Question

What is the name of a famous dalit writer who wrote Joothan?

Answer 1

Hint: Besides Joothan (1997) he also published three collections of poetry: Sadiyon Ka Santaap (1989), Bas! Bahut Ho Chuka (1997), and Ab Aur Nahin (2009). Not only this, he wrote two collections of short stories, Salaam (2000), and Ghuspethiye (2004) also.

Complete answer:
Om Prakash Valmiki was an Indian writer and poet. He was born at the village of Barla in the Muzzafarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. Om Prakash Valmiki was popularly known for his autobiography, Joothan, regarded a milestone in Dalit literature. He describes his life as an untouchable, or Dalit, in the newly independent India of the time of 1950s. "Joothan" basically refers well to scraps of food left on a plate, destined either for the garbage or animals. India's untouchables have been forced to accept as well as eat joothan for centuries, plus the word encapsulates the pain, humiliation, and poverty of a community forced to live at the bottom of the country's social pyramid.

The practice untouchability’s practice had been legally abolished in the year 1950 but not from mindsets of the people. So, basically Valmiki's autobiographical account Joothan clearly highlights that untouchability had been practised by the educators, educated – like minded upper caste people, as well as his relatives belonging to the similar community.

Joothan is all about the bitter experiences of growing up as a dailt boy.

Note: Joothan marks as the very first Dalit autobiographies in Hindi literature and later got translated into English by Arun Prabhas Mukherjee during the year 2003. Om Prakash Valmiki through his work shows the significance of literature in order to provide a platform for disseminating knowledge regarding Dalit lives and their experiences.