

Bazaar
Gautam Ali

On Water and on Shore
Gobinda Shoundo

On Firm Ground
Jatin Bala

The Other Jew
Kapil Krishna Thakur

Farmer Gopal’s Caste and Creed
Makhanlal Pradhan

Munnali
Manohar Mouli Biswas

Shabori
Manoranjan Barman

The Son of a Peasant
Nakul Mallick

The Story of the Grey-eyed Oil-fry Seller
Nalini Bera

Survival
Shyamal Kumar Pramanik

Dhani Bauri Gets ‘Salvation’
Sunil Kumar Das

Mukunda and an Extraordinary Love Affair
Susnata Jana

Friendship
Taraknath Majhi

Fisherman
Utthanpada Bijoli

Notes on the Dalit Authors