Abstract: Through readings of Adhir Biswas’ memoirs – Deshbhager Smriti [2010. 4 vols. Kolkata: Gangchil] and Allar jomite paa [2012. Kolkata: Gangchil] – as well as Manoranjan Byapari’s autobiographical work Itibritte Chandal Jibon (2012), I study the importance of education in the lives of first-generation literate Bengali Dalit immigrants. I evaluate the journey of Biswas and Byapari from being labelled as “chhotolok”, towards becoming a part of the bhadralok social group, redefining what it means to belong to either group.
Minister of State,Ministry of Human Resource Development,Government of India
An elected Member of Parliament, former Minister of State for External Affairs and former Under-Secretary-General to the United Nations, Dr. Shashi Tharoor is the prize-winning author of fourteen books, including the classic The Great Indian Novel (1989), India from Midnight to the Millennium (1997), Nehru: The Invention of India (2003) and most recently Pax Indica: India & the World of the 21st Century (2012).
