Stree-Samya Books

https://frontline.thehindu.com/books/mandira-sen-stree-samya-dalit-publishing/article70876823.ece

Mandira Sen on Dalit Publishing and Editorial Freedom (2026) Publisher Mandira Sen explains why Stree-Samya refuses to sanitise Dalit literature for English readers, and how corporate publishing threatens radical ideas. Read on.

Glad to announce that the reprint edition of
UNDER MY DARK SKIN FLOWS A RED RIVER: TRANSLATIONS OF DALIT WRITINGS FROM BENGAL (Translated and edited by Devi Chatterjee and Sipra Mukherjee) PRICE Rs 999
are now available at the IKBF at stall nos E24 (Antonym), E 76 (Leftword) and E80 (Sampark)

These words sung by Panchu Shah in the eighteenth century pinpoint the absurdity of the caste system that has always been attacked by the so-called lower castes — Shudras and Atishudras/Dalits — of Bengal. Oral literature and early writings in Bengal have offered their trenchant critique from the Charyapada songs of Vajrayana Buddhists between AD ninth and twelfth centuries. Later numerous sects, allegedly Hindu and/or Muslim, known as fakirs, bauls or auls, Sahebdhanis and Kartabharjas, sang of the falsity of social divisions across the two Bengals. These songs that continue to resonate have been, as Mukherjee says, ‘out there on the battleground, fighting inequity and inequality to which the Dalit identity subjects a human being’.
Chatterjee explains that inspired by the Dalit movement in modern India, Dalits have articulated their interests through a wide range of creativity: short stories, poetry, essays and articles, and autobiographies, challenging the Hindu hegemony of mainstream literature, resenting a counter-culture. Urban growth coupled with the aftermath of partition, which as Chatterjee says, wrenched Dalits from ‘their hearths and livelihoods . . .and seized them with
the haunting fear of impending death, led to an efflorescence of their writings.’ Little magazines and presses provided the space, long denied by mainstream publishing. Some of these writings
are found in this anthology. The contributions are from Namasudras, Malos, Rajbanshis, Poundras, and Bauris. Selections from the earlier and current oral tradition in the form of songs
are presented.

Debi Chatterjee retired as Professor in the Department of International Relations, Jadavpur University. Among her recent books is Up Against Caste: Comparative Study of Ambedkar and
Periyar (Rawat, 2019). She is the Founder-Editor of Contemporary Voice of Dalit.

Sipra Mukherjee is Professor, Department of English, West Bengal State University, India. Her publications include The Languages of Religion (Routledge, 2019) and the translation of
Interrogating My Chandal Life: Autobiography of a Dalit by Manoranjan Byapari (Sage-Samya, 2018), which won The Hindu Non-fiction Award, 2019.
Gender Studies,

This reprint edition is now available at the Kolkata Book Fair (28 Jan -9 Feb) at
E24 ( Antonym Collections),
E 74 (Sampark)
&
E 80( Leftword)

Orders open for the Fifth Reprint of our landmark titles from Theorizing Feminism Series.
email: [email protected]

Remembering our predecessors on this day,whose courage, determination and discipline had been exemplary and continues to motivate us.
This Diwali if you want to avail a 20% discount on this book, send a mail to [email protected]
Sharing a few pages that will take you back to a fascinating era, of brave-hearted women freedom fighters and other stalwarts of Bengal

SHARING A POST THAT WE RECEIVED NOTE FROM PUBLISHERS OF PALESTINE. ON THIS NOTE WE ARE SHARING A FEW PAGES FROM ONE OF OUR BESTSELLERS, A WORK VERY CLOSE TO US: MEMORIES OF ARRIVAL (SHARED A FEW EXTRACTS WHICH WE FEEL IS RELEVANT WHEN ATROCITIES ARE PERPETRATED WITH A DELIBERATE MOTIVE: 'humiliation, sorrows and tribulations... are not borne of fate, but rather are the direct consequence of structural violence....'

NOTE FROM PUBLISHERS OF PALESTINE:

Hello publishers,

Thank you for being part of Publishers for Palestine. There are now more than 500 of us!

As you know, we’re organising Read Palestine Week 2024, Nov. 29 to Dec. 5. Like last year, during Read Palestine Week (which starts on Nov. 29, the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People) we will urge readers to read fiction and poetry by Palestinian and Palestinian diaspora authors, and nonfiction about Palestinian history, politics, arts, culture, and life, as well as books about organising, resistance, and solidarity for a Free Palestine. We will encourage readers to post on social media about their favourite Palestine books, to quote from their favourite authors, and to make learning more about Palestine an act of solidarity, using the hashtags , and .

This year, the message will turn more to action and disruption. We will urge readers, as poet Rasha Abdulhadi has written, to "wherever you are, whatever sand you can throw on the gears of genocide, do it now."

How can you participate? We need your books!

We’re creating a Free Palestine Reading List of e-books that will be offered for free download from Nov. 29-Dec. 5. We are asking publishers who have signed the P4P solidarity statement to submit up to three titles that they will offer for free download, and we will include them on the reading list with a link to your book’s webpage. (You can see last year's reading list here.)

We want your fiction or poetry written by authors who are Palestinian or in the Palestinian diaspora; Palestinian children's books; or non-fiction about the history of Palestine, Palestine and global politics, Palestinian arts and culture, Palestinian food and agriculture (including cookbooks!), Palestinian lives (memoir and biography); and organising, resistance, and solidarity for a free Palestine.

Books can be published in any language. Publishers are invited to submit up to three titles.

Please obtain consent from your authors first and find ways to compensate them for their work. The donation of ebooks for free download during Read Palestine Week is meant to be a donation made by the publisher and not by the author.

Submit your entry using this form. Deadline for submissions is Tuesday, Nov. 10, 17:00 EDT.

What if you don’t have a book about Palestine or by a Palestinian author. Can you still participate?

Yes! We’ll need you to help spread the word when we publicly launch the Read Palestine Week campaign in November. We’ll send another email next month to let you know how you can help amplify the message.

We’re also reaching out to indie bookstores and librarians, asking them to join us by creating Read Palestine displays and social media posts. If you have connections with indie bookshops and librarians in your community, we would love you to reach out. They can contact us at this email address if they want to know more.

Solidarity,

the Publishers for Palestine planning committee

Fondly revisiting one of our bestsellers: The Weave of my life. From the extracts you will get a picture how others react when a dalit lady gives birth to a boy.
For orders contact [email protected]

Revisiting a Feminist Reader that is very close to our heart. Also sharing excerpts from Susie Tharu's Foreword that is very relevant in the context of contemporary times.
For orders write to [email protected]