Podcast Summary

New Books Network: Coming Out as Dalit with Yashika Dutt

Guest: Yashika Dutt (journalist and author)
Host: Ajantha Subramanian (Professor of Anthropology, CUNY)
Date: March 2, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth conversation between host Ajantha Subramanian and journalist/memoirist Yashika Dutt, centering on Dutt’s critically acclaimed memoir Coming Out as Dalit. The discussion explores the genre and politics of Dalit autobiographical writing, the complexities of caste identity and 'passing', interrelations of caste, class, and gender, the impact of Black feminist thought on Dalit self-assertion, and the shifting terrain of caste politics in India and the US diaspora. The two also address contemporary activist concerns, including the visibility of caste in US public life and political campaigns.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Memoir as Dalit Testimony

[02:37-08:27]

• Why Write a Memoir?
  Yashika explains that her memoir emerged in the wake of the 2016 suicide of Rohith Vemula, a Dalit scholar whose life and death highlighted persistent caste discrimination. She "came out" as Dalit publicly in this context, realizing the unique power and necessity for Dalits to tell their own stories.
  • "The only kind of story that we are credited with telling is the one that is our own... unless they could see me bleed on the page." — Yashika Dutt [07:37]
• Memoir as Movement:
  The genre allows for scaling between individual experience and broader social structures, challenging the idea that Dalit stories are only personal rather than social and political.

Gender, Family, and Ambivalent Feminism

[08:27-14:08]

• Dalit Maternal Feminism:
  Yashika discusses her mother's everyday acts of rebellion against patriarchal norms, particularly in conservative Rajasthan of the 1990s, emphasizing equal treatment and access to education for daughters.
  • "My mother raised me in tiny rebellions every day... she had to fight against not only her in-laws but even her immediate family." — Yashika Dutt [11:23]
• Feminism Outside Movements:
  Her mother’s feminism was not about organized activism but about everyday equality and resistance to both caste and gender oppression.

Assimilation, Class Mobility, and 'Passing'

[14:08-21:34]

• Adopting Dominant Norms:
  The drive for class mobility among Dalits often involves assimilating Brahminical-patriarchal norms—sometimes at the cost of erasing or hiding Dalit identity.
  • "It's not even just a class aspiration... it's more about assimilation into caste mobility, which is understandably not possible." — Yashika Dutt [16:07]
• Sanitation Labor and Family Histories:
  Dutt discusses her grandmother’s work as a manual scavenger and the harsh realities faced by working Dalit women.

Fear of Exposure and Internal Community Debates

[19:13-26:28]

• Passing and Its Pressures:
  Dutt candidly addresses the lived reality of passing as upper-caste, the psychological toll of potential exposure, and the backlash from other Dalits who critique such 'passing'.
  • "A lot more people pass as dominant caste than we know or understand... There has to be a space for people who are going through those tensions in their lives." — Yashika Dutt [21:34]
• Empathy and Difference within Dalit Experience:
  Rejecting a monolithic Dalit identity, Dutt underlines that regional, familial, and social differences greatly shape how individuals navigate caste.

Education, Mobility, and the Limits of Inclusion

[26:28-30:05]

• Education as a Double-Edged Sword:
  The conversation addresses how, even with increased educational attainment, caste discrimination and stigma persist.
  • "Education is necessary but insufficient... There needs to be a much broader revaluing of caste, of labor." — Ajantha Subramanian [27:47]
• Rohith Vemula’s Legacy:
  The institutional pressures that led to Vemula’s suicide highlight the ongoing trauma of marginalization within elite spaces.

Dalit Thought and Black Feminist Influence

[30:05-35:46]

• Transnational Inspirations:
  Dutt describes the transformative effect of Black feminist thought and African-American civil rights histories on her own Dalit identity and activism in the US.
  • "Reading those works gave me the courage to also accept my own identity in a big way... having the distance from India... allowed me to be brave." — Yashika Dutt [32:06]
  • "Race and caste are not the same... it flattens the nuances of both." — Yashika Dutt [35:34]
• Solidarity and Difference:
  She expresses both kinship and caution, noting the differences between caste and race hierarchies and the danger of simplistic analogies.

Caste in the Indian Diaspora: US Context

[35:46-43:09]

• Caste’s (In)Visibility in the US:
  In the US, caste is often rendered invisible or denied by dominant-caste South Asians, and legal/policy frameworks lack anti-caste protections found in India.
  • "Caste is invisible more than it is back home... There are very different aspects of how caste operates here." — Yashika Dutt [36:16]
• Recent Political Pushback and Erasure:
  Dutt discusses current attempts to frame anti-caste advocacy as "Hinduphobia", making caste even harder to address in US policy and public discourse.
• Indian American Monoculture:
  Dominant-caste diasporic narratives are challenged by the increasing presence and activism of Dalit Americans.

Caste and Political Organizing: The Zoran Mandani Campaign

[43:09-53:28]

• Caste Advocacy in Practice:
  The host inquires about caste as a theme in the recent successful campaign of Zoran Mandani for New York City mayor. Despite being a co-sponsor of a caste protection bill and allied with Dalit activists, Mandani downplayed caste during his campaign for strategic reasons amidst Islamophobic and racist backlash.
  • "The narrative around caste was completely erased... And that absence speaks about the current state of the anti-caste movement here in the US." — Yashika Dutt [47:47]
• Strategic Silences and Future Accountability:
  Dalits and allies must ensure anti-caste issues stay on the agenda post-election, particularly as Dalits form a significant constituency in New York City.
  • "We cannot let it be forgotten... it's up to us as New Yorkers, as Dalit folks... to hold him accountable." — Yashika Dutt [52:30]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "They need to see us bleed, and only then our stories are believed." — Yashika Dutt [07:20]
• "Was [my mother] an organizer... leading nonprofit organizations? No, but my mother was a feminist because she maintained the fact that we had to be equal." — Yashika Dutt [12:52]
• "For people who make the choice to just assimilate, to put their head down... that makes their already extremely challenging lives 5% easier. I think that is a valid choice." — Yashika Dutt [14:52]
• "Place matters. Every choice is structured... it's not that some are free and some are unfree." — Ajantha Subramanian [24:53]
• "Education is necessary but insufficient... there needs to be a much broader sort of revaluing of caste, of labor." — Ajantha Subramanian [27:47]
• "Having the distance from India is also what you described as bravery, allowed me to be brave." — Yashika Dutt [32:17]
• "When we move here to the US, we don't need anybody to tell us there is a racial caste system here in place." — Yashika Dutt [33:53]
• "That absence [of Dalit visibility] speaks about the current state of the anti-caste movement here in the US." — Yashika Dutt [47:57]
• "It is now up to us... to hold him accountable, to make sure that caste is a part of the conversation." — Yashika Dutt [52:30]

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [00:09] Introduction and guest background
• [02:37] Origins and impact of Coming Out as Dalit memoir
• [08:27] Discussion of Yashika’s mother, feminism, and family struggles
• [14:08] Adoption of dominant-caste norms and mobility in Dalit families
• [19:13] Fear of exposure, 'passing', and intra-community responses
• [26:28] Education, mental health, and the problem of institutional discrimination
• [30:05] Black feminism, transnational solidarity, and identity transformation in the US
• [35:46] Differences in caste’s functioning in India vs. the US
• [43:09] New York politics, Zoran Mandani’s mayoral campaign, and caste coalition debates
• [52:30] Final thoughts: accountability, solidarity, and hope for Dalit visibility in politics

Closing Thoughts

The episode underscores the political and personal complexities of Dalit identity and activism, the value and limitations of memoir, and the evolving landscape of anti-caste struggles both in India and the diaspora. Dutt’s work is praised for opening space for empathy, difficult conversations, and new forms of solidarity across geographies and movements. The conversation closes with a call for ongoing visibility, pressure, and community accountability in the wider anti-caste movement, especially in US public life.