'Independence was only transfer of power; true freedom is equal access to everything for everyone'

New Delhi, Aug 20 : The nation has just celebrated Independence Day with great pomp and fervour -- but does this special occasion evoke similar sentiments among the Dalits living in the country? No, contends author Sujatha Gidla, who was born an "untouchable" and is now creating waves in US literary circles with a provocative memoir capturing the life of her community in India.

Until recently, Gidla was just another New Yorker, working as a conductor on the city Subway. But her recent memoir, "Ants among Elephants", which not only details her memories of growing up as a Dalit woman in India but also lists the many instances of "discrimination and humiliation" that she and her family were customarily subjected to, has thrust her into the limelight.

On how she responds to special occasions like Independence Day, the author said that, as children, they would admire iconic figures like Gandhi and Nehru, and celebrate the day -- but things changed gradually as they become more aware.

"When I joined the RSU (Radical Students Union) we were told that (this) Independence was not real independence, that it was only transfer of power. And now we don't feel anything because we are not made to feel that we are Indians like other Indians.

"It is the same thing in the universities where I studied. I don't have that pride of my alma mater because we were not treated as equals. None of us have that pride, not even my mother," Gidla told IANS in an email interview from New York.

The author further quipped that, by and large, "this is not independence" for members of her community.

"There have been many types of discrimination in various parts of the world. As far as I know, caste-based discrimination is uniquely cruel. There is racism in America, but I will never compare it with caste and rather say that caste is much worse.

"I will also say this: Blacks here are murdered, they have been lynched. But I have never read about another place where untouchables are fed excreta, made to drink urine and paraded naked. Even under slavery, the slave owners took care to feed their slaves in order to keep them fit to work. Untouchables in India never even had that," Gidla said.

She reiterated that untouchability is neither a religious nor a cultural problem. It is rather a social problem and that there has to be "some sort of fundamental change"; otherwise the Dalits will "continue to suffer".

Elaborating on the "suffering" that she repeatedly mentions in the book, Gidla said most Dalits in India, particularly those trying to fight against the caste system, live under constant duress due to verbal attacks and the threat of physical violence.

"Our neighbours in India have been actively trying to kick my mom out of her apartment. Her (upper) caste colleagues hate the fact that her daughter wrote a successful book.

"That is the irony; we cannot even celebrate the publication of the book because we are afraid that it will make people around us unhappy. Even fellow untouchables are not posting it on social media for fear of being exposed to their colleagues and (upper) caste friends as untouchables," she elaborated.

Gidla's grandparents converted to Christianity at the onset of the 20th century and were educated at Canadian missionary schools. She too, with the help of Canadian missionaries, studied physics at the Regional Engineering College in Warangal, in what is Telangana today. She was also a researcher in applied physics at IIT-Madras.

Gidla initially worked as a developer in software design, then moved to banking but lost her job in 2009 during the economic crisis. Finally, she took up the job of a conductor at the New York Subway.

This book, Gidla said, initially began as an investigation into the caste system but finally took the shape of a memoir as her family members also enriched its pages with their personal experiences and reflections.

So what would bring "freedom" in the true sense to Gidla and her family, as also to over 300 million Dalits in India?

"True freedom is equal access to everything in society -- education, jobs, etc, etc. When that is achieved, the prejudices will begin to disappear, but only gradually, not instantaneously. Without having equal access to economic betterment all these words about caste being an evil practice or we should treat untouchables with respect are meaningless," she maintained.

The book has been published in the US by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, an imprint of Macmillan publishers, and is yet to hit the Indian market.