The correct answer is option (4) - Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
Poem by Namdeo Dhasal:
Turning their backs to the sun, they journeyed through centuries.
Now, now we must refuse to be pilgrims of darkness.
That one, our father, carrying, carrying the darkness is now bent;
Now, now we must lift the burden from his back.
Our blood was spilled for this glorious city
And what we got was the right to eat stones
Now, now we must explode the building that kisses the sky
After a thousand years we were blessed with sunflower giving fakir;
Now, now, we must like sunflowers turn our faces to the sun"
English translation by Jayant Karve and Eleanor Zelliot of Namdeo Dhasal’s Marathi poem in Golpitha.
In the well-known poem "Sunflower," written by Namdeo Dhasal, the Sunflower giving fakir refers to B.R. Ambedkar.
In the poem, the pilgrims were the Dalit communities who had experienced brutal caste injustices for a long time in our society and the poet is referring to Dr. Ambedkar as their liberator. Dalit poets in Maharashtra wrote many such poems during the decade of seventies. These poems were expressions of anguish that the Dalit masses continued to face even after twenty years of independence. But they were also full of hope for the future, a future that Dalit groups wished to shape for themselves. Dr. Ambedkar is known for his vision of socio-economic change and his relentless struggle for a dignified future for Dalits outside the Hindu caste-based social structure. It is not surprising that Dr. Ambedkar remains an iconic and inspirational figure in much of Dalit liberation writings. |
