Daya Pawar

Daya Pawar (1935-1996) was born in Dhamangaon, Maharashtra in 1935. Primarily a poet, he published his first poem in the Dalit literary journal Asmitadarsh in 1967. His first collection of poems, Kondvada, appeared in 1974 and won the Maharashtra Government Award for literature. In 1979, he won the award for the second time for Baluta. Apart from these, his published works include Chavdi and Dalit Jaanivaa—both collections of his essays on Dalit literature, culture and politics—and Vittal, a book of short stories. He also wrote the screenplay for Jabbar Patel’s film Dr.Ambedkar. He received the Government of India’s Padma Shri Award in 1990.