Book Talk: Caste Matters, A Conversation with Dr Suraj Yengde

On the 24th of September, Socius, Applied Sociology Students Collective of the Department of

Sociology and Social Work organized a discussion on the book ‘Caste Matters’ with the

author, Dr Suraj Yengde. Dr Yengde, a Havard postdoctoral fellow, is one of India's leading

public intellectuals and a noted scholar of caste. He is the author of the bestseller ‘Caste

Matters,’ which was recently featured in the prestigious ‘Best Nonfiction Books of the

Decade’ list by The Hindu. The talk offered an insight into the book and some of the crucial

issues discussed by the author. The session was moderated by Nithya and Archana of II MA

Applied Sociology. The esteemed author discussed a common man’s everyday experiences

with caste with emphasis on symbolic elements in houses and surroundings. The talk covered

a broad array of topics, ranging from the process of writing a book on one of the most

complex and controversial issues to the assertion of Dalit identity in the 21st century.