Volga as an international agent of feminist translation

This chapter traces the travel and trajectory of ‘feminism’ from the global sociopolitical contexts to Telugu sociopolitical context through translation. Within the Telugu context, feminism, which has been perceived as a Western idea, with a potential to divide the native social movements, has therefore encountered serious resistance. Many Telugu feminist writers and translators have tried to remove these misconceptions through their writings and translations. This chapter explores the seminal role played by Volga, a well-known Telugu feminist translator, as an agent of English to Telugu translations. In particular, it deals with the opposition to the translation of feminist texts or ideas into Telugu and Volga’s resistance in this regard, by using translation as a tool to stimulate a debate on feminist politics, thereby establishing feminism as a serious discipline of critical thought, consequently claiming an acceptability to the discussion on feminism in the public sphere. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the critique of Volga by the Dalit feminist thinkers and Volga’s engagement with this critique through contemporary Dalit-Bahujan feminist translations perceived as indicative of the growth of feminist/Dalit feminist literature in Telugu context.