A review by nafiza
Ants Among Elephants: An Untouchable Family and the Making of Modern India by Sujatha Gidla
3.0
The Indian political system is a monster of a machine even more so than most systems which makes it very daunting to tackle, especially for people that aren't from India to comprehend. And while this book only looks at a tiny glimpse at a small side of party politics it's very well done, a great jumping off point towards understanding.
The focus is on the author's family through the lens of her uncle: his beginnings, struggles through life in the Indian caste system as an untouchable, early communist party activities and fighting in a young India. Too much to describe without ruining a lot of what there is to discover through the book itself.
The narrative did tend to drag at a lot of points however the information was worth the time to drive through it. Those outside of India like myself might have to do some look ups to fully understand some of the historical context of stuff but the good side of course is he learning.
The focus is on the author's family through the lens of her uncle: his beginnings, struggles through life in the Indian caste system as an untouchable, early communist party activities and fighting in a young India. Too much to describe without ruining a lot of what there is to discover through the book itself.
The narrative did tend to drag at a lot of points however the information was worth the time to drive through it. Those outside of India like myself might have to do some look ups to fully understand some of the historical context of stuff but the good side of course is he learning.