Join Yashica Dutt, an award-winning journalist and writer on caste, journalism and diaspora in conversation with Maulikraj Shrimali.

The Buffet Institute for Global Affairs — The Race, Caste and Colorism project at Northwestern presents a book talk on what it means to be Dalit in the diaspora.

The event is free and open to public.

Attend a book reading and discussion with Yashica Dutt at Oakton College, in conversation with Prof Mohamed Mehdi.

The event is free and open to public.

Join Yashica Dutt to celebrate the release of Coming Out as Dalit and mark the occasion of Amebdkar Jayanti for Dalit History Month.

Yashica Dutt is an accomplished writer, speaker, and community builder. From growing up in a formerly untouchable manual scavenging family in small town India to becoming one of the most recognized openly Dalit journalists across the world, her story is one of aspiration and achievement against all odds. Disillusioned by Indian media’s myopic coverage of Dalits and their lack of representation in newsrooms, Dutt launched "Documents of Dalit Discrimination" (https://dalitdiscrimination.tumblr.com/ )— a one of its kind safe space for Dalits to discuss their trauma with caste based discrimination and seek solidarity and support from shared experiences, which also led to her writing Coming Out as Dalit.


Coming Out as Dalit won the Sahitya Akademi Puruskar (India's National Academy of Letters' Young Author Award) in 2020, and its US edition includes reflections on caste in the Indian diaspora. Join us for what will be an insightful and historic conversation!

Yashica will be in conversation with Soumya Rachel Shailendra.

Soumya Rachel Shailendra is a PhD student in Comparative Literary Studies and Asian Languages and Cultures at Northwestern University. She holds a Mellon Cluster fellowship in Comparative Race and Diaspora Studies. Located at the intersection of Black studies and memory studies, Soumya’s research interrogates the affective structures of caste by studying the sonic and formal registers of lamentation and mourning rituals in twentieth century African American and Dalit literatures. Soumya’s project draws on the transnational and transracial solidarity between the Black power and anti-caste movements of the early 1970s to examine the “inner-life” of caste as represented in Dalit and African American writings. She is also interested in Dalit epistemologies, liberation theologies, decolonial thought, and the Black radical tradition. She is proficient in Hindi, Marathi, and Malayalam.

The event is free and open to public. Seating might be limited. RSVP to reserve your spot.

Join Yashica Dutt for a Dalit History Month conversation at Brown University.

For readers of Caste, the coming-of-age story of a Dalit individual that illuminates systemic injustice in India and its growing impact on US society

“A moving personal story and a useful educational examination of persistent discrimination”—Kirkus Reviews

Winner of the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puruskar, 2020

The event is free and open to public.

SAJA Columbia presents Coming Out as Dalit - A memoir of surviving the caste system

Book talk: Yashica Dutt in conversation with Shone Sateesh.

April 17, 5 pm, Stabile Student Center, Columbia Journalism School, Pulitzer Hall, 2950 Broadway, New York, NY 10027

Please join us on April 9th for a reading and Q&A with the author of “Coming Out as Dalit: A Memoir of Surviving the Indian Caste System”, the critically acclaimed Winner of the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puruskar, 2020.

Coming Out as Dalit: a Memoir of Surviving India's Caste System

Born into a "formerly untouchable manual-scavenging family in small-town India," Yashica Dutt was taught from a young age to not appear “Dalit looking.” Although prejudice against Dalits, who compose 25% of the population, has been illegal since 1950, caste-ism in India is alive and well. Blending her personal history with extensive research and reporting, Dutt provides an incriminating analysis of caste’s influence in India over everything from entertainment to judicial systems and how this discrimination has carried over to US institutions.

Dutt traces how colonial British forces exploited and perpetuated a centuries old caste system, how Gandhi could have been more forceful in combatting prejudice, and the role played by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, whom Isabel Wilkerson called “the MLK of India’s caste issues” in her book Caste. Alongside her analysis, Dutt interweaves personal stories of learning to speak without a regional accent growing up and desperately using medicinal packs to try to lighten her skin.

