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Schaumburg to host Dalit Literature Festival on April 18
Program will examine caste across religions and within South Asian diaspora communities.
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Malvika Choudhary - Sat, 11, Apr 2026
- 16:57 EDT
- 21
B. R. Ambedkar / Wikipedia
The International Dalit Literature Festival is set to take place on April 18 at Roosevelt University's Schaumburg campus to mark the 135th birth anniversary of Indian social reformer B. R. Ambedkar.
The day-long event, organized by the South Asian American Coalition to Renew Democracy (SACRED) in partnership with Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) will bring together scholars, writers, activists and community members for discussions on Dalit literature, caste, social justice and Ambedkar’s legacy.
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The programme includes panel discussions, literary sessions, cultural performances, and art and literature exhibits.
Panel#3 in the International Dalit Literature Festival in Chicago: “Caste Across Religious Traditions: Persistence, Transformation, and Contestation”. Please join if you are around. pic.twitter.com/gQ60wBXamB
— Khalid Anis Ansari (@KhalidAAnsari4) April 11, 2026
Organizers said the festival aims to highlight Dalit literary and intellectual traditions while fostering dialogue on caste, identity and human rights within South Asian communities and the diaspora.
A key session at the festival, titled “Caste Across Religious Traditions: Persistence, Transformation, and Contestation,” will examine how caste hierarchies persist across religious traditions, including Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism and Buddhism, and how these structures are reproduced or challenged in diaspora contexts.
The panel will feature Khalid Anis Ansari of Azim Premji University, who works on caste among Indian Muslims; S. Helen Chukka of Wartburg Theological Seminary, who studies caste, gender and theology; journalist and author Yashica Dutt, known for her memoir Coming Out as Dalit; and historian Shailaja Paik of the University of Cincinnati, a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.
Additional speakers include Gaurav Pathania of Eastern Mennonite University; Santosh Raut of Harvard Divinity School; and Sumit Samos of the University of Pennsylvania, who will moderate the session.
The event is also positioned within a broader academic initiative at NEIU, where it will serve as a signature co-curricular programme under the Spring 2026 College of Arts and Sciences theme semester titled “Staying the Course for Human Rights: From Awareness to Action.”
According to organizers, the theme semester brings together more than 40 courses examining structural inequalities, including caste-based discrimination.
The festival coincides with April observances linked to Ambedkar’s legacy, widely marked as Ambedkar Jayanti and as part of Dalit History Month, a global initiative highlighting Dalit histories, movements and cultural production.
Ambedkar, a jurist and social reformer, is widely recognized for his role in drafting the Constitution of India and for his advocacy against caste-based discrimination.
Discover more at New India Abroad.
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