Brought out a year ago, “Pledge of a Revolutionary Poet” examines the role of poetry in articulating revolutionary politics, focusing on the life and work of Saroj Dutta. Dutta was associated with communist movements in India and was active as a political organiser and poet from the 1940s onward. He was involved with communist parties and later with the CPI(ML), where he worked in cultural and poetic initiatives following the death of Sushmita Roy Chowdhury. He supported the political line advanced by Charu Mazumdar, including its emphasis on class struggle and critique of both economic structures and cultural institutions.
Saroj Dutta died in 1971 at the age of 57 in Kolkata, reportedly in a police encounter near Sahid Minar. After his death, a Saroj Dutta Memorial Committee was formed. His poetry collection “Ghru-o-Krodher” was published in 1978. His writings influenced several Telugu-language revolutionary poets, and some of his poems were translated into Telugu by Virasam.
The 2024 publication “Pledge of a Revolutionary Poet” brings together a selection of Dutta’s poems. The collection reflects his political positions and his use of poetry as a medium to express revolutionary ideas. The poems combine political analysis with metaphor and imagery, drawing from Marxist-Leninist-Maoist frameworks and addressing themes such as martyrdom, justice, class struggle, and resistance. The setting and imagery often reference West Bengal and broader revolutionary movements in India, using nature and historical symbols to frame political arguments.
Dutta’s poems use direct and accessible language to critique existing social and political arrangements and to explore the conditions that give rise to mass movements. His work follows traditional poetic forms while prioritising clarity of expression. Ancient literary sources are not rejected but are reinterpreted to support contemporary political concerns.
Several poems critically engage with Hindu epics and Brahmanical social structures. Works such as “Shakuntala” reinterpret classical narratives in the context of the Naxalbari movement and question concepts such as divine authority, varna, and royal legitimacy. Other poems revisit figures like Sita, Rama, and Ravana, offering alternative readings that challenge dominant interpretations. In “Utta-Kadam: The Aftermath”, Dutta presents a version of the Ramayana that departs from established mythological accounts, including his portrayal of Valmiki and the upbringing of Kusha and Lava.
Dutta’s poetry also critiques the intellectual legacy of the Bengali Renaissance and the education system shaped by colonial and semi-feudal structures. His work places peasants and workers at the centre of historical and intellectual production and argues for radical social transformation.
The volume includes an introduction by Varavara Rao, who discusses the relevance of Dutta’s poetry in the context of fascism and its influence on Maoist movements in Andhra Pradesh. Rao examines Dutta’s critique of Brahmanical ideology, his interpretations of the “Mahabharata”, and his views on historical narratives, including the displacement of Indus Valley civilisation histories. The introduction also notes Dutta’s positions on the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Mahatma Gandhi, and Subhas Chandra Bose, as well as the influence of his poetry on later phases of the Naxalbari movement in regions such as Jangalmahal and Dandakaranya.
Editor Basu Acharya provides a brief biographical sketch that traces Dutta’s political and artistic development. The sketch outlines his transition from an early literary phase to a more explicitly revolutionary orientation and examines how his political commitments shaped his poetry. Acharya situates Dutta within the historical developments leading to the Naxalbari movement and argues that Dutta played a significant role in its cultural and ideological dimensions.
Overall, “Pledge of a Revolutionary Poet” presents Saroj Dutta’s poetry as part of a broader political and cultural movement, documenting how literary expression was used to engage with revolutionary politics in mid-twentieth-century India.
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*Freelance journalist
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