The Delhi-based publisher Leftword recently published Memoirs of a Dalit Communist: The Many Worlds of RB More . The book raises questions ...
The Delhi-based publisher Leftword recently published Memoirs of a Dalit Communist: The Many Worlds of RB More. The book raises questions that are particularly relevant for the events overtaking us today as minorities and so-called “Leftists” are branded enemies of the nation. The complex multicultural histories of the subcontinent are sought to be erased, and there is concerted effort to censor the imagination of alternatives to the authoritarian status quo.
We have also of course seen a remarkable awakening of political protest across the country, with many commentators suggesting links between the present and earlier moments of mass action and popular activism such as during Khilafat, or the National Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi. The success of such efforts is predicated on building solidarities across diverse identities and interests, and the enormous difficulties this presents in practical terms. Memoirs of a Dalit Communist is a significant addition to this ongoing conversation.
Ramachandra Babaji More was an important Dalit trade unionist and labour organiser, whose anti-caste and labor activism in the city of Bombay in the first half of the twentieth century was intimately tied to Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar’s own activism.
A founding member of Ambedkar’s second newspaper, Bahishkrit Bharat, More was also involved with Janata, and an editor of the Left-identified newspaper, Aavhan, and,...
