It is a hard hitting book. I had suggested this book to a dear Caucasian friend of mine. Whose reaction after reading the first couple of chapters was that it was a politically motivated book. Surprised by the feedback, I asked him to keep reading on. A couple of weeks later, I was getting constant text messages after every chapter about how he has completely changed his mind.

This book will hit you at some of your core beliefs. It dissects Caste-ism. The common misconception is that caste is an India thing. The author convincingly establishes that caste has been most prevalent – written in law, practiced but the people and enforced by the upper caste people in three areas – India, Nazi Germany and America.

The American reference was the most jarring. The author establishes how “race” was the way casteism was established in America. In fact, it quickly shows how the concept of “race” – as in white or black is arbitrary and makes no sense when you go outside of America. Did you know that there was a court case about whether Indians should be considered white or not (due to Aryan descent and what not)?

The reason for caste is neither feelings not morality. It is about power and resources – which groups will have it and which groups won’t.

Frankly, it opened my own eyes to Dalits in India. Growing up in India, we were never taught about how we treat Dalits. If anything, we were taught about how in the past “harijans” were mistreated. Today, reading news about the crimes against Dalits in modern India, I have a renewed understanding of the insidious nature of subjugation that casteism has wrought in a few societies.

Read this book only if you feel you are open enough to be questioned hard on some of your core beliefs. Else, give it a pass.