Book On Dalits By Christian Author Wins LISA Award

New Delhi, September 27: Noted Indian freelance journalist and human rights activist Oliver D’Souza has won the prestigious London Institute Of South Asia (LISA) Book Of The Year Award for 2011-12 for his book ‘Truth About Dalits’ conferred at its annual Seminar and Book Award ceremony.

Drawing from a short-list of global entries for the award, the award committee narrowed down on ‘Truth About Dalits’ as the winner for the award.

Commenting on the criteria for conferring the award, Saeed Ismat Director of LISA said “ Oliver D’Souza has done a commendable job writing such an analytical and unbiased book on the Dalits. The institution considers the book of great value."

“The Truth about Dalits' is an eye opener and a remarkable research work. The author has spoken the truth with no prejudice, favour or fear.”

Truth About Dalits was first published as an Ebook and later on as a hardback by the institute itself and has received outstanding reviews from activists, scholars, academicians and critics alike.

The earlier Indian winners of the award include renowned writers, thinkers and ideologues Dr V T Rajshekar (2005) and Dr Kancha Ilaiah (2008).

The book describes the caste system in India through the ages and its unparalleled discrimination of Dalits for over 3000 years and how the modern day India continues to treat them as outcastes and untouchables. The author emphasizes that Dalits were never Hindus and never will be. He documents the covert slavery and modern day atrocities and imprediments to Dalit emancipation. The book shows Hindutva as the major enemy of Dalits and other Non-Hindus in India and suggests a number of options for the Dalits including to momotheistic faiths to escape the stranglehold of caste.

In his foreword, Dr Ilaiah said, “The book 'Truth About Dalits' is a different kind of book that so far exists on Dalits in the market. Oliver D’Souza has collected very relevant information laboriously to write this book. So far the exploitation, suppression and oppression of Dalitbahujans has not been understood by the Western world. Nobody has written a book on caste and untouchability keeping the Western readers in mind. This is first of its kind with details that normally are not available at one place with a reasoned argument about their status, predicament and struggles.”

“Dsouza’ book does that job with good expertise and gives us a graphic picture of how it (caste discrimination) is actually practiced within the Hindu fold. The insertion of photographs at important places makes the book not only more creative, but makes it more readable and understandable,” he added.

London Institute of South Asia is a global think-tank that is a voice for all the oppressed people of South Asia.

Oliver D’Souza is a feeelance and web-journalist who began his career with the Press Trust Of India (PTI) in 1988 before moving on to write for various regional and national dailies and getting involved in Human and Dalit rights.

D’Souza has earlier published “Communal Crimes Against Christians In India” – the only document of its kind and has been a ghost writer for two other books. He additionally heads the Dalit Christian Research Foundation (DCRF) and is the National General Secretary of All India Christian Council (AICC). He additionally runs a network of 15 news and review websites.