Caste and untouchability owe their origins to brahmanical Hinduism. But caste oppression is not restricted to the Hindu community. Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims face challenges in asserting their rights and demanding affirmative action.  

In this two-part episode on What's Your Ism, Sudipto Mondal speaks to Ambedkarite author Shalin Maria Lawrence and sociologist-professor Khalid Anis Ansari about the complexities of anti-caste politics  among Christians and Muslims in South Asia.

In part one, Lawrence talks about caste oppression in the Christian community, Periyar, caste identity, political lobbying in Tamil Nadu, the POA Act, and laws to protect the rights of minorities at the intersection of caste.  

She also recounts her lived experiences of discrimination in church. “Within my church, I’m an untouchable. Within the church my ancestors built. The church I stopped going to. For generations, only Dalit women have been sweeping the church. Why?”   

Watch.