CULTURAL CONFLICT IN THE LITERATURE OF ANNA BHAU SATHE

 The second half of the nineteenth century marked the beginning of industrialization in India and gave rise to the capitalist and working class. The working class became the victim of the capitalist class who in the process of maximizing their profits exploited them. This exploitation of the workers led to the rise of labour movement in India during the last quarter of nineteenth century. Number of leaders and personalities addressed the issues of workers and played an important role in Indian labour movement. Anna Bhau Sathe was one of the prominent figures amongst them. He expressed his views on various labour issues and problems through his writings and speeches. His philosophy of emancipation of workers runs through several genres of literature like novels, short stories, ballads (Powadas), folk dramas (Loknatya), poems etc. His writings and plays proved to be the catalyst for the labour movement of the twentieth century. His writings reflect a deep sensitivity to the questions of subaltern groups which includes working class, untouchables, women etc. As most of his writings are from literary perspectives, it is essential to contextualize his works and contribution to labour movement in a historical perspective. Though Anna Bhau played phenomenal role towards Indian labour movement, it has gone un-noticed by history scholarship and is excluded from the mainstream history of Indian labour movement. This paper is an attempt to understand his varied contribution towards the Indian labour movement through his varied forms of literature