Omprakash Valmiki (30 June 1950 – 17 November 2013) was an Indian writer and poet. Well known for his autobiography, ''Jootan'', considered a milestone in Dalit literature. He was born at the village of Barla in the

Muzzafarnagar Muzaffarnagar (, ) is a city under Muzaffarnagar district in the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated midway on the Delhi - Haridwar/Dehradun National Highway ( NH 58) and is also well connected with the national railway network. It ...

district of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

. After retirement from Government Ordnance Factory he lived in

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

where he died of complications arising out of stomach cancer on 17 November 2013. Besides ''Jootan''(his biography) (1997) Valmiki published three collections of poetry: ''Sadiyon Ka Santaap'' (1989), ''Bas! Bahut Ho Chuka'' (1997), and ''Ab Aur Nahin'' (2009). He also wrote two collections of short stories, ''Salaam'' (2000), and ''Ghuspethiye'' (2004). In addition, he wrote ''Dalit Sahitya Ka Saundaryshaastra'' (2001) and a history of the Valmiki community, ''Safai Devata'' (2009), ''Do Chera (a play). His 15 short stories have been translated into English by Naresh K. Jain for the collection ''Amma and Other Stories in 2008.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valmiki, Omprakash Dalit writers 1950 births 2013 deaths