The Trauma of Caste: A Dalit Feminist Meditation on Survivorship, Healing, and Abolition
- Downloads：1398
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-08-31 19:21:45
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Thenmozhi Soundararajan
- ISBN：1623177650
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Summary
For readers of Caste and Radical Dharma， an urgent call to action to end caste apartheid， grounded in Dalit feminist abolition and engaged Buddhism。
“Dalit” is the name that we chose for ourselves when Brahminism declared us “untouchable。” Dalit means broken。 Broken by suffering。 Broken by caste: the world’s oldest， longest-running dominator system…yet although “Dalit” means broken， it also means resilient。
Despite its ban more than 70 years ago， caste is thriving。 Every 15 minutes， a crime is perpetrated against a Dalit person。 The average age of death for Dalit women is just 39。 And the wreckages of caste are replicated here in the U。S。， too—erupting online with rape and death threats， showing up at work， and forcing countless Dalits to live in fear of being outed。
Dalit American activist Thenmozhi Soundararajan puts forth a call to awaken and act， not just for readers in South Asia， but all around the world。 She ties Dalit oppression to fights for liberation among Black， Indigenous， Latinx， femme， and Queer communities， examining caste from a feminist， abolitionist， and Dalit Buddhist perspective—and laying bare the grief， trauma， rage， and stolen futures enacted by Brahminical social structures on the caste-oppressed。
Soundararajan’s work includes embodiment exercises， reflections， and meditations to help readers explore their own relationship to caste and marginalization—and to step into their power as healing activists and changemakers。 She offers skills for cultivating wellness within dynamics of false separation， sharing how both oppressor and oppressed can heal the wounds of caste and transform collective suffering。
Incisive and urgent， The Trauma of Caste is an activating beacon of healing and liberation， written by one of the world’s most needed voices in the fight to end caste apartheid。
“Dalit” is the name that we chose for ourselves when Brahminism declared us “untouchable。” Dalit means broken。 Broken by suffering。 Broken by caste: the world’s oldest， longest-running dominator system…yet although “Dalit” means broken， it also means resilient。
Despite its ban more than 70 years ago， caste is thriving。 Every 15 minutes， a crime is perpetrated against a Dalit person。 The average age of death for Dalit women is just 39。 And the wreckages of caste are replicated here in the U。S。， too—erupting online with rape and death threats， showing up at work， and forcing countless Dalits to live in fear of being outed。
Dalit American activist Thenmozhi Soundararajan puts forth a call to awaken and act， not just for readers in South Asia， but all around the world。 She ties Dalit oppression to fights for liberation among Black， Indigenous， Latinx， femme， and Queer communities， examining caste from a feminist， abolitionist， and Dalit Buddhist perspective—and laying bare the grief， trauma， rage， and stolen futures enacted by Brahminical social structures on the caste-oppressed。
Soundararajan’s work includes embodiment exercises， reflections， and meditations to help readers explore their own relationship to caste and marginalization—and to step into their power as healing activists and changemakers。 She offers skills for cultivating wellness within dynamics of false separation， sharing how both oppressor and oppressed can heal the wounds of caste and transform collective suffering。
Incisive and urgent， The Trauma of Caste is an activating beacon of healing and liberation， written by one of the world’s most needed voices in the fight to end caste apartheid。
Reviews
Ashley Hart
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This was an amazing explanation of the caste system as well as the horrifying realities of the Dalits throughout south Asia and those of the diaspora。 I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley。 The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own。
Prakarsha Pilla
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Thenmozhi Soundararajan， whom you might be knowing as @dalitdiva on instagram， is a Tamil immigrant in the USA。 She writes about how casteism is practiced among immigrants too and how it affects their lifestyle and mental health， among other things。 She works through her organisation， Equality Labs， to create awareness in the USA about caste discrimination that Indians face in universities and offices。 She also gives instances of how she felt like an outsider at numerous places because of her ca Thenmozhi Soundararajan， whom you might be knowing as @dalitdiva on instagram， is a Tamil immigrant in the USA。 She writes about how casteism is practiced among immigrants too and how it affects their lifestyle and mental health， among other things。 She works through her organisation， Equality Labs， to create awareness in the USA about caste discrimination that Indians face in universities and offices。 She also gives instances of how she felt like an outsider at numerous places because of her caste。 She documents the anti-caste movements in the diaspora and how， at each level， they faced resistance。 She also focuses on the events in India in the last few years and their affect on the themes of this book。 Her work is direct， on-point and with a strong conviction for everything she says。 Her writing apparently stems from extensive research alongside personal experience。 Because when we talk about social justice， experiences of living people are as vital as past research。I believe that to get a better understanding of this book， one should have basic knowledge of caste system and its consequences。 Then it would be easier to read the impact of caste on Indian diaspora。 For example， she wrote about casteism in various religions， which I didn't know until I read this。 The author also narrates the impact of caste on other aspects of social justice like police， law， etc。 which I already had a basic idea about。 It is always better to learn about sensitive topics like these from someone's experiences than from the internet and media。What I liked about this book is how she questions those who presume that they aren't casteist。 She makes us realise that casteism is practiced in indirect ways so nobody elaborates on casteism like how they do racism and sexism。It is a short read and can be read in one or two times。 The english and the narration are simple enough so anyone can go for it。 Thank you for the review copy on Netgalley。 My review is voluntary。 。。。more
Nushki
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Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book。As someone who is trying to find their place in Hinduism， I found this book enlightening。 This is a powerful book that really delves into the realities of life for dalits and the marginalisation of regular people due to inane rules。It was fascinating to learn about the history of caste and caste based privilege， and then go on to learn about caste discrimination in modern South Asia and the diaspora in the west。Soundararajan has an eloquent and pass Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book。As someone who is trying to find their place in Hinduism， I found this book enlightening。 This is a powerful book that really delves into the realities of life for dalits and the marginalisation of regular people due to inane rules。It was fascinating to learn about the history of caste and caste based privilege， and then go on to learn about caste discrimination in modern South Asia and the diaspora in the west。Soundararajan has an eloquent and passionate voice and I recommend this book for anyone interested in the realities of Hinduism。 。。。more
Janie
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Thanks to Netgalley and North Atlantic Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review！ This was a fantastic book - I'm not Hindu， and even as an Indian American I've always felt disconnected from the concept of caste， until I went back to India a few years back and heard my relatives talking about someone being in a different caste than us。 I didn't realize we were even considered part of the caste system， much less that anyone in our family actually took it at any value - o Thanks to Netgalley and North Atlantic Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review！ This was a fantastic book - I'm not Hindu， and even as an Indian American I've always felt disconnected from the concept of caste， until I went back to India a few years back and heard my relatives talking about someone being in a different caste than us。 I didn't realize we were even considered part of the caste system， much less that anyone in our family actually took it at any value - obviously this book doesn't heavily delve into Kerala and Christians in the caste system （though it definitely mentions it）， but it's a fantastic and well-needed piece。 There's so much about caste that gets unsaid by our community， and even less caste-oppressed voices that are given the chance to actually speak about it。 I'll definitely have to reread this book in the future - I wasn't really in the mood for a nonfiction piece unfortunately so I think I'd just absorb more with reading it when I'm in the mood， but even with that I found myself interested in this book， and I think it's just an overall great book to read， so thanks again to the publisher for allowing me the chance to read it。 。。。more
Reading_ Tamishly
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