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Untouchables: My Family's Triumphant Journey Out of the Caste System in Modern India | 
 enlarge | Author: Narendra Jadhav
Publisher: Scribner
Category: Book
List Price: $54.00
Buy New: $2.75
You Save: $51.25 (95%)
New (28) Used (35) Collectible (2) from $1.23
Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 750239
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.2
ISBN: 0743270797
Dewey Decimal Number: 305.5688092
EAN: 9780743270793
ASIN: 0743270797
Publication Date: September 27, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Every sixth human being in the world today is an Indian, and every sixth Indian is an untouchable. For thousands of years the untouchables, or Dalits, the people at the bottom of the Hindu caste system, have been treated as subhuman. Their story has rarely been told. This remarkable book achieves something altogether unprecedented: it gives voice to India's voiceless.In Untouchables, Narendra Jadhav tells the awe-inspiring story of his family's struggle for equality and justice in India. While most Dalits had accepted their lowly position as fate, Jadhav's father rebelled against the oppressive caste system and fought against all odds to forge for his children a destiny that was never ordained. Based on his father's diaries and family stories, Jadhav has written the triumphant story of his parents -- their great love, unwavering courage, and eventual victory in the struggle to free themselves and their children from the caste system. Jadhav vividly brings his parents' world to light and unflinchingly documents the life of untouchables -- the hunger, the cruel humiliations, the perpetual fear and brutal abuse. Compelling and deeply compassionate, Untouchables is a son's tribute to his parents, an illuminating chronicle of one of the most important moments in Indian history, and an eye-opening work of nonfiction that gives readers access and insight into the lives of India's 165 million Dalits, whose struggle for equality continues even today.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Good story of about a family challenging the system August 24, 2006
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a good night time read.The author tells the story about his family confronting the caste system in India.It is not a historical account, but the author lets us know how,thru the years, the "upper" classes in India have treated the "dalits" .The author's father deserves all the credit in the world because he was the one who initiated this challenge against the caste system.The dalits still have a long way to go but looks like their situation is improving.The author's account is simple and to the point, altough i think that, at times, the author strays a little too much of the subject giving us a lot of information that is not that relevant to the story.But all in all is a good book that helps us understand and appreciate how people in other parts of the world struggle while we have it easy here in the United States.
An unusual inside-out view of the struggles and achievments of an Indian family January 21, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Written in a rather spare style this book is not Arundhati Roy, but does provide a honest view of a Mahar family in the villages of Maharashtra and the slums of its capital Mumbai. In terms of the Indian caste ladder, Mahars are at the lowest rung and were (and in some mental pockets still are) considered 'untouchables'. The correct term for this lowest rung is "Dalit", and Dalits are found in almost all the regions of India, speaking each region's local language, at about 15-20% of the population. But the Mahars have been a little more fortunate than other regional Dalit communities, in their recent history. During the British Raj they were designated as a martial caste, and military regiments were organized from amongst them. Also B.R. Ambedkar, a lesser known visionary from early 20th century India, the 'architect' of free India's constitution, and a Mahar himself, was an inspiring force in showing the way for socio-economic progress.
I have some reservations about the English title of the book, and the original Marathi title, "My father and mother" just resonates a little more.
An interesting, insightful story January 3, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is an interesting book and I learned alot from it, never realizing the caste system of India played such a horrifying role at one point in time. The endurance of the author's family is commendable, and it is a story worth reading. Very interesting and insightful observations coming from a family who has struggled to be treated well - sometimes just to be treated better than a dog, literally. Well done.
Great insight into Indias still prevalent caste system November 23, 2005
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
This book tells the story of the authors parents and their lives as lower caste members of Indias social system. It is a great reminder of how tough the road for some people was/is because of the name their family carries. In India to this day a persons last name can attach to him or her heavy social baggage. Baggage that comes with social behavior not fit for animals. Mr. Jadhav writes about how his dad was determined to free his children from the bonds of caste by educating them.This book should be read by all young people of Indian origin. It is an important part of Indian history. Very akin to what the African American population faced during the years of segregation. This is a book worth owning.
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