Caste Pride: Battles for Equality in Hindu India - Manoj Mitta

A groundbreaking, radically new history of the Hindu caste system, unearthing the long legal and social war against institutional discrimination through previously unseen legislative and judicial records.

Untouchability is merely the most widely known face of the caste system. Beneath it lies an elusive, purity-based hierarchy that has historically dictated almost every aspect of a person's life—where they could live, how they could dress, whether they could fetch water from a local stream, walk down a public street, mingle socially, or enter a temple. It governed who could marry whom, which religious scriptures applied to which community, and whether a criminal act would attract severe punishment or complete impunity based on an individual's lineage.In Caste Pride: Battles for Equality in Hindu India, acclaimed investigative journalist and author Manoj Mitta delivers a masterful, eye-opening examination of the endurance and systemic violence of this ancient hierarchy through the lens of the law. Linking two centuries of legal reforms directly with historic social movements, Mitta uncovers a gripping narrative filled with fierce debates, political confusions, and landmark legislative decisionsSpanning across eras and regional boundaries, the book brings to life the struggles, legal briefs, and public speeches of trailblazing reformers like Savitribai Phule and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Simultaneously, it turns a critical eye on the conservative backlash from prominent figures of the traditional elite. Moving, deeply enlightening, and thoroughly transformative, Caste Pride is an indispensable archive of the ongoing struggle to reconcile ancient customs with modern democratic aspirations of justice and equality