Datta Bhagat

Datta Bhagat (born 13 June 1945 in Waghi village of Nanded district Maharashtra) is a noted Marathi playwright and one of the leaders of the Dalit theater movement in Marathi. He is a professor of Marathi at the Ambedkar Marathwada University in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

His play Avart (whirlpool) was critically acclaimed for its use of the traditional forms of dindi and tamasha to reflect on Dalit oppression against the background of a pilgrimage to Pandharpur. His other play Wata Palwata (Routes and Escapes) is also well known and included in the collection of Indian plays Drama Contemporary by Erin B Mee. It is considered to be 'a milestone in Marathi theater'. He is also noted for his literary criticism, particularly the essay Dalit chetna aur Marathi Dalit Rangmanch (Dalit consciousness and Marathi Dalit theater).