Manoranjan Byapari ( bn, মনোরঞ্জন ব্যাপারী) is an Indian
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
writer, socio-political activist and a politician. He is among the early writers of Dalit literature in
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
from the Indian state of
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
. He could not afford any formal education and is perhaps the only convict-turned-
Rickshaw puller
A pulled rickshaw (from Japanese ) is a mode of human-powered transport by which a runner draws a two-wheeled cart which seats one or two people.
In recent times the use of human-powered rickshaws has been discouraged or outlawed in many coun ...
who has penned a dozen novels and over a hundred short stories, apart from non-fiction essays. He was elected as an MLA, from the
Balagarh (Vidhan Sabha constituency)
Balagarh Assembly constituency is an assembly constituency headquartered in Jirat, Hooghly in the Indian state of West Bengal. The seat is reserved for scheduled castes.
Overview
As per orders of the Delimitation Commission, No. 191 Balagarh As ...
in
2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election
The 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election for 292 of the 294 constituencies in West Bengal was held between 27 March to 29 April 2021 in eight phases. Voting for the two remaining constituencies was delayed to 30 September 2021.
The ...
Namasudra
Namasudra, also known as Namassej, is an ''Avarna'' community originating from eastern and central Bengal. The community was earlier known as ''Chandala'' or ''Chandal'', a term usually considered as a slur. They were traditionally engaged in fis ...
caste at
Barisal
Barisal ( or ; bn, বরিশাল, ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal Dist ...
in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. His family migrated to
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
when he was three years old. The family was first resettled in Bankura, Shiromanipur Refugee camp. Later they were forced to move to Ghutiyari Sharif, Gholadoltala Refugee Camp, South 24 Paraganas and they lived there until 1969. However, the young Byapari had left his home at the age of fourteen and undertook a number of low-paid informal sector jobs in various cities in Assam, Lucknow, Delhi and Allahabad. After spending two years in
Dandakaranya
Dandakaranya is a historical region in India, mentioned in the Ramayana. It is identified with a territory roughly equivalent to the Bastar division in the Chhattisgarh state in the central-east part of India. It covers about of land, which inc ...
, he shifted to
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
in 1973. He had a brief stint with the Naxals in central India. It was during his prison term, he educated himself to read. He was closely associated with the famous labour activist
Shankar Guha Niyogi
Shankar Guha Niyogi (14 February 1943 – 28 September 1991) was an Indian labor leader who was the founder of the Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha, a labor union run in the town of Dalli Rajhara Mines in Chhattisgarh, India.
Niyogi was founder of ...
All India Trinamool Congress
The All India Trinamool Congress (English: All India Grassroots Congress; AITC), colloquially the Trinamool Congress ( TMC) is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in West Bengal. The party is led by Mamata Banerjee, the cur ...
He came to prominence with the publication of his influential essay ''Is there a Dalit writing in Bangla?'', translated by
Meenakshi Mukherjee
Meenakshi Mukherjee (died 16 September 2009, aged 72) was a litterateur and Sahitya Akademi Award winner. Her book, "An Indian for all seasons", a biography of historian R.C. Dutt, published by Penguin, was to be released in Delhi. Mukherjee re ...
, in the journal ''
Economic and Political Weekly
The ''Economic and Political Weekly'' (''EPW'') is a weekly peer-reviewed academic journal covering all social sciences, and is published by the Sameeksha Trust. In January 2018, academic Gopal Guru was named the new Editor of the journal. Guru wil ...
''. While working as a rickshaw puller, he had a chance meeting with
Mahasweta Devi
Mahasweta Devi (14 January 1926 – 28 July 2016) ''
, and she asked him to write for her 'Bartika' journal.
He has pointed out that the upper Caste refugees from East Bengal are given preferential treatment while being resettled in Kolkata, as favoured by the Upper Caste officials in the West Bengal.
Rajya Sabha TV
Rajya Sabha TV was an Indian public cable television network channel owned and operated by Rajya Sabha that covered the proceedings of Rajya Sabha (the Upper House of the Parliament of India). It has now been replaced by Sansad TV. Apart from ...
has made a documentary on his life.
In 2022, he won the
Shakti Bhatt Prize
The Shakti Bhatt Prize is a literary award established in 2007 in memory of Indian publisher, Shakti Bhatt. Between 2008 and 2019, it was awarded for first books published in India by an author of any age in the genres of poetry, fiction, creativ ...
.
Books
He wrote a memoir ''ইতিবৃত্তে চণ্ডাল জীবন'' in
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
, translated into English by
Sipra Mukherjee
Sipra (also known as Sapra, Sipru, Sipraw or Supra) is a Jat clan in the Punjab region of Pakistan.
Notable people
* Saqlain Anwar Sipra
Muhammad Saqlain Anwar Sipra is a Pakistani politician who had been a Member of the Provincial A ...
as ''Interrogating my Chandal life: An Autobiography of a Dalit'' (Sage-Samya which won The Hindu Prize. The book records the experiences of oppression and marginalisation that Dalits face in Bengal which is otherwise known as a 'casteless society', as claimed by many a
bhadralok
Bhadralok (, literally 'gentleman', or 'well-mannered person') is Bengali for the new class of 'gentlefolk' who arose during British rule in India in the Bengal region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent.
Caste and class makeup
Accordi ...
. Being a Dalit is central to his writing. As he says, "I’m a Dalit by birth. Only a dalit, oppressed by social forces can experience true ''dalan'' (oppression) in life. There should be that ''dalan'' as a dalit in Dalit writing. Dalit literature should be based on ''dalit'' life. Some of my writings deal with ''dalit'' life; some to be judged neutrally, without any preconceived estimation". He says he is a chandal in two ways, by birth and by rage (krodha chandal).
Award
In 2014 he was honoured with Suprabha Majumdar prize awarded by
Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi
Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi ( bn, পশ্চিমবঙ্গ বাংলা একাডেমি) is the official regulatory body of the Bengali language in West Bengal, India. Modeled after Bangla Academy of Bangladesh and France's Académ ...
. He received the Sharmila Ghosh Smriti Literary prize in 2015. The translation of his autobiography Interrogating My Chandal Life won the 2019
The Hindu Literary Prize
''The Hindu'' Literary Prize or ''The Hindu'' Best Fiction Award, established in 2010, is an Indian literary award sponsored by ''The Hindu Literary Review'' which is part of the newspaper ''The Hindu''. It recognizes Indian works in English and ...