Synopses & Reviews
Every sixth human being in the world today is an Indian, and every sixth Indian is an untouchable. For thousands of years the untouchables, or Dalits, the people at the bottom of the Hindu caste system, have been treated as subhuman. In this remarkable book, at last giving voice to Indias voiceless, Narendra Jadhav tells the awe-inspiring story of his familys struggle for equality and justice in India. Based on his fathers diaries and family stories, Jadhav has written the triumphant story of his parentstheir great love, unwavering courage, and eventual victory in the struggle to free themselves and their children from the caste system. He vividly brings his parents world to light and unflinchingly documents the lives of untouchablesthe hunger, the cruel humiliations, the perpetual fear, and the brutal abuse. Untouchables is an eye-opening work that gives readers insight into the lives of Indias 165 million Dalits, whose struggle for equality continues even today.
Synopsis
Jadhav marches in the vanguard of a trend that is eviscerating the caste.”
International Herald TribuneThis moving story of perseverance from a sector of India rarely represented to American readers will be a standard text on Indian and Dalit themes for years to come.”Library Journal
About the Author
Narendra Jadhav was born in Mumbai, India. He is currently the principal adviser and chief economist for the Reserve Bank of India and is the author of seven books and more than seventy research papers.