A Discussion on Caste: From Admission to Accountability

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On the heels of Dalit History Month, we at NRI Affairs, wanted to begin a conversation on caste that looks at this social evil from the lens of the caste and generationally privileged, one that accepts that caste discrimination exists, that we continue to benefit from it, and explores ways to take greater collective and individual accountability.   

We share our own journeys of learning about caste with the hope that it opens dialogue on the need for a clear-eyed acknowledgement of our legacies of discrimination, uncomfortable as it may be, with the hope that we can then choose positive change.

The premise of this conversation is that there is now enough literature and material available for the caste privileged to educate ourselves on the systemic discrimination and cruelty of the caste system, and it is incumbent upon each of us to work towards the annihilation of caste, in whichever way we can. 

We acknowledge the mental labour and the often uncompensated heavy lifting that Dalit and Bahujan voices are often called upon to do, in the guise of platforming, which by and large requires very little introspection or personal accountability on the part of the savarna spaces that invite them in.

Finally, our hope is that through a series of such conversations and engagement, both within privileged spaces, and with the empowered inclusion of the deliberately marginalised, we arrive at a collective framework  - more a living document- that gives us the language, the actionable insights, and the centering of intrinsic human dignity of all, towards a caste free and equitable society.

Joining us on the panel are:
Author and activist, Rheea Mukherjee, student and anti-caste activist, Avyaya Singh, and scholar on diversity and cultural economics, Mudit Vyas.

Select reading recommendations:
Annihilation of Caste, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
Kavya Phule and Bavan Kashi Subodh Ratnakar, Savitribai Phule
I could not be Hindu, The story of a Dalit in the RSS, Bhanwar Meghwanshi
Dalits and the Democratic Revolution, Gail Omvedt
Brahmins and Non Brahmins, MSS Pandian
Buffalo Nationalism: A Critique of Spiritual Fascism, Kancha IIaiah
The Mahatma and the ism, E.M.S. Namboodiripad
Joothan, Om Prakash Valmiki
Murdahiya, Dr. Tulsi Ram
(Some recommendations from the Itihas Project)

Other resources:
Ambedkarite Buddhist Publishers https://navayan.com/publications.php
Round Table India, For an informed Ambedkar Age https://www.roundtableindia.co.in/

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