Published in India in 2019 to acclaim, this expanded edition includes two new chapters covering how the caste system traveled to the US, its history here, and the continuation of bias by South Asian communities in professional sectors. Amid growing conversations about caste discrimination prompting US institutions including Harvard University, Brandeis University, the University of California system, and the NAACP to add caste as a protected category to their policies, Dutt’s work sheds essential light on the significant influence caste-ism has across many aspects of US society.

Raw and affecting, Coming Out as Dalit brings a new audience of readers into a crucial conversation about embracing Dalit identity, offering a way to change the way people think about caste in their own communities and beyond.

The event is free and open to public.

Exploring Intersectionality: Caste, Gender & Sexuality” Panel at Columbia University in the City of New York. The Panel is designed as a forum to mark Dalit History Month, and is made possible by the University Life at Columbia University, Office of Student Affairs and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Committee at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University. 

The event is scheduled for April 4, 2024 5:30 - 7 pm EST at Columbia University. The panel will feature 3 esteemed speakers: Yashica Dutt, Christina Dhanuja, and Vijeta Kumar. Each speaker would give their opening remarks for 5 minutes followed by a panel discussion and Q&A with the audience. A student moderator will facilitate the discussion. The event format is as follows:


5:30 pm: Welcome and Introductions

5:45 - 6:00 pm: Speakers’ Address

6:00 - 7:00 pm: Panel Discussion and Q&A

The panel will be a hybrid event and we hope to have students from across departments engaging with questions of sexuality and writing from the margins. 

This project is supported by the University Life Social Justice Mini-Grant Program

Food Provided (Light refreshments)

The event is free and open to public.

Join Yashica Dutt in conversation with Merve Emre to discuss the vital political memoir, Coming Out as Dalit.

Yashica Dutt’s debut book Coming Out as Dalit: A Memoir of Surviving India’s Caste System blends personal memoir, research, and incriminating analysis of caste’s influence in India over everything from entertainment to judicial systems. She decodes the hidden dynamics of caste oppression through her own personal experience as a Dalit woman. As she writes in her author’s note for this edition:

“Dalits did not get to write books in English. Faced with the task of writing this rare book that, beyond the debut work of a journalist turned author, was an idea that had finally come alive for millions of us across the world, I wrote Coming Out as Dalit for Dalits.”

Dutt is a leading anti-caste expert and journalist recognized for highlighting Dalit rights globally. Her voice has been instrumental in understanding the realities of caste within the increasingly prominent Indian diaspora. In Coming Out as Dalit, Dutt traces how colonial British forces exploited and perpetuated a centuries-old caste system, how Gandhi could have been more forceful in combatting prejudice, and the role played by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, whom Isabel Wilkerson called “the MLK of India’s caste issues” in her book Caste.

Amid growing conversations about caste discrimination prompting US institutions to add caste as a protected category to their policies, Dutt’s work sheds essential light on the significant influence caste-ism has across many aspects of US society.

RSVP here to attend. The event is free and open to public but seating is limited and might fill out quickly.

Born into a "formerly untouchable manual-scavenging family in small-town India," Yashica Dutt was taught from a young age to not appear “Dalit looking.” Although prejudice against Dalits, who compose 25% of the population, has been illegal since 1950, caste-ism in India is alive and well. Blending her personal history with extensive research and reporting, Dutt provides an incriminating analysis of caste’s influence in India over everything from entertainment to judicial systems and how this discrimination has carried over to US institutions.

Dutt traces how colonial British forces exploited and perpetuated a centuries old caste system, how Gandhi could have been more forceful in combatting prejudice, and the role played by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, whom Isabel Wilkerson called “the MLK of India’s caste issues” in her book Caste. Alongside her analysis, Dutt interweaves personal stories of learning to speak without a regional accent growing up and desperately using medicinal packs to try to lighten her skin. Published in India in 2019 to acclaim, Coming Out as Dalit (Beacon Press) covers how the caste system traveled to the US, its history here, and the continuation of bias by South Asian communities in professional sectors. Amid growing conversations about caste discrimination prompting U.S. institutions including Harvard University, Brandeis University, the University of California system, and the NAACP to add caste as a protected category to their policies, Dutt’s work sheds essential light on the significant influence caste-ism has across many aspects of US society.

