Yashica Dutt is joining us on the Busboys stage to share her life experiences and research into caste-ism, both in India and in the United States. Copies of the book will be available for purchase during and after the event, and Dutt will be signing following the program.

This event is free to guests who RSVP in advance. You must RSVP in order to gain entrance into the event space. We will not allow guests in without RSVP-ing through this Eventbrite page. Our program begins at 7:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of COMING OUT AS DALIT will be available for purchase before and after the event. Please note that this event is in person and will not be livestreamed.

Guests must RSVP in order to receive direct updates about the event from Busboys and Poets Books

Yashica Dutt is a journalist, an activist, an award-winning writer, and a leading feminist voice on caste. Born “in a formerly untouchable ‘lower’ caste family,” she passed as dominant caste to survive discrimination. Dutt moved to New Delhi at 17 and became one of the most widely-read culture journalists at a leading English language paper. Eventually coming out as Dalit, she introduced this expression which powerfully resonated in India. Her site, Documents of Dalit Discrimination, was among the first highly visible media spaces for caste oppressed people. Dutt’s work has been published in the New York Times, Foreign Policy and the Atlantic, and she has been featured on The BBC, The Guardian, and PBS NewsHour. Dutt lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Gaurav J. Pathania, a sociology professor at Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia, focuses on studying caste, class, and racial discrimination within diaspora communities. He is the author of "The University as a Site of Resistance'' (Oxford University Press) and serves as the deputy editor at the 'South Asia Research' Journal. Gaurav is also known as anti-caste activist, poet and writer. He recently made his debut in Ava DuVernay's 2024 film 'ORIGIN.'