Baburao Bagul (1930–2008) was an Indian Marathi writer, poet, and playwright. A pioneer of modern literature in Marathi, he is often associated with the Dalit literary movement when it experienced a radical departure from the past, with the advent of Dalit writers such as him. He is most known for his works such as, Jevha Mi Jaat Chorli Hoti! (1963), Maran Swasta Hot Ahe (1969), Sahitya Ajache Kranti Vigyan, Sud (1970), and Ambedkar Bharat (1981).
Baburao Ramaji Bagul was born in Nasik on 17 July 1930. After high school education, he did various manual jobs until 1968. While doing so, he published several stories in magazines, which started getting attention from Marathi readers. Eventually in 1963, came his first collection of stories, Jevha Mi Jat Chorali (When I Hid My Caste), it created a stir in Marathi literature with its passionate depiction of a crude society and thus brought in new momentum to Modern Marathi literature; today it is seen by many critics as the epic of the downtrodden. Bagul played a significant role in shaping the literary landscape by addressing social issues and advocating for the rights of the marginalized.
He followed it up with a collection of poems, Akar (Shape) (1967), which gave immediate visibility, but it was his second collection of short stories Maran Swasta Hot Ahe (Death is Getting Cheaper) (1969), which cemented his position as an important enlightened voice of his generation. The collection is now considered an important landmark in Dalit writing in India and in 1970 he was awarded the ‘Harinarayan Apte Award’ by the Government of Maharashtra.
Bagul was an Ambedkarite Buddhist. After 1968, he became a full-time writer of literature which continued to deal with the lives of marginalized downtrodden people in Maharashtra. His fictional writing gave graphic accounts of the lives of that class of people. The thoughts of B. R. Ambedkar, Jyotiba Phule, and Karl Marx had an influence on Bagul’s mind. Baburao Bagul’s contributions to literature have earned him recognition and acclaim, particularly for his courage in addressing social issues that were often overlooked or suppressed. He passed away on June 17, 2008, but his literary legacy continues to inspire and influence writers and readers interested in social justice and equality.