http://www.patnadaily.com/news2008/oct/101908/dalit_authors_convention.html
Monday, October 20, 2008 2nd Regional Dalit Writers Convention in Patna Patna: Oct. 19, 2008 Bihar Governor R. L. Bhatia, while inaugurating the 2nd Regional Dalit Writers Convention at Bhartiya Nritya Kala Mandir in Patna on Sunday, said that literature was the mirror of the society that captured and preserved the true reflection of the contemporary time and culture. "Literature by Dalit authors in last few years had given a whole new direction to the society by forcing people to reevaluate their social and moral values while also shattering many old ideas," the Governor said. Praising the father of the Indian Constitution Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Bhatia said the Dalit leader was also a journalist and author who, by his literary works, brought a social, political, and economic revolution in the country. "His works also worked as catalysts for other Dalit writers who, until recently, were ignored by the powers that be," the Governor said. Emphasizing the need for the spread of information and technological revolution among the socially-impoverished people of the society, the Governor said that without the progress of the Dalits, a nation or a society could not expect to compete with the rest of the world. "We must do everything in our might to bring them into the mainstream society for an overall development of the nation," he said. Bihar State Assembly Speaker Uday Narayan Chowdhary, retd. IAS officer Jiyalal Arya, former Governor Mata Prasad, former DGP G. P. Dohar, Dr. S. N. Arya, and Dr. Mahavir Das were among many who attended the convention.
