Ep.56: Why You Should Care About Caste w/ Author Anindita Ghose, Activist & Storyteller Thenmozhi Soundararajan, Model & Engineer Seema Hari

Anindita Ghose’s debut novel, The Illuminated is a captivating story which revolves around two women, a mother and a daughter, whose lives unravel in the wake of a family tragedy.

Written over five years and against the backdrop of the rising tide of religious fundamentalism in India, Anindita’s storytelling brilliantly reflects on identity, language, love and caste.

Thenmozhi Soundararajan is a Dalit rights activist based in California, US. She is the founder of Equality Labs, a Dalit Civil Rights Organization dedicated to ending caste oppression.

Her vital debut non-fiction book The Trauma of Caste: A Dalit Feminist Meditation on Survivorship, Healing and Abolition is a meditation on her own story, the pervasiveness of caste oppression, and reimagining a future without it.

Model, DJ and anti-caste activist Seema Hari joins Thenmozhi Soundararajan to discuss their experience of caste and colourism and the power of travel and transformation.

Born in Mumbai and now living in California, Seema works as a software engineer and uses the mediums of film, art and music to highlight their fight against oppressive casteist norms.

Music Used in This Podcast:

b2b Sidu Casa Opener.: Bop Daddy by Falz & Tip Tip Barsa Pani by Madstar base

Reading List:

Listen to Seema’s Soundcloud tracks here

Front Page Image: Seema Hari by Pavithra Ramasubramanian