Coming Out as Dalit
Yashica Dutt’s award-winning and critically acclaimed non-fiction debut.
In Coming Out as Dalit, Dutt recounts the exhausting burden of living with the secret and how she was terrified of being found out. She talks about the tremendous feeling of empowerment she experienced when she finally stood up for herself and her community and shrugged off the fake upper-caste identity she’d had to construct for herself. As she began to understand the inequities of the caste system, she also had to deal with the crushing guilt of denying her history and the struggles of her grandparents and the many Dalit reformers who fought for equal rights.
In this personal memoir that is also a narrative of the Dalits, she writes about the journey of coming to terms with her identity and takes us through the history of the Dalit movement; the consequences of her community’s lack of access to education and culture; the need for reservation; the paucity of Dalit voices in mainstream media; Dalit women’s movements and their ongoing contributions; and attempts to answer crucial questions about caste and privilege. Woven from personal narratives from her own life as well as that of other Dalits, this book forces us to confront the injustices of caste and also serves as a call to action.
Reviews for Coming Out as Dalit
Business Standard
It is not often that a memoir is able to transcend its writer’s own lived experience to become a powerful social commentary. Journalist Yashica Dutt’s Coming Out as Dalit is one such work.
The Outlook
Coming out as Dalit a memoir by Yashica Dutt’ is a vital and extensively researched commentary not only on Dalit history but what it means to be a Dalit today.
The Hindu
A personal story becomes a powerful social commentary against everyday casteism that often goes unchallenged.
Open Magazine
What it means to be Dalit in India.
Scroll.in
Yashica Dutt’s detailed and emotional memoir weaves political narratives with personal experience.
The Wire
Coming Out as Dalit’s selection as the winner of the 2021 Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar is a reminder of the timelessness of its appeal.
Caravan Magazine
Why Yashica Dutt’s book is an eye opening contribution to Dalit literature.
Hindu Business Line
Yashica Dutt’s memoir unpacks the humiliation — and the accompanying guilt — of growing up and succeeding against the odds of caste discrimination.
