Indian society can sometimes seem harsh or even brutal. Nowhere is this more evident than in its caste system itself. Author and teacher, Ajay Navaria, through his short stories, novels and poems attempts to shed light of the social stigma of caste and class. By Jigyasu Joshi
Ajay Navaria, a writer of novels and short stories, cannot help but laugh as he reflects on the nature of his other job of teaching Hindu ethics and scripture at a leading university in Delhi. The 39-year-old is a Dalit, and little more than a generation ago, for him to have even been discussing Hindu texts would have been an offence that could have cost him his life. The fact that he now teaches them brings a smile to his face. “Fifty years ago it would have been a crime. Had I touched those scriptures back then, I would have been killed,” he says. This is the power of democracy that makes Navaria happy and also confident in taking forward his writings which speak volumes about the caste discrimination which prevails in the country.
Writing has been a part of his life since he was 15. Started with writing poems that shed light on the social evils in those times, Navaria always wanted the society free from such clutches. “I was a teenager when I started writing poems. Children of my age that time usually wrote romantic love poems while I wrote poems addressing the social ills. So my beginning was quite serious and since then I knew what I wanted to write about,” he tells us. “However, I wrote romantic poems and stories when I was in college but that’s a different chapter overall,” he smiles. The writer also recalls that it was only in 2002 that for the first time he started incorporating the caste issues in his novels and short stories. While much of his writing now focuses on the experience of caste, he is among the few Dalit writers who is able to portray, with poignancy and empathy, the lives and experiences of non-Dalits as well.
When he started writing about the inequality in the society because of castes, he remembers the kind of protest he had to take for it. “I remember I was speaking at a function once where I spoke on the topic that is Buddha dharm only option for the Dalits. I was speaking against it and said it is not religion but the thinking that has to change. It disturbed few people and they even tries to physically harm me. So instances like those do upset me at times,” shared the author.
Navaria strongly believes that it is not the caste that makes anyone good or bad, it is their thinking and mentality which gives rise to the problem of caste injustice. “I think a person should be rational not radical. The major problem with the radical people is that they do not understand the other point of view. For them everything else is incorrect and only their opinions are correct. This kind of mentality is vicious for the country’s progress and harmful for the democratic values too,” he says.
Criticised by many for his writing being provocative in nature, he says, “Provocation is necessary but it should not be in a negative direction. Besides, provocation is not my motive; I want to rather motivate people.” Blaming a segment of politicians who have made this serious issue an opportunity to gain vote, he shares that it is upsetting when even after so many years of independence, the so called ‘lower caste’ in some areas are still facing similar problems as they use to in the past. “We can’t really say that there have been a huge change but there is still a positive inclination in the minds of people,” says Navaria.
Inspired from Uday Prakash and Nirmal Verma, two prominent names in the world of Hindi literature, he smiles and say, “I always get impressed by Nirmal’s language and Uday’s content. People often tell me that sometimes I write like Uday Prakash and sometimes like Nirmal Verma. But I don’t write like either of them.”
The author, for the consecutive third year, is a guest at the influential Jaipur literature Festival. Talking about how such gatherings can help in changing the picture, he says, “Gatherings like these do not just promote literature in the country but also talks about the larger difference which can be made with the help of literature.”
At present, Ajay is working on his new novel which he says will take some more time to get over and reach people. “My new novel does not only highlight the caste problem but also tells about how people in our society, no matter how much they run away from this problem, in a way gets affected by it. Till now I have written only 70-80 pages and I hope it makes for a good read,” he concludes.