Rajni Tilak Explained

Rajni Tilak (27 May 1958 – 30 March 2018) was one of the most prominent Indian Dalit rights activists and a leading voice of Dalit feminism[1] and writing.[2] She served as the Executive Director of the Centre for Alternative Dalit Media,[3] co-founded the National Association of Dalit Organisations,[4] and served as President of the Dalit Lekhak Sangh (Dalit Writers' Group).[5]

Early life

Tilak was born in Old Delhi, India on 27 May 1958 in a family with limited means. Her father was a tailor whose ancestors had migrated to Delhi from the state of Uttar Pradesh. Being the first of seven children, she had to give up on her aspiration of becoming a nurse due to lack of financial support and took up a job to aid her family.[6] She had an early interest in writing, expressed by writing a poem called “Ka Se Kahu Dukh Apna” as her first poem.[7] After completing her higher education in 1975, she joined ITI (Industrial Training Institute) for vocational courses like stenography, cutting and tailoring.

Activism and career

While in college at ITI in Delhi, she organised a union for girls protesting the gender based discrimination faced by them. She found her strength as a leader, merging this group with the Progressive Students' Union (PSU). She later split from them citing ideological and political differences. She also went on to organise a 4000-strong organisation of anganwadi workers, to address demands of regularization of pay scale.[8] Over the years Tilak became involved in Dalit activism and also made her mark by also challenging patriarchy within the caste dimension.[9] She organised agitations over the Mathura rape case in 1972 all over Delhi and became associated with Saheli, an autonomous women's group. There onward she began working on issues of health, sanitation, counselling for family planning, rape, molestation, etc.[10]

In the 1980s, Tilak started a union with Bharthiya Dalit Panthers in Delhi. They opened a Dalit theatre group called Ahahwan and started a students' awareness programme by establishing a youth study circle.[11]

She was associated with multiple organisations, such as NACDAOR (National Confederation of Dalit and Adivasi Organizations), CADAM (Center for Alternative Dalit Media), NFDW (National Federation of Dalit Women), Rashtriya Dalit Mahila Andolan (RDMA), and many more.[12]

In 2011, the Bollywood film Aarakshan (directed by Prakash Jha) caused controversy, as the director was alleged to have insulted Dalits. Tilak was asked to view the film before its release.[13] In 2012, she was part of a coalition of Dalit and non-Dalit writers, scholars, and activists who petitioned the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to correctly represent the role of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in school textbooks.[14]

Literary work

Awards

Death

Tilak died on 30 March 2018 at the age of 59 at St Stephen's Hospital, Delhi. She had been taken to the hospital for treatment for an illness of the spine.[22] She is survived by her daughter- actor, artist, activist and writer Jyotsna Siddharth.

Her death was mourned by several scholars and activists. Condolence meetings were held around the country and tributes were paid on social media websites including by her friend Kavita Srivastava, leader of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).[23]

References

  1. Web site: Who will clean up the lives of manual scavengers?. https://web.archive.org/web/20180217202834/http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getFiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib:LowLevelEntityToPrint_TOI&Type=text/html&Locale=english-skin-custom&Path=TOIH/2011/06/05&ID=Ar01801. dead. February 17, 2018. epaper.timesofindia.com. 2018-02-17.
  2. Web site: An Interview with Rajni Tilak. 17 January 2013. Roundtable India.
  3. Web site: About Us - Centre for Alternative Dalit Media. www.cadam.org.in. 2018-10-20.
  4. Web site: National Association of Dalit Organisations-NADO - Local Business Facebook. www.facebook.com. en. 2018-10-20.
  5. Web site: Rajni Tilak – Leading Voice of Dalit Activism Passes Away. 31 March 2018. She The People.
  6. Web site: Rajni Tilak: A Leading Dalit Feminist Of Our Times. Angmo. Deachen. 2018-04-25. Feminism In India. en-US. 2019-03-14.
  7. Web site: Museindia. www.museindia.com. 2019-03-14.
  8. Web site: Rajni Tilak: A Leading Dalit Feminist Of Our Times. Angmo. Deachen. 2018-04-25. Feminism In India. en-US. 2019-03-14.
  9. Web site: An Interview with Rajni Tilak. 17 January 2013. Roundtable India.
  10. Web site: Need to redefine Dalit Movement: Rajni Tilak. kuffir. Round Table India. en-gb. 2019-03-14.
  11. Web site: Rajni Tilak: A Leading Dalit Feminist Of Our Times. Angmo. Deachen. 2018-04-25. Feminism In India. en-US. 2019-03-14.
  12. Web site: Rajni Tilak (1958-2018) was an activist and poet who fought tirelessly against caste and patriarchy. Thakur. Sandali. Scroll.in. 3 April 2018 . en-US. 2019-03-14.
  13. News: HC asks for home dept's views on quota movie - Times of India. The Times of India. 2018-02-17. en.
  14. News: Humour is by no means exempt from prejudice. 8 June 2012. The Hindu.
  15. Web site: सावित्रीबाई फुले: मनुवादी अंधकार में किरण की तरह फूटी युगनायिका !. MediaVigil. 2019-01-03. MediaVigil. Hi-IN. 2019-03-19.
  16. Web site: कर्मकर्ता और कवि रजनी तिलक ने पूरी ज़िंदगी मेहनतकशों की शोषण मुक्ति और सम्मान के नाम कर दिया- जसम. en-US. 2019-03-19. 2018-03-31.
  17. Web site: hindibook.com: SAMKALIN BHARATIYA DALIT MAHILA LEKHAN RAJNI TILAK HB 9789383513468. hindibook.com. 2019-03-14.
  18. Web site: hindibook.com: SAMKALIN BHARTIYA DALIT MAHILA LEKHAN-V.3 (ATMKATHA VISHESH) RAJNI TILAK (Ed.) HB 9789383515042. hindibook.com. 2019-03-14.
  19. Web site: hindibook.com: SAVITRIBAI PHULE RACHNA SAMAGRA RAJNI TILAK (Ed.) HB 9788193381526. hindibook.com. 2019-03-14.
  20. Web site: hindibook.com: APNI JAMIN APNA ASMAN RAJNI TILAK HB 9789382543848. hindibook.com. 2019-03-14.
  21. Web site: hindibook.com: DR. AMBEDKAR AUR STRI CHINTAN KE DASTAVEZ RAJNI TILAK (Comp. & Ed.) HB 9789383515103. hindibook.com. 2019-03-14.
  22. Web site: Dalit writer Rajni Tilak passes away. 31 March 2018. United News of India.
  23. Web site: The sceptical Dalit, Left feminist: my dear friend Rajni Tilak. 1 April 2018. National Herald India.

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