By Tanul Tiwari
Arts play a significant role in the healing and flourishing of humanity. They are capable of testifying to the deepest of human experiences, portraying honestly all aspects of human emotions and experiences, regardless of their desirability, political acceptance and conformity to social ideals.
Contrary to this very universal nature of art, that art is above all identity, in the present times art has been divided into hierarchies of class and caste. Variety of “subaltern” art forms are either suppressed or denied recognition.
The Dalit community has a powerful cultural history that explores the diverse dimensions of its trials and tribulations. The community is equipped with unique skills in the area of art and craft however, both the community and its culture have still not received due recognition. Instead, they are condemned into a silent existence in the peripheries of Indian society. As a result, the community and its vibrant culture have largely remained invisible.
In an effort to bring these arts to the forefront, the Dalit Foundation in India has been supporting Dalit artists for the last four years with support from Sir Dorabji Tata Trust. The Foundation aims to provide a platform for the cultural aesthetics of the Dalit community and give both the art and the artists the much deserved recognition. Dalit Foundation recognizes the arts to be a medium to highlight equity and justice, and in the process hopes to encourage leadership, self expression, and self discovery for Dalit communities.
We believe that social change is best brought about by the people who need it the most and that lasting progress comes from building their strength to advocate on their own behalf. Art is a powerful tool towards reaching this goal, elevating and amplifying the voices of the most affected by injustice. This programme makes the power of the people evident and visible and provides opportunities for their creative expression. It attempts to arm the Dalit community with the tools necessary to attack from within the institutional structures that marginalized them in the first place. In these last four years we have discovered that art and culture has helped not only in fighting but also in uniting and empowering those who embrace it as a weapon against injustice.
One artist supported by the Dalit Foundation who has used art as a tool for fighting discrimination and injustice is Anil Makwana, a government art teacher in Bhavnagar, Gujarat. Anil has been using art as a medium to educate and increase social awareness among and about the Dalit communities. With the support of the Foundation, he is using art as a means of promoting the spirit of liberation among the Dalit communities. His portraits of Dalit leaders like Ambedkar and Jyotiba Phule depict the social reforms brought about with the consistent efforts of these visionaries. His illustrations for children’s books are aimed to educate and sensitize children about Dalit leaders and Dalit culture. Moving forward, we hope to use art to usher in a culture of liberation for the Dalit people. Dalit Foundation believes that Dalit art forms paint vivid pictures of the condition in which people live and work, of their struggles to find solutions, and of their strength to fight injustice. Supporting Dalit art is therefore important to not only document social change, but to promote, inform and shape the Dalit communities journey for social justice and change.