Yashica Dutt Explained
Yashica Dutt |
Birth Name: | Yashica Dutt Nidaniya |
Birth Date: | 5 February 1986 |
Birth Place: | Ajmer, Rajasthan, India |
Notable Works: | Coming Out as Dalit |
Years Active: | 2005 - present |
Yashica Dutt or Yashica Dutt Nidaniya is an Indian writer and freelance journalist who has written on topics including fashion, gender, identity, culture[1] and caste.[2] Following the response to her 2016 blog post, ‘Today, I’m coming out as Dalit‘, Dutt published "Documents of Dalit Discrimination" on Tumblr and the book Coming Out as Dalit, which received a Sahitya Akademi award.
Early life and education
Yashica was born in a Valmiki Hindu (Dalit) family in Ajmer, Rajasthan on 5 February 1986.[3] She completed her graduation in B.Sc. from St. Stephen's College, Delhi in 2007. Yashica completed her Master's degree in Arts and Culture Journalism from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2015.
Career
In 2016, Dutt authored a blog post titled ‘Today, I’m coming out as Dalit‘ describing how she had hidden her caste and passed as ‘non-Dalit’.[4] [5] Following her post Dutt began receiving messages from other Dalit women who shared similar experiences, prompting her to create the Tumblr blog "Documents of Dalit Discrimination" as a platform to publish some of their stories.[6] [7]
Dutt's journalism and commentary has been published in Indian and international publications including The Atlantic,[8] The New York Times,[9] The Caravan,[10] Foreign Policy,[11] Hindustan Times, LiveMint, Scroll.in, The Wire, HuffPost India and The Asian Age.[12] She was a Principal Correspondent with Brunch, the Sunday Magazine of the Hindustan Times.[13] [14]
Book
Coming Out as Dalit is Yashica's book published by Aleph Book Company. It is her memoir about growing up in a Dalit family.[15] In the book, she describes how she felt compelled to hide her caste and pretended to be of another caste, all along terrified of her true identity being found out.[16] Her decision to end the pretense of being an upper caste woman was triggered by a University of Hyderabad Dalit student Rohith Vemula's last letter, which was made public following his suicide. The book details her journey of coming to terms with her true identity.[17] The book is a social commentary woven with personal experiences.[18] She received the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar for the book in the English category for the year 2020.[19]
External links
Notes and References
- News: Dutt . Yashica . 9 arguments used to silence me after I came out as Dalit (and why they failed spectacularly) . 27 April 2019 . Scroll.in . 26 January 2016 . 27 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190427055328/https://scroll.in/article/802467/9-arguments-used-to-silence-me-after-i-came-out-as-dalit-and-why-they-failed-spectacularly . live .
- News: Dutt . Yashica . For Salman Khan and co, being ugly or untalented is the same as being Bhangi . 27 April 2019 . The Print . 24 December 2017 . 27 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190427064105/https://theprint.in/opinion/hearing-someone-use-word-bhangi-feels-like-liquid-acid-in-ears/24386/ . live .
- Web site: Dutt. Yashica. Today I am coming out as Dalit. 16 January 2016. The Indian Express. 5 February 2016. 4 February 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160204162137/http://indianexpress.com/article/blogs/dalit-suicide-hyderabad-today-im-coming-out-as-a-dalit/. live.
- News: Pasricha . Japleen . Meet Yashica Dutt: Dalit Writer & Founder of Documents of Dalit Discrimination . Feminism in India . 9 September 2023 . 7 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230207075243/https://feminisminindia.com/2016/04/15/interview-yashica-dutt-dalit-writer/ . live .
- Web site: Dutt . Yashica . Today, I'm Coming Out As Dalit . 5 February 2016 . 5 February 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160205122552/http://www.ndtv.com/blog/why-today-is-the-day-i-am-coming-out-dalit-1268135 . live .
- Web site: Dutt . Yashica . Documents of Dalit Discrimination . Tumblr . 9 September 2023 . 10 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230410172309/https://dalitdiscrimination.tumblr.com/ . live .
- News: Santhanam . Laura . How one woman defies caste discrimination in India . PBS Newshour . 9 September 2023 . 6 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230206090712/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/how-one-woman-defies-caste-discrimination-in-india . live .
- Web site: Dutt . Yashica . Author Page. . The Atlantic . 9 September 2023 . 3 June 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230603160130/https://www.theatlantic.com/author/yashica-dutt/ . live .
- News: Dutt . Yashica . The Specter of Caste in Silicon Valley . New York Times . 14 July 2020 . 9 September 2023 . 25 July 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230725113940/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/opinion/caste-cisco-indian-americans-discrimination.html . live .
- News: Dutt . Yashica . The Tussle for Representation . The Caravan . 1 May 2022 . 9 September 2023 . 25 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230525103508/https://caravanmagazine.in/film/controversy-writing-with-fire . live .
- Web site: Dutt . Yashica . Author Page . Foreign Policy . 9 September 2023 . 5 December 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221205035219/https://foreignpolicy.com/author/yashica-dutt/ . live .
- Web site: Yashica Dutt (The Asian Age). The Asian Age. 5 February 2016. 4 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304235827/http://archive.asianage.com/category/author/yashica-dutt-asian-age. live.
- Web site: On the Brunch Radar. 30 January 2016 . 6 February 2016. 6 February 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160206230729/http://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/on-the-brunch-radar/story-FRNbjXQzZ7sMGFtkEwg6kM.html. live.
- Web site: A queer ban in India, gay and legal in Nepal. 11 January 2014 . 5 February 2016. 5 February 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160205133256/http://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/a-queer-ban-in-india-gay-and-legal-in-nepal/story-qMbDekPRzcuTKideEJ7WnM.html. live.
- News: Dhillon . Amrit . Coming out as Dalit: how one Indian author finally embraced her identity . The Guardian . 19 Feb 2020 . 9 September 2023 . 7 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230907120950/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/feb/19/coming-out-as-dalit-how-one-indian-author-finally-embraced-her-identity . live .
- News: Mahtab . Alam . Interview - 'But You Don't Look like a Dalit': Yashica Dutt on 'Coming Out as Dalit' . 27 April 2019 . The Wire . 24 March 2019 . 27 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190427063300/https://thewire.in/caste/coming-out-as-dalit-yashica-dutt . live .
- Web site: Dutt . Yashica . Coming Out as Dalit . Aleph Book Company . 27 April 2019 . 27 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190427054130/http://www.alephbookcompany.com/book/coming-out-as-dalit/ . live .
- News: G . Sampath . 'Coming Out as Dalit — A Memoir' review: A Dalit who stopped being a 'brahmin' . The Hindu . 16 February 2019 . 27 April 2019 . 26 February 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200226191358/https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/coming-out-as-dalit-a-memoir-review-a-dalit-who-stopped-being-a-brahmin/article26290233.ece . live .
- News: Sahitya Akademi announces Bal Sahitya Puraskar, Yuva Puraskar 2020. Deccan Herald. March 12, 2021. 9 September 2023. 1 December 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221201105751/https://www.deccanherald.com/national/sahitya-akademi-announces-bal-sahitya-puraskar-yuva-puraskar-2020-961327.html. live.