Caste Matters By Suraj Yengde

या स्फोटक पुस्तकात, जगातल्या अनेक खंडांमध्ये शिक्षण घेतलेले पहिल्या पिढीचे दलित अभ्यासक, जातीबाबत खोलवर रुजलेल्या धारणा आणि तिचं बहुस्तरीय स्वरूप विशद करतात. दररोज नरकयातना भोगावा लागणारा दलित आणि प्रेम व विनोदबुद्धीनं भारलेली त्याची अपूर्व बंडखोरीही यात आढळते. दलितांमधील अंतर्गत जातीभेदांपासून ते उच्चभ्रू दलितांचं वर्तन आणि त्यांच्यातील आधुनिक काळातल्या अस्पृश्यतेची विखुरलेली रूपं ब्राह्मणी सिद्धांताच्या अटळ प्रभावाखाली कार्यान्वित असतात. जोवर दलित सत्ता मिळवण्यासाठीच्या लढ्यात नेतृत्वस्थानी नसतील आणि ब्राह्मणवादाविरोधात ब्राह्मण उभे राहणार नाहीत, तोवर जातीचं अस्तित्व राहणार असल्याची मांडणी एंगडे करतात. IN THIS EXPLOSIVE BOOK, SURAJ YENGDE, A FIRST-GENERATION DALIT SCHOLAR EDUCATED ACROSS CONTINENTS, CHALLENGES DEEP-SEATED BELIEFS ABOUT CASTE AND UNPACKS ITS MANY LAYERS. HE DESCRIBES HIS GUT-WRENCHING EXPERIENCES OF GROWING UP IN A DALIT BASTI, THE MULTIPLE HUMILIATIONS SUFFERED BY DALITS ON A DAILY BASIS, AND THEIR INCREDIBLE RESILIENCE ENABLED BY LOVE AND HUMOUR. AS HE BRINGS TO LIGHT THE IMMOVABLE GLASS CEILING THAT EXISTS FOR DALITS EVEN IN POLITICS, BUREAUCRACY AND JUDICIARY, YENGDE PROVIDES AN UNFLINCHINGLY HONEST ACCOUNT OF DIVISIONS WITHIN THE DALIT COMMUNITY ITSELF-FROM THEIR INTERNAL CASTE DIVISIONS TO THE CONDUCT OF ELITE DALITS AND THEIR TOKENIZED FORMS OF MODERN-DAY UNTOUCHABILITY-ALL OPERATING UNDER THE INESCAPABLE INFLUENCES OF BRAHMINICAL DOCTRINES. THIS PATH-BREAKING BOOK REVEALS HOW CASTE CRUSHES HUMAN CREATIVITY AND IS DISTURBINGLY SIMILAR TO OTHER FORMS OF OPPRESSION, SUCH AS RACE, CLASS AND GENDER. AT ONCE A REFLECTION ON INEQUALITY AND A CALL TO ARMS, CASTE MATTERS ARGUES THAT UNTIL DALITS LAY CLAIM TO POWER AND BRAHMINS JOIN HANDS AGAINST BRAHMINISM TO EFFECT REAL TRANSFORMATION, CASTE WILL CONTINUE TO MATTER.