Rakshit Sonawane on the rarely told urban Dalit story

When people from upper castes talk about caste, it’s often through headlines — about atrocities or reservations — stories reduced to data, distant and impersonal. And even when caste violence is discussed, it’s usually set in faraway villages, rarely finding a place in books written in English.

That’s what makes Rakshit Sonawane’s novel The Scum of the Earth stand out. Drawing from his own life as a first-generation learner from a family that once faced untouchability and later embraced Buddhism, Sonawane tells a deeply personal story of caste and identity.

A graduate in English literature who has worked with media houses like The Indian Express, Mid-Day, and The Free Press Journal, he joins Sandip this week to talk about his journey and why he chose fiction to tell his truth.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar