Although caste continues to be a lived reality in India, school classrooms and textbooks tend to offer a limited understanding of the same to kids and young adults; it is most often reduced to a single chapter on the caste system, a reference to untouchability, or a mere mention while learning about the Constitution of India. This further alienates children from the truth of an oppressive social hierarchy that manifests itself in our day-to-day lives, and makes a lot of them feel that their lived reality is not seen or heard. Against the backdrop of Dalit History Month, we reached out to some voices in Indian literature to curate a reading list that can serve as an introduction to caste for children.

Getting rid of biases

An illustration from The Adventures of Young Ambedkar