Who was Annabhau Sathe, whose statue will be unveiled in Moscow on Wednesday?

The statue of activist-author Annabhau Sathe is set to be unveiled at the All-Russia State Library for Foreign Literature in Moscow tomorrow, according to several media reports.

An oil painting of Sathe is also set to be unveiled at the Indian consulate.

But who is Sathe? Why is he being honoured?

Let’s take a closer look:

Life and career

Born 1 August, 1920, in Sangli, Tukaram Bhaurao Sathe,  popularly known as Annabhau Sathe, was a social reformer, actor, folk poet, and Dalit writer.

He is widely regarded as the Father of Dalit literature and has contributed extensively to the Ambedkarite movement, as per Deccan Herald.

Sathe participated in the freedom struggle and the Samyukta Maharashtra movement and was prominent in the Indian People’s Theatre Association, as per the report.

As per Indian Express, Sathe’s family left the village in 1930 and came to Mumbai.

It was here that Sathe worked as a porter, a hawker and even a cotton mill helper.

In 1934, Sathe participated in a workers’ strike under the leadership of Lal Bawta Mill Workers Union.

It was during his days at the Matunga Labour Camp that Sathe got to know RB More, an associate of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in the famous ‘Chavdar Lake’ satyagraha at Mahad, and joined the labour study circle.

Being a Dalit, he was denied schooling in his village.

It was here that he learned to read and write.

Sathe penned his first poem on the menace of mosquitoes in the labour camp, as per the report.

He also formed Dalit Yuvak Sangh, which performed in front of mill gates, and started writing poems on workers’ protests and agitations.

The Russian connection

At this time, the Progressive Writers Association was formed at the national level with Premchand, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Manto, Ismat Chugtai, Rahul Sankrutyayan, Mulkraj Anand as its members.

It was the group’s translations of Maxim Gorky, Anton Chekhov, Leo Tolstoy, Ivan Turgenev that fascinated Sathe and inspired him.

In 1939, Sathe wrote his first ballad ‘Spanish Povada’.

As per Deccan Herald, Sathe’s work was greatly inspired by the Russian revolution and the Communist ideology.

He was a member of the Communist Party of India (CPI).

Sathe is also regarded as the ‘Maxim Gorky’ of Indian literature, and he was the first Indian whose books including Powada of Stalingrad and My Journey to Russia were prescribed in Russian universities.

He was invited to Russia several times, as per Deccan Herald.

Sathe penned 35 novels, 12 film screenplays, and 10 ballads only in Marathi, as per Deccan Herald.

He wrote 104 works in various genres including Fakira (1959), which bagged the state government’s top literary award in 1961, and in 1963, was made into a Marathi film by the same name with Sathe essaying the title role.

Sathe passed away in 1960.

Move amid 75th anniversary of India-Russia relations

As per Hindustan Times, the programme is part of events being held to mark 75th anniversary of the establishment of India-Russia diplomatic relations under the department of Eurasian Studies, Mumbai University.

As per Hindustan Times, the Margarita Rudomino Foreign Languages Study Centre had installed the bust in memory of Annabhau Sathe two years ago in the institute.  However, it will be formally unveiled tomorrow.

Indian Council For Historical Research (ICHR) president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe told the newspaper, “Today there is a section of people in Moscow who have affection and respect for Annabhau Sathe and it is an honour that his portrait and bust are being inaugurated in Russia.”

With inputs from agencies

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