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Suraj Yengde

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Suraj Yengde
Yengde in 2023
Born1988 (age 36–37)
Nanded, Maharashtra, India
Occupations
  • scholar
  • author
  • social activist
Parent(s)Milind Vishwanath Yengde (father)
Rohini Milind Yengde (mother)
RelativesPranali Yengde (journalist)
AwardsDr. Ambedkar Social Justice Award (Canada, 2019)
Academic background
Education
Alma mater
Doctoral advisor
  • Faisal Devji (Oxford)[3]
  • Dilip Menon (Witwatersrand)[4]
Influences
Academic work
Notable works
Websitewww.surajyengde.com

Suraj Milind Yengde (born 1988) is an Indian scholar, author, art and culture critic,[5] and human right activist.[6][7][8][9] Recognized as one of India's leading public intellectuals on caste, race, and social justice, he has made a significant impact at the global level.[10] He is the author of the bestseller Caste Matters[11] and co-editor of The Radical in Ambedkar,[12] an award-winning anthology.[13] Yengde is a W.E.B. Du Bois Fellow at Harvard University and serves as a research associate in the Department of African and African American Studies. Named one of the 25 Most Influential Young Indians by GQ magazine,[14] the Most influential Young Dalit by Zee, he is a prominent voice in Dalit and Black studies, contributing significantly to global discussions on social inequality and institutional accountability.[15]

Early life

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Suraj Yengde, born in 1988 in Nanded, Maharashtra, into a Dalit Buddhist family. He grew up in the Janata Housing Society, a community built by educated Buddhist Dalits. His father, Milind Yengde, worked as a peon in a bank and was actively involved in the Dalit Panther movement before becoming a member of BAMCEF (Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). His father also ran a weekly magazine called Vastunishth vichaar,[16][17] and a daily called, Dainik Sarvjan, where he served as the manager.[18]

Suraj completed his schooling in Nanded and pursued higher education at Nanded Law College from 2005 to 2010, earning degrees in BSL and LLB. Despite the challenges of a feudal college environment, Yengde was elected as the General Secretary of the student council and participated in national and international essay and debate competitions.[16]

Career

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From 2011 to 2012, Suraj studied environmental and human rights law at Birmingham City University, UK, earning an LLM degree. During this time, he interned with the United Nations Secretariat, collaborating with experts on global human rights laws. He later traveled to Switzerland to work with UN rapporteurs and decision-makers.[19]

Suraj then moved to South Africa to further his education and understand African liberation movements while promoting Ambedkarite Dalit movements. He completed a PhD in Anthropology at the University of the Witwatersrand,[1] becoming the first Dalit scholar to earn a doctorate from an African university. His thesis, South-South Migration: An Ethnographic Study of an Indian Business District in Johannesburg, introduced the concept of "smartphone migration".[16][20]

In South Africa, Suraj published articles like "Caste Among Indians in Africa" in EPW Weekly.[21][22] He admires B. R. Ambedkar as a lifelong inspiration for his activism.

Dr. Suraj Yengde has pursued his studies across four continents: Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. He studied law in England and South Africa. He was a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University, USA and a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.[23][24] His research focuses on caste, race, and social hierarchies, and he is working on developing theories in Dalit and Black studies.[19] In 2020, he went to Oxford to write a second doctorate under the supervision of Faisal Devji.[25] His thesis was titled, “Dalit-Black Worlds An Intellectual History of Caste & Race”. At Oxford, he was elected as the President of the Oxford Graduate Student Network.[2]

(L to R) Suraj Yengde, Pa. Ranjith, Niharika Singh, and Nagraj Manjule taking a selfie at the Dalit Film Festival in New York city, USA in 2019.

Suraj was a columnist and curator of Dailtality, a fortnightly he ran from 2019 to 2024 at the premier Sunday Express. Currently, he is a columnist with Art Review, London, and a book reviewer for the Hindustan Times.[26][27] He is also a commissioner with the Lancet Commission.[28] He is credited with introducing the concept of 'Sibling Solidarity' as a transoceanic project and for initiating the Dalit-Black intellectual connection and activism.[29]

Books and writings

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In 2019, Suraj Yengde authored Caste Matters, a critically acclaimed book listed in The Hindu's "Best Non-Fiction Books of the Decade."[30][31][32] The book is published in several Indian languages, with the Kerala translation winning the state award for translation.[33]

In 2018, he co-edited The Radical in Ambedkar: Critical Reflections with Anand Teltumbde.[34][35]

Currently, Yengde is working on an English biography of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and a co-authored book on the legal dimensions of Caste and Race.[36][37]

His forthcoming book is Caste: A Global Story published globally.[38][39]

