B. Krishnappa

B. Krishnappa (1938–1997) was a pioneer of the Dalit literary movement in Kannada and the founder president of Dalit Sangarsha Samiti, the radical Dalit advocacy group. He taught at the Sir M. Vishweshwariah College in Bhadravathi for thirty years before retiring as principal. He is acknowledged as an important literary critic.

A social revolutionary Krishnappa's presence is felt in most of the landmark Dalit struggles of Karnataka, especially those aimed at getting land for Dalits and fighting for Dalit women's self-respect.

Literature produced by the satiated and the flabby, who consume antacids to digest their food, who live in multi-storied buildings and commute only by car and airplane, has no appeal for me. For such people, literature is an aesthetic luxury, written to kill time. Protest literature is not written for this Tata-Birla five percent who lead a lavish life.

Our engagement today is with the starving, the helpless, those who eat from the wastebins outside hotels, the homeless who live in railway stations, bus stands, those who steal food and clothing and die without a history. Aesthetics is not primary for us. When over 60 per cent of our population live below the poverty line, shedding their blood in fields and factories and rotting in ignorance, anyone who says that he writes for aesthetic pleasure, or for literary values, can only be called irresponsible.

"Dalit Literature" in The Exercise of Freedom: An Introduction to Dalit Writing, Ed. Satyanarayana and Tharu

B. Krishnappa, along with Siddalingaiah and others, was one of the founders of Dalita Sangharsha Samiti.

Further Reading

• Satyanarayana, K & Tharu, Susie (2011) No Alphabet in Sight: New Dalit Writing from South Asia, Dossier 1: Tamil and Malayalam, New Delhi: Penguin Books.
• Satyanarayana, K & Tharu, Susie (2013) From those Stubs Steel Nibs are Sprouting: New Dalit Writing from South Asia, Dossier 2: Kannada and Telugu, New Delhi: HarperCollins India.