Dalit author gets Special Contribution on Earth Award

Eminent Dalit scholar, Kanwal Bharti, who had backed IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal in her face-off with Uttar Pradesh government in 2013, has been selected for a literary award by Delhi-based Hindi Academy.
Bharti, a Dalit author from Rampur, would be given the Special Contribution on Earth Award for penning books related to Dalits and their problems on March 26 along with a cash prize of one lakh rupee in the national capital, Jeet Ram Bhatt, Secretary, Hindi Academy said in a letter dated March 17.
He was arrested for his facebook post targeting senior Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan following the suspension of Nagpal who had cracked down on illegal sand mining in Ghaziabad.

In his Facebook post, Bharti had written that it is the 'will and wish' of the urban development minister Azam Khan which prevails and not the law of the land.
Bharti was later arrested on the complaint of Azam Khan's aide who accused him of making derogatory remarks against the Minister.
Bharti has written more than 20 books on the Dalit community and their problems while remaining affiliated with 'Ambedkar Movement' and attacked fundamentalism.
His book "Why Dr Ambedkar adopted Buddhism" became immensely popular while Urdu translation of his another book "God Bhrama and Soul" was published in Britain by Ambedkar Memorial Committee.

Bharti also worked for years as Associate Editor of a Hindi weekly 'Rampur Shahkari Yuga'.