Awards and recognitions

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  • Finalist for the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar, India's highest literary award.[40][41]
  • Recipient of the "Dr. Ambedkar Social Justice Award" (Canada, 2019).[42]
  • Honored with the "Rohith Vemula Memorial Scholar Award" (2018).[43]
  • Featured as Most Influential Young Dalit by zee.[44]
  • Named among "25 Most Influential Young Indians of 2021" by GQ, a prominent magazine focusing on style, masculinity, fashion, and lifestyle.[45][46]
  • Featured as himself in the American biographical drama film Origin (2023).[47][48]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2023 Origin Himself [47][48]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Yengde, Suraj (18 April 2016). "South-south migration: an ethnographic study of an Indian business district in Johannesburg" – via wiredspace.wits.ac.za. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ a b "honored to be elected as the President of The Oxford History Graduate… | Suraj Milind Yengde | 45 comments". www.linkedin.com.
  3. ^ "Professor Faisal Devji". www.history.ox.ac.uk.
  4. ^ "Dalit is the New Political and Epistemic Horizon: An Interview with Suraj Yengde". Borderlines. 23 November 2020.
  5. ^ https://artreview.com/author/suraj-yengde/
  6. ^ Web, Statesman (13 September 2023). "Who is Suraj Yengde? 'Caste Matters' author is now an actor in Ava Duvernay's 'Origin'". The Statesman. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  7. ^ "Suraj Yengde". Pulitzer Center. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  8. ^ Bastion, The (9 March 2020). "In Conversation With Suraj Yengde: On Why Caste Matters Even Today". Feminism in India. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  9. ^ "Suraj Yengde". The Conversation. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  10. ^ "Suraj Yengde — On Global Caste and Blackness | Center for Contemporary South Asia". watson.brown.edu. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  11. ^ Yengde, Suraj (22 July 2019). Caste Matters. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. ISBN 978-93-5305-582-0.
  12. ^ Teltumbde, Anand; Yengde, Suraj (2 November 2018). The Radical in Ambedkar: Critical Reflections. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. ISBN 978-93-5305-313-0.
  13. ^ "Radical Ambedkar: Analysing divergent personas of the leader". Financialexpress. 17 February 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  14. ^ Sethi, Shikha (11 February 2021). "Innovators, entertainers, disruptors, game changers: Meet GQ's Most Influential Young Indians". GQ India. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  15. ^ "Suraj's Shadow: Wherever He Goes, His Caste Follows—Even in America". Pulitzer Center. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  16. ^ a b c Hiwale, Sandesh (21 June 2021). "डॉ सूरज एंगडे का जीवन परिचय | Dr Suraj Yengde biography in Hindi". धम्म भारत. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  17. ^ Report, G. E. M. (22 May 2020). "Suraj Yengde: Trying to leave his caste behind him to pursue his education". World Education Blog. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  18. ^ "जातीनं घडवलेल्या आत्मतत्त्वाची एकविसाव्या शतकातील रूपं". kartavyasadhana.in/.
  19. ^ a b "About". scholar.harvard.edu. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  20. ^ Yengde, Suraj (2016). "South-south migration: an ethnographic study of an Indian business district in Johannesburg".
  21. ^ "Caste among the Indian Diaspora in Africa | Economic and Political Weekly". www.epw.in. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  22. ^ Yengde, Suraj Milind (2015). "Caste among the Indian Diaspora in Africa". Economic and Political Weekly. 50 (37): 65–68. ISSN 0012-9976. JSTOR 24482375.
  23. ^ "Suraj Yengde • The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute".
  24. ^ Lem, Pola (10 November 2022). "Interview with Suraj Yengde". Times Higher Education (THE).
  25. ^ "Professor Faisal Devji". www.history.ox.ac.uk.
  26. ^ "Suraj Yengde | Read All The Stories Written by Suraj Yengde". 20 October 2019.
  27. ^ https://www.hindustantimes.com/author/suraj-yengde-101689747406533
  28. ^ "Members of the Commission". O'Neill.
  29. ^ Yengde, Suraj (1 January 2023). "Dalit in Black America: Race, Caste, and the Making of Dalit-Black Archives". Public Culture. 35 (1 (99)): 21–41. doi:10.1215/08992363-10202374 – via Silverchair.
  30. ^ "Best non-fiction books of the decade". The Hindu. 28 December 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  31. ^ "Suraj Yengde, Caste Matters In Conversation with Cornel West at Cambridge Public Library". Do617. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  32. ^ Sampath, G. (21 September 2019). "G. Sampath reviews Caste Matters by Suraj Yengde". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  33. ^ "Suraj Yengde". hutchinscenter.fas.harvard.edu.
  34. ^ "Radical Ambedkar: Analysing divergent personas of the leader". Financialexpress. 17 February 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  35. ^ "Suraj Yengde". ICI Berlin. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  36. ^ Staff, Maktoob (2 September 2020). "Dalit scholar Suraj Yengde signs deal to write biography of Ambedkar". Maktoob media. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  37. ^ "Books". Dr. Suraj Milind Yengde. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  38. ^ "Caste | Hurst Publishers". HURST.
  39. ^ "Caste".
  40. ^ "Sahitya akademi awards" (PDF).
  41. ^ "A talk by Suraj Yengde (Harvard) | South Asia Institute". sai.columbia.edu. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  42. ^ "HOME - Chetna". www.chetna.ca. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  43. ^ Team, N. L. (1 August 2020). "Hafta 287: Dalit identity and Indian politics, New Education Policy, and more". Newslaundry. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  44. ^ "Suraj Milind Yengde". HURST. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  45. ^ Yengde, Suraj (12 November 2024). "Suraj Yengde". Michigan Quarterly Review. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  46. ^ "अमेरिकी पत्रिका GQ ने दलित स्कॉलर सूरज येंगड़े को भारत के 25 प्रभावशाली युवाओं में किया शामिल - दलित दस्तक". दलित दस्तक. 6 March 2021. Archived from the original on 19 June 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  47. ^ a b Sun, Rebecca (5 January 2024). ""A Story That Broke All of Our Hearts": The Making of 'Origin'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  48. ^ a b "B.R. Ambedkar Makes His Hollywood Debut in 'Origin' Which Explores Global Connections of Caste". thewire.in. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
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