Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on September 14 inaugurated the statue of Social reformer, writer and poet Annabhau Sathe at the Maragrita Rudomino All-Russia State Library for Foreign Literature, Moscow.
- An oil painting of Sathe, who passed away in 1969, was also unveiled at the Moscow’s Indian consulate.
Who was Annabhau Sathe?
- Sathe’s work was immensely inspired by the Russian revolution and the Communist ideology.
- He was a member of the Communist Party of India (CPI), and featured among the selected authors from India whose work was translated in Russian.
- Tukaram Bhaurao Sathe, who later came to be known as Annabhau Sathe, was born in a Dalit family on August 1, 1920 in Maharashtra’s Wategaon village in Satara district.
- Sathe and his group travelled across Mumbai campaigning for workers’ rights.
- Out of the 49 years that he lived, Sathe, who began writing only after the age of 20, churned out 32 novels, 13 collections of short stories, four plays, a travelogue and 11 povadas (ballads).
- Several of his works like ‘Aklechi Goshta,’ ‘Stalingradacha Povada,’ ‘Mazi Maina Gavavar Rahili,’ ‘Jag Badal Ghaluni Ghav’ were popular across the state.
- His ‘Bangalchi Hak’ (Bengal’s Call) on the Bengal famine was translated into Bengali and later presented at London’s Royal Theatre.
- His literature depicted the caste and class reality of Indian society of that time.
