Reframing the Narrative of Illiteracy
With thanks to Dr Manjiri Nimbkar and Mr Kishore Darak for first bringing this text to my notice and their comments on the discrepancies between the original text and its adaptation for the Balbharati text book.
Introduction
Illustration: Datta Ahiwale
Throughout the years, the Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Research — popularly known as Balbharati – has made efforts to present a range of social and personal diversity in its books. In its 1994 edition of the Marathi textbook for standard six, it included a chapter from Taral Antaral, the autobiography of Shankarrao Kharat (1921-2001), one of the earliest and most distinguished of Dalit writers and academics in Maharashtra. A law graduate, Kharat was a close associate of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, and a convert to Budd...