Dalit Lives/ Leven als Dalit

Photography by Paul van der Stap and text by Elisa Veini

Dalits, the ’untouchables’ of India - 200 million people, or one fifth of the Indian population - face daily physical and symbolic discrimination based on caste. It is believed that Dalits are born as ’impure’ and, therefore, are designed to do ’unclean’ work like manual scavenging, burying the dead, handling dead animals, and alike. In spite of existing laws and quotas for the protection of the physical and social security of Dalits, most still live live in poverty.

Dalit Lives shows how Dalits struggle for their daily survival and try to meet with the new requirements of a globalizing and urbanizing society. It portrays men and women in their attempt to improve their living conditions and escape the pitfalls of explicit and inexplicit discrimination. A special emphasis lays on the work of various Dalit and human rights organisations fighting for the rights of Dalits.

The material was collected in spring 2004 in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, where the authors worked intensively together with Dalit and human rights activists. In cooperation with Dalit Network Netherlands (DNN), the material resulted in this book as well as a traveling exhibition.

For the material part, the financial support of Cordaid Netherlands has been indispensable to the project.

Read the foto8 review of this book



Orders of this item received before noon from Monday to Friday are shipped on the same day.


Price: £12.00