This Dalit History Month, it is more important than ever to understand the realities of the caste system, and the crude ways in which it pervades into our daily life and interactions. Literature becomes a powerful tool to communicate these very realities into writing that narrativises those who exist in the margins of society. These works challenge silence, prejudice and the very structures that seek to erase these histories and voices. Here is a list of books you must add to your shelf.
The Blaft Book of Anti-Caste SF
The Blaft Book of Anti-Caste SF is ‘an anthology of weird, fantastic, supernatural, Dalit futurist, & magical realist fiction by writers from South Asia and the diaspora.’ Including writers such as Bama, Gogu Shyamala, Sumit Kumar, Neerav Patel and many more, the book features a mix of original English short stories and works in translation, as well as several comics/graphic narratives.
Dalit Kitchens of Marathwada by Shahu Patole
Translated from Marathi by Bhushan Korgaonkar, this is a landmark book in that it was the first to document the food histories of two Maharashtrian communities, Mahar and Mang. Food and culinary practices are one of the most gruesome ways in which caste discrimination cuts through, and this book explores the politics of maintaining social divisions through food.
Karukku by Bama
This autobiographical book explores the experience of a Dalit Christian woman through the lens of religion and her work as a teacher in a convent. The simplicity of the writing is beautiful, matched by the strength of the emotions attached to small, everyday moments in the author’s life, which somehow manage to touch a deep nerve.
Ants Among Elephants by Sujatha Gidla
Ants Among Elephants traces Sujatha Gidla’s extraordinary yet typical family history, shaped by poverty, political struggle, and the promise of independence that changed little for the oppressed. A moving portrait of love, hardship, and resistance, it becomes a personal history of modern India told from the bottom up.
Dalit Women and the Fullness of Life by Christina Dhanuja
For decades, writing on Dalit women has been shaped by two dominant frameworks: structural analysis and narratives of suffering or resilience. While these remain important, they often leave out the textures of everyday life, how Dalit women experience desire, navigate relationships, negotiate faith, or make meaning of their own identities. Dalit Women and the Fullness of Life addresses this gap.
Water in a Broken Pot by Yogesh Maitreya
In this memoir, Yogesh Maitreya documents his encompassing experiences of pain, loneliness, deprivation, alienation, and the political consciousness of his caste identity. He also writes of his eventual discovery of the written word, literature and the Ambedkarite legacy. He is also the founder of Panther’s Paw Publication, dedicated to publishing works by Dalit and Bahujan writers.
Words Platform Desk
Date 9.4.2026