New complexities in Dalit assertion

A thoughtfully put-together volume illuminates the gamut of current struggles and tensions in Dalit politics, encompassing discrimination, representation, as well as their aspirations and anxieties

Dalits in the New Millennium

Editors: Sudha Pai, D Shyam Babu & Rahul Verma

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Pages: 483

Price: Rs 1,195

This book could not have been timed better, coming in the middle of a controversy created by Udhayanidhi Stalin about Sanatan Dharma, the announcement of a bounty on his head by a Hindu seer for his remarks, and the lack of action by the Indian State. These are all issues that directly or indirectly have a bearing on Dalit politics in India.

What set off the storm? “There are certain things that we have to eradicate and cannot merely oppose,” Udhayanidhi, the