Fakira

Anna Bhau Sathe was born into an untouchable community, and that upbringing shaped both his writing and his political activism. Fakira, one of his best-known works, won the Maharashtra Government's award for best novel and is regarded as one of the first prominent Dalit novels in Marathi.

The story follows Fakira, who fights tirelessly for the welfare of his community. He stands against the orthodox caste order of the countryside and against British rule, trying to save his village from starvation, humiliation and death. His actions are daring and dramatic, and his methods break the law. When the authorities fail to catch him, they take his people hostage and threaten to torture them to death unless he gives himself up.

This English translation is by Prof. Baliram Gaikwad. At its heart are courage, a fighting spirit and the longing of a community to live with dignity. The novel blends historical and contemporary reality with deeply human emotion, and offers a moving, realistic picture of Dalit lives.