Vivek Kumar of Jawaharlal Nehru University in India, writing a review in UBC’s Journal of Paccific Affairs, says Dalits and the Making of Modern India by Carleton History professor Chinnaiah Jangam is “is a significant addition to the literature associated with Dalits because in contemporary India most writing on Dalits begins with the colonial context and ends with their participation in the parliamentary democracy. But Jangam’s work challenges this dominant narrative by recording the precolonial anti-caste egalitarian consciousness of Dalits expressed through their cultural creations as being a part of anti-cultural nationalism. In the same vein, on the basis of empirical data and critical engagement this work has successfully expanded Indian history via Dalit discourse and public sphere.”
The full review is available online.