Raw and affecting, Coming Out as Dalit brings a new audience of readers into a crucial conversation about embracing Dalit identity, offering a way to change the way people think about caste in their own communities and beyond. Dutt will be joined in conversation by William Deresiewicz, author of The End of Solitude: Selected Essays on Culture and Society.

Celebrate Women's History

Month with critically acclaimed author and journalist, Yashica Dutt.

"Coming Out as Dalit" is a powerful book that sheds light on the blurred lines between race and caste. Dutt will speak on her journey and identity growing up as Dalit.

For more information, please contact:
T. Anil Oommen @desifest.eugene@gmail.com

Event is free and open to public. This event is being sponsored by DesiFest and the emerging South Asian Sollidarity Network.

The Office of Equity Diversity, Inclusion & Accessibility and the Elliot Undergrad Fund proudly present guest speaker Yashica Dutt as part of Women's History Month events at Pacific University.

Dutt will be speaking on her journey and her identity growing up as Dalit. The following is the description from her website on her award-winning and critically acclaimed non-fiction book, Coming Out as Dalit:

"In Coming Out as Dalit, Dutt recounts the exhausting burden of living with the secret and how she was terrified of being found out. She talks about the tremendous feeling of empowerment she experienced when she finally stood up for herself and her community and shrugged off the fake upper-caste identity she’d had to construct for herself. As she began to understand the inequities of the caste system, she also had to deal with the crushing guilt of denying her history and the struggles of her grandparents and the many Dalit reformers who fought for equal rights.

In this personal memoir that is also a narrative of the Dalits, she writes about the journey of coming to terms with her identity and takes us through the history of the Dalit movement; the consequences of her community’s lack of access to education and culture; the need for reservation; the paucity of Dalit voices in mainstream media; Dalit women’s movements and their ongoing contributions; and attempts to answer crucial questions about caste and privilege. Woven from personal narratives from her own life as well as that of other Dalits, this book forces us to confront the injustices of caste and also serves as a call to action."

Learn more by visiting her website at: https://www.yashicadutt.com

This event is being sponsored by Pacific University Office of Equity Diversity, Inclusion & Accessibility, and the Elliot Undergrad Fund.

Light refreshment will be provided by the Master of Social Work program.

If you're unable to attend in person, you may join via Zoom:

https://pacificu.zoom.us/j/91476008145

Meeting ID: 914 7600 8145

For readers of Caste, the coming-of-age story of a Dalit individual that illuminates systemic injustice in India and its growing impact on US society

Third Place Books is happy to welcome Yashica Dutt to our Ravenna store for a discussion of her new memoir, Coming Out as Dalit: A Memoir of Surviving India's Caste System, bringing a new audience of readers into a crucial conversation about embracing Dalit identity, offering a way to change the way people think about caste in their own communities and beyond. She will be joined in conversation by local writer and professor Sonora Jha.  This event is free and open to the public.

For important updates, registration is highly recommended in advance. This event will include a public signing and time for audience Q&A. Sustain our author series by purchasing a copy of the featured book!

Event is free to attend and open to public. Register to attend.

Third Place Books has multiple locations. Check for the Ravenna location to ensure the right address:

Third Place Books Ravenna, 6504 20th Ave NE, Seattle WA 98115

Having trouble accessing Eventbrite? Click here.

Coming Out As Dalit: A Memoir of Surviving India's Caste System
Book talk from Yashica Dutt

Free and open to the public.
Campus map | Visitor parking info

UW South Asia Center presents a book talk from Yashica Dutt (she/her), who is a leading anti-caste expert, journalist and the award-winning author of the non-fiction memoir, Coming Out as Dalit. 

Born into a “formerly untouchable manual-scavenging family in small-town India,” Yashica Dutt was taught from a young age to not appear “Dalit looking.” Although prejudice against Dalits, who compose 25% of the population, has been illegal since 1950, caste-ism in India is alive and well. Blending her personal history with extensive research and reporting, Dutt provides an incriminating analysis of caste’s influence in India over everything from entertainment to judicial systems and how this discrimination has carried over to US institutions.

