Did you become a fan of writer Yashica Dutt when you read her moving essay Today I’m Coming Out As A Dalit? Or when she wrote about the aftermath of that essay. Or when you encountered her Tumblr Documents of Dalit Discrimination where she curates stories of growing up and living as Dalit? Rejoice! She is now working on a full-fledged memoir. Aleph Book Company has announced that Dutt’s Coming Out As Dalit will be out in early 2017 and that in the book she “writes about the journey of coming to terms with her identity and chronicles the Dalit movement.”
On her tumblr, alongside the announcement Dutt writes, “Four months ago, when I decided to ‘come out’ as Dalit, I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know that I would immediately find ‘my people’ – a formidable online (and offline) community of fellow Dalits and Ambekarites who would then help me find pride in my Dalitness.” She also writes, “My first book will be about being Dalit and what that means for me and so many others like me. Six months ago, I would never have anticipated either being openly Dalit or writing a book about it. But now, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Now you know what you will be reading in 2017.
PS: If you’d like to add your experiences of growing up and living as Dalit, write to dutt dot yashica at gmail dot com.