“My message for this Dalit Heritage Month is fighting for regaining humanity for everyone, irrespective of caste, gender [and] race,” the associate professor shares. “Dalit movements and Dalit history provide an important avenue to look at social justice movements across the world.”
Presented by Poetic Justice Foundation, the talk, followed by a panel discussion, will focus on building community, advocating for social justice and combatting discrimination.
Sharing stories
Dalits, also known as ‘untouchables,’ were the lowest class in India’s caste system. They faced major discrimination, including exclusion from societal institutions – the effects of which are still felt today. For Jangam, the caste system’s ‘invisible’ way of discrimination allows it to insidiously impact social connections even in the present time.
“[Caste] operates in a very powerful way because it [involves] access to friendships [and] access to social networks,” he explains. “And the social networks help people get into professional networks.”
Jangam identifies as coming from a Dalit background, making these experiences deeply personal. He recognizes education as a way to escape caste-based discrimination and its effect of poverty.
“Being a Dalit, one of the important ethical responsibilities I feel is to advocate for anti-caste movements,” he shares, emphasizing the need to address discrimination. “That is one of the reasons that I often travel and talk about [the topic] in different universities and public platforms.”
According to the associate professor, Dalits have also faced discrimination in the South Asian academic circle: the topic has been nearly invisible in scholarship focusing on colonial and anti-colonial nationalism. Jangam observes this erasure changing with racial justice movements like Black Lives Matter encouraging global leaders to look at different forms of discrimination.
“There is a growing interest in South Asian academia to explore caste and how caste affects not only diaspora, but also within India,” he says. “We have new reflections and critical studies on caste and caste-based discrimination.”
Regaining humanity
Jangam is a co-founder of South Asian Dalit Adivasi Network (SADAN), which advocates for eliminating caste discrimination. This work involves forming alliances with other anti-discrimination organizations, including the Poetic Justice Foundation. For the associate professor, such connections are key to combatting discrimination.
“We have been working for the last four or five years on the anti-caste movement in Canada,” Jangam shares of his work with SADAN. “We have developed this intersectional alliance with the different organizations related to South Asian communities.”
He notes that the Ontario Human Rights Commission has issued a policy statement on caste discrimination. SADAN is currently working on a Canada-wide survey project to learn about the effects of caste structures in the country. For the associate professor, Dalit History Month is important because it recognizes the group’s centuries-long struggle to regain their humanity in the face of caste oppression.
“We see each other’s humanity, we recognize each other’s humanity,” he adds. “Ultimately, that is very important for a multicultural, multi-religious country like Canada which embraces diversity as an important aspect of its existence.”
When it comes to social justice movements, the associate professor advocates for communication across different communities – leading to more knowledge about their past and present.
Moderated by Sharanjit Kaur Sandhra (PhD) from Belonging Matters Consulting, the panel discussion also features Neha Gupta (PhD) of UBC Okanagan and Anita Lal (Poetic Justice Foundation). Participants are invited to the Kelowna launch of OVERCASTE – Confront. Disrupt. Evolve., an exhibit examining personal stories and historical contexts surrounding casteism in Canada.
For more information, see www.sikhheritagebc.ca/anand-2025/arc-of-justice-opening-space-for-anti-racist-and-anti-casteist-narratives and https://events.ok.ubc.ca/event/arc-of-justice-panel-discussion-exhibit