Dutt traces how colonial British forces exploited and perpetuated a centuries-old caste system, how Gandhi could have been more forceful in combatting prejudice, and the role played by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, whom Isabel Wilkerson called “the MLK of India’s caste issues” in her book Caste. Alongside her analysis, Dutt interweaves personal stories of learning to speak without a regional accent growing up and desperately using medicinal packs to try to lighten her skin.

Book Talk by Yashica Dutt, Award Winning Journalist

Q&A with Ruby Lal, Professor, MESAS Department

Monday, March 4, 2024

Address: 5:00pm Woodruff Library, Rose Library, 10th Floor, Woodruff Seminar Room

Emory University

Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies (MESAS)

S-312 Callaway South, 537 S. Kilgo Circle, Atlanta, GA 30322

Co-Sponsors: MESAS South Asia Seminar, Department of Religion, Department of Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies, Institute for the Liberal

Arts, South Asian Women's Collective, and Studies in Sexuality.

The event is free and open to public. For inquiries, please email: Harshita Kamath (harshita.kamath@emory.edu). 

SAWCC presents a reading and conversation with award-winning author Yashica Dutt and journalist Mona Eltahawy, discussing identity, India's caste system, and the newest edition of Dutt's book, Coming Out As Dalit: A Memoir of Surviving India’s Caste System(Beacon Press 2024). Reception and book signing to follow.

Thursday, February 29
7:00 pm: Space opens
7:30 pm: Event begins

at the Asian American Writers' Workshop
112 West 27th Street #600
New York, NY 10001

RSVP here.

Join us for a book talk on "Coming Out as Dalit: A Memoir of Surviving India's Caste System" with author Yashica Dutt in conversation with Vatsal Naresh.
🗓️ 02/26 ⏰ 5pm | Register: bit.ly/42BXh4C

Yashica Dutt is joining us on the Busboys stage to share her life experiences and research into caste-ism, both in India and in the United States. Copies of the book will be available for purchase during and after the event, and Dutt will be signing following the program.

This event is free to guests who RSVP in advance. You must RSVP in order to gain entrance into the event space. We will not allow guests in without RSVP-ing through this Eventbrite page. Our program begins at 7:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of COMING OUT AS DALIT will be available for purchase before and after the event. Please note that this event is in person and will not be livestreamed.

Guests must RSVP in order to receive direct updates about the event from Busboys and Poets Books

Yashica Dutt is a journalist, an activist, an award-winning writer, and a leading feminist voice on caste. Born “in a formerly untouchable ‘lower’ caste family,” she passed as dominant caste to survive discrimination. Dutt moved to New Delhi at 17 and became one of the most widely-read culture journalists at a leading English language paper. Eventually coming out as Dalit, she introduced this expression which powerfully resonated in India. Her site, Documents of Dalit Discrimination, was among the first highly visible media spaces for caste oppressed people. Dutt’s work has been published in the New York Times, Foreign Policy and the Atlantic, and she has been featured on The BBC, The Guardian, and PBS NewsHour. Dutt lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Gaurav J. Pathania, a sociology professor at Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia, focuses on studying caste, class, and racial discrimination within diaspora communities. He is the author of "The University as a Site of Resistance'' (Oxford University Press) and serves as the deputy editor at the 'South Asia Research' Journal. Gaurav is also known as anti-caste activist, poet and writer. He recently made his debut in Ava DuVernay's 2024 film 'ORIGIN.'

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

5:30 PM: DOORS OPEN

6:00 PM: PANEL DISCUSSION; MODERATED BY MARILYN EDMUNDS BOWSER

7:00 PM: RECEPTION

The event is free and open to public. Email events@vitavoices.org to register.

Raw and affecting, Coming Out as Dalit brings a new audience of readers into a crucial conversation about embracing Dalit identity, offering a way to change the way people think about caste in their own communities and beyond.

Dutt will read excerpts from the book, speak about anti-caste movements in India and the US and engage in a scintillating conversation with historian and associate professor at the University of Delaware, Ramnarayan Rawat.  

Click the link to register.

Center for South Asia an Stanford Lecture series invites award-winning author and internationally acclaimed journalist Yashica Dutt for a book talk on her newly released book Coming Out as Dalit. Click the link to register.