Ants in the Elephant Colony by Sujata Kidara Publisher: CITIC Press

Introduction
Sujata Kidara was born into an untouchable family. Although most untouchables are illiterate, her grandfather was educated by Canadian missionaries in the 1930s, which enabled Kidara to attend elite schools and eventually immigrate to the United States. It was not until then that she realized how extraordinary her family history was - and yet how typical it was. She was determined to uncover the truth about that history and bring to light the forces that changed Indian society and politics. Through the oral accounts of her mother, uncle and friends, this story of an untouchable family trying to survive...
An oral history of an untouchable family in India, an epic of the revolution of India's lower castes: the elder brother became a leader of the Communist Party of India; the second brother also participated in the movement; the younger sister received higher education, but was still confined to the fate of Indian women - the struggle of a lowest caste family against fate, which aroused the turmoil in modern Indian politics and society, and opened a door for every reader to understand contemporary India: ubiquitous caste discrimination, endless suffering, and endless struggle.
Although they were born and grew up in the chasm of caste segregation and discrimination, they still embrace the dignity and strength that comes from equality.
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Editor's Recommendations
• “One in six Indians is an untouchable. Your caste is your life and your life is your caste.”
• Understand modern India through the struggles and revolution of an untouchable family.
• Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year 2017; one of the Wall Street Journal's Top Ten Nonfiction Works 2017
• Highly praised and recommended by well-known media such as The Economist, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly!
• An oral history of an untouchable family in India, an epic of the revolution of India’s lower castes.
• Born amidst the chasm of caste segregation and discrimination, they still embrace the dignity and strength that comes from equality.
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Media Recommendations
• The author of this book, Sujata Chitra, was born into an untouchable family in India. As a family history, this book is highly personal but not emotional.
——WSJ
• Ants Among Elephants is a memoir that is riveting, affecting, and ultimately inspiring. It may be the most compelling work of Indian nonfiction currently being written, and heralds the emergence of a formidable new writer.
——The Economist
• Sujata Ketra writes with quiet conviction, telling the story of her own family but also of how ancient prejudices persist in contemporary India and how they are being challenged.
—The New York Times
• An extraordinary family history. In this non-fiction book, we can read how real people fought against real cruelty with courage and dignity.
—The Wall Street Journal
About the Author
About the Author
Sujatha Gidla was born in Andhra Pradesh, southeast India, into a revolutionary family of untouchables, the lowest caste in India, commonly known as "untouchables". She studied physics at the Warangal Regional Engineering College. Sujatha currently lives in New York and works as a subway attendant.
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About the Translator
Yang Yishuang
Born in the southwestern frontier, he is a fan of Indian culture and mythology and has translated several related works. He is currently working in a university on South Asian studies.