Literature on Caste has expanded over the last decade. From being merely an ethnographic or anthropological category, it has become a moral as well as a political category. It is entering a reflexive period where it is not just seen as from above, with a neutral and generally dominant point of view to a more experiential, subjective and subaltern critique of it. Moreover, as Dalit diaspora is becoming more conscious and consolidated, the critique is travelling globally. Other discriminated and marginalized populations likewise find the concept valuable to understand their predicament in their own societies. Isabel Wilkerson’s book on caste is a testimony to this phenomenon. The book under review by Suraj Yengde is trying to tell the story of caste by adding a global dimension to it. This global dimension operates along two distinct but interrelated axes: first, the complex patterns of Indian migration, which have carried caste ideology beyond the subcontinent; and second, the extension of caste as an analytical framework originally specific to the Indian context to interpret the rigid hierarchies experienced by non-Indian populations. As the author puts it: ‘organization of systems’. The work situates itself at the intersection of political theory, sociology, postcolonial studies, and critical race scholarship, offering a synthetic account that is as analytically expansive as it is politically committed.
The book’s central argument is that caste is not merely a historically specific institution rooted in the Indian subcontinent, but rather a transnational modality of structured inequality that manifests in analogous forms across the world. This argument is not entirely unprecedented—comparisons between caste and race have long animated both scholarly and activist discourses. The edited work of Sukhadeo Thorat and Umakant titled Caste Race and Discrimination: Discourse in the International Context needs to be mentioned as it inaugurated this framework almost two decades ago. Yengde’s unique contribution lies in the systematic elaboration of this dimension through a combination of historical reconstruction, ethnographic observation, and comparative analysis. He also brings in his own family’s involvement in anti-caste movements, particularly his father’s activism into the picture, in explaining caste. His main contention is that existing theories and descriptions of caste do not accurately depict the true nature of workings of caste.
The architecture of the book reflects this ambition. Beginning with a historical excavation of caste in both ‘Occidental and Oriental’ frameworks, Yengde situates the phenomenon within a longue durée that includes colonial epistemologies, indigenous hermeneutics, and early non-Indian accounts of Indian society. His engagement with figures such as Megasthenes and al-Bīrūnī underscores the longue durée of caste as a recognizable social formation, while simultaneously revealing the interpretive limitations of external observers. These early accounts, as Yengde notes, are marked by both insight and distortion, shaped by the epistemic frameworks of their authors. Such a move is significant, for it foregrounds the problem of subjectivity in caste scholarship, a theme that recurs throughout the text.
The chapter titled ‘Cosmopolitan Dalit Universalisms’ advances the argument that Dalit political praxis has undergone a significant transformation from a predominantly localized struggle into a globally articulated movement. It situates Dalit activism within broader discourses of universal human rights, anti-caste ethics, and transnational solidarities, thereby demonstrating how Dalit claims-making resonates with, and contributes to, wider cosmopolitan frameworks of justice. The chapter underscores the ways in which Dalit aspirations for dignity, equality, and emancipation are no longer confined to the territorial boundaries of the nation-state but are increasingly embedded within global normative and institutional arenas. The central contention, therefore, is that Dalit activism should be understood not merely as a particularistic or national issue, but as part of a universal struggle for justice that traverses cultural and geopolitical boundaries. In this respect, Yengde’s work resonates with, yet also departs from, the thought of BR Ambedkar. While Ambedkar’s analysis of caste as a system of ‘graded inequality’ remains foundational, Yengde extends this framework into a global register, suggesting that the Dalit experience offers a critical vantage point from which to interrogate all forms of hierarchical social organization.
In ‘Race and Caste: In the Age of Dalit–Black Lives Matter’, Yengde offers a compelling comparative framework that situates caste within a broader transnational discourse on structural inequality. He argues that caste and race, while historically distinct, operate as analogous systems of hierarchical exclusion, producing similar regimes of social marginalization and violence. Here, the chapter deals with Dalits trying to make the Dalit issue an international one by appealing to UN bodies.
Important is the Durban conference in 2001, titled ‘The World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance’. Following the 1996 recognition by the United Nations of the systemic oppression faced by Dalits and Adivasis, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) acknowledged that the conditions of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes fall within the ambit of the Convention. The Indian Government protested it. Suraj writes, ‘The Indian Government stayed true to form. Before the conference, its Foreign Minister, Jaswant Singh, said that caste-based discrimination was “not a matter for any international initiative or intervention.”’ Omar Abdullah, a Minister of State in Singh’s ministry, declared, ‘You cannot equate casteism with racism.’ Coming back to the relations between Dalits and Blacks, the author argues that later Dalits and organizations managed to build solidarities with blacks what the earlier generation could not achieve. By foregrounding Dalit-Black solidarities, particularly in the context of Black Lives Matter, the chapter highlights the emergence of a shared political grammar of resistance.
The book ends with an appendix of list of Dalit/Ambedkar organizations globally. It is a useful addition to the whole project of the book. It also spreads awareness about the impact of Dalits and Dalit movement globally, and the struggle for visibility of Dalits in their endeavour for social justice. The book also offers interesting images from various aspects of Dalit activism across continents and issues. Thus, offering itself as a resource for future researchers, the book is a valuable addition to Dalit scholarship and academic research on social justice.
Krishna Swamy Dara is Associate Professor, Political Science, Department of Political Science, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.