About the Book

The Dalit iconoclast makes a clear distinction between the backward castes (the Shudras), and Dalits or Untouchables. He was chased by his critics for holding this view and he took the bolder decision to give his ideas the shape of this book. The analysis may further the understanding of the caste divide in India in the context of reservation for backward classes. Urban educated members of forward castes and Shudras get agitated when they are charged with discriminating against Dalits.

Dalit Phobia gives them the benefit of the doubt and may help them overcome their hate sense which Chandra Bhan says is passed on from generation to generation.

Is Dalit Phobia a genetic disease? The author makes a strong case saying 'yes it is'.

About the Author

Chandra Bhan Prasad is one of the leading Dalit intellectuals in the country. He has been writing regularly for various newspapers and magazines on Dalit-related issues. He believes in confounding readers with new ideas and challenging them to think afresh away from the traditional paradigm. One may not agree with him, but one will find it difficult to brush aside his arguments. While India is marching ahead through the shopping malls and Express National Highways, the average Dalit has not moved forward. He is subjected to same tyranny or humiliation, which his forefathers faced, if he dares to walk the road not trodden by his predecessors.

1958-born Chandra Bhan comes from Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh. The urge to rebel and fight for justice took him to the CPI-ML in 1983. He was a research scholar at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, where he specialized in Chinese Science and Technology. He began the Dalit Shikhsa Andolan (Dalit Education Movement), which has since spread to many districts of Uttar Pradesh.