1.Coming out as a Dalit by Yashica Dutt - Winner of this year’s Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puruskaar, Yashica’s book is a memoir about her acceptance of her caste. Yashica was educated in Delhi and Columbia University where she realised the importance of her identity as a Dalit. After Rohit Vemula’s death, Yashica came out as a Dalit to friends and colleagues which gave her a taste of a different kind of liberation, freeing her from the burden of hiding her caste. The memoir is an account of a journalist’s journey of self-acceptance and a long fight for equality. This book can be put in the category of contemporary Dalit literature.
2.Annihilation of Caste by B.R Ambedkar - B.R Ambedkar is well known for his struggle for caste equality in India. The present anti-caste movement is Ambedkar’s legacy. Annihilation of caste is the bible for the Dalit-Bahujan community. As suggested by many, this should be the first book to start one’s journey in Dalit literature. Ambedkar through his nuanced understanding of caste critiques the existing superstructures which are inherently casteist and exclusive of the upper caste. Annihilation of caste is a classic and will never go out of time.
3.Gypsy Goddess by Meena Kandasamy - Meena Kandasamy’s book is a story set in Tamil Nadu where she takes her readers through a fierce tug of war between Dalit labourers (the peasants in the book) and cruel upper-caste landlords. The plot is the epitome of resistance, power of unity and power imbalance between the two communities. Based on the true incident of the Kilvenmani massacre of 1968, Kandasamy’s gripping narrative pulls her reader by the collar and shows them the harsh reality of caste discrimination in India.
4.Why I Am Not a Hindu: A Sudra Critique of Hindutva Philosophy, Culture and Political economy by Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd - Kancha Ilaiah’s book is a critique of Hinduism through a Shudra lens. Here, the author is blunt in his narrative. He brings Savarna and DalitBahujan people side by side and compares the different childhood and lives they have lived. As exclusionary as Hinduism is, Kancha holds up to his narrative of Hinduism belonging only to Svarnas like Brahmins and Baniyas because of cultural differences created by untouchability. In his book, the author’s criticism is through personal experience which makes it stand out.
5.Bhimayana: Incidents in the Life of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar by Subhash Vyam, S. Anand, Srividya Natarajan and Durga Bai Vyom - Published by Navyana, Bhimayana is a graphic narrative of incidences from B.R Ambedkar’s life. Apart from stories from an anti-caste hero’s life, Bhimayana is exceptional in its graphic art. Durgabai Vyom and Subhas Vyam’s Gond art is aesthetically pleasing but at the same time, overlaps with the shared identity of exclusion of DalitBahujan and Adivasi communities. It is a coming together of two identities that pay an ode to Ambedkar’s struggle as a Dalit. The language is lucid and easy which makes it accessible for both adults and kids alike.
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