*The Tenth Revolutionary (Vidrohi) Cultural Conference, Kankavli* *31 January – 1 February, 2009*
Dear People's (Bahujan) Marathi-loving Brothers and Sisters, The Konkan region is in the middle of a struggle for its identity and future. The Konkan is a region rich in natural resources and beauty, yet from the environmental (the thermal energy, mining projects) to the economic (SEZ's), the region is being destroyed. Small farmers, dalits, landless labourers who were forced to leave Bombay when the textile mills were shut down are now displaced in the Konkan as well, becoming doubly displaced. We are organizing this conference in Kankavli to highlight the plight of the Konkan bahujan people in the context of the larger social, economic and cultural discourse of Maharashtra. The Konkan, as a region, has been the site of many historical struggles for social equality, led by figures like B. R. Ambedkar and Appasaheb Patwardhan. The first Vidrohi Conference was held on February 7, 1999 in Dharavi, Bombay. It was held in the heart of this slum neighbourhood, while the mainstream, upper caste, elite Marathi Literature Conference was being held down the road in Shivaji Park. We stood our ground because we had the foundation laid by thinkers like Jotiba Phule. Those who initiated the Dharavi conference took the lead in the formation of the Vidrohi Sanskritik Movement and built a culture of criticism and discussion. They published its manifesto and paved the way for a cultural movement that has allowed many to contest Brahmanism, capitalism, patriarchy and casteism. The Vidrohi movement is based on a radical tradition of revolutionary thought, right from Charvak, Buddha, Basareshwar, Tukaram, Rohidas to Marx, Phule, Birsa Munda, Shivaji, Shahu Maharaj, Ambedkar, Nana Patil, Shahir Amar Sheikh, Annabhau Sathe. This conference is a larger amalgamation of various radical streams, like the dalit, the adivasi, the rural, the proletariat, feminist, of cultural thought. The Vidrohi cultural movement understands the historical limitations of any ideology and therefore attempts to free itself from the dogmatic worship of any one thinker or ideological position. Today, there is a huge difference in the manifestations of the caste system or in imperialist formation. Vidrohi battles against the modern casteism of this cyber age. The erosion of adivasi lives caused by state encroachment on their land, ecological threats like the greenhouse effect, the changing of rural culture with various new technologies and the continuing Brahmanisation of education and historiography are some of the contexts within which this conference is organized, as Vidrohi does not see the cultural in a vacuum. In this context, the Vidrohi cultural movement seeks to remember its historical roots and tradition, and glean resources from the literature and art of, for example, Amar Sheikh, Annabhau Sathe and Gavankar. In the 60s, the radical little magazine movement critiqued mainstream Brahmanical Marathi literature; in the 70s, the Dalit movement blasted the mainstream criteria of form, content and what constituted the literary with Phule-Ambedkar as the main sources of inspiration accompanied by the literature of the urban proletariat (Mahanagri Kaamgar Sahitya) and the Rural literary movement (Grameen Sahitya); in the 80s, writing by the nomadic tribes came into the scene and strengthened the Vidrohi voice. Most religions, like the Muslims and the Christians came forth with their own literary associations. The 80s also saw the rise of the feminist literary stream criticising the patriarchal foundations of literature. The United Dalit-Adivasi-Grameen Sahitya Mahasabha was born out of an amalgamation of all these radical cultural-political movements and has culminated in the Vidrohi cultural movement. We urge all radical writers, artists, musicians, cultural practitioners, readers, associated with and supportive of the bahujan stream of thought to come to Kankavli, participate and contribute with their minds, bodies and material resources to make this conference a success. Please send all contributions to: Account no: 30103702658 (Mayuri Samant, State Bank of India) Contact for further details: Ankush Kadam: 09923294230 (Kankavli) Sudeep Kamble: 09823772316 (Kankavli) Naseem: 09821106320 Mayuri: 09869150521 Sumedh: 09881461009 Please feel free to print, photocopy and distribute as widely as possible. All pressfolk receiving this email, please make it a point to advertise this in your papers/magazines. Please forward to people you think might want to contribute/publicise/participate/attend -- Ranjit --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
