Interview with Suraj Yengde

Suraj Yengde is a research associate in the department of African and African American studies at Harvard University and author of the bestseller Caste Matters. He has studied on four continents – Asia, Africa, Europe, North America – and became the first Indian Dalit to take a PhD from an African university. He has published more than 100 essays, articles and book reviews on topics including caste, race, labour and migration.

Where did you grow up?
A small hinterland town in central India called Nanded. Many people there are landless, peasants, mill workers. It’s politically also in the middle of nowhere. When India got independence, we were still in the control of a local ruler.

You were born into a Dalit (India’s lowest caste) family?
Yes, I grew up in a Dalit slum. My grandfather was a mill worker and a unionist. My father dropped out of school after ninth grade and went on to work as a cleaner and milkman, retiring as an office peon. The most one could do is try to become a clerk, get a degree and lift your family out of poverty. The odds are very much against you.

How has your birthplace and family background shaped who you are?
My father founded the Dalit cultural theatre movement in my town. That articulated my way of thinking about these issues. It’s why I’m sensitive to the idea of space and place in hierarchies and social justice initiatives. You could be a Dalit from Bombay, and you’re still relatively privileged. If you come from a small town, you know facilities are probably not the same depending on what state you come from. We hardly found mention of our region in history books. Major newspapers are published in the capital, which is 600 kilometres from my district, so they’ll come a day late.

What set you on a path to academia?
I was never meant to be. People like me were not composed to be intellectuals. I almost had no roof over my head; at least I had a tin shed. It’s an accident that I got into academia. I could see planes flying overhead and I’d wonder who was in them. Now I fly every few weeks.

You’re in the process of getting a second PhD – did scholarship always come naturally to you?
In my high school I scored 46 per cent. I just passed. I was studying chemistry and physics – that was never my thing. My father bribed me to pursue law. I think that’s where I found my calling because it was more lyrical, more like literature as opposed to drawing diagrams and theorems. I became a student leader at 17 when I was elected president of student council at my college. That was a big ego hurt for some people, for a Dalit to be elected.

Why should people care about your work?
Academia is no longer an aristocratic exercise of people trying to think about philosophies in a leisurely mood. It has become a public good. Just a generation ago there were a few Dalit scholars, but they would write from within India. Social justice, equity, inclusion have become the emblem of almost all institutions. They’re issues that HE is now taking seriously. I want to ease the tension attached to India and caste – caste is in almost every part of the world.

What are the best and worst things about your job?
The best thing is you get to work with people in the field who are challenging settled dynamics. I can reach out to people in all sorts of different fields. There’s a charm, a certain kind of attention given to you. It also feels purposeful. I get to contribute to a knowledge that will outlast me. That’s the beauty of academia. Unfortunately, the attention that comes with the work brings a lot of nastiness and jealousies, people and governments who try to tarnish your reputation. There’s also pain and sleeplessness because there’s a lot of work. I have two books, a fortnightly column to curate, special issues to edit. I contribute to the scholarly community by reviewing, commenting on new research developments, and I need to work on another PhD thesis.

When are you happiest?
My favourite place is my desk. Reading and critical thinking give me great pleasure. These days I end up reading most of the time, either for my writing or as a peer reviewer. Happiest is also when I’m debating, speaking at conferences, engaging with people. When your ideas get published, there’s that joy of seeing it. I get to travel to places. I was in London for a keynote and SOAS put me up in a nice hotel. I would never have done that on my own. This is a joy too; I don’t want to discount it.

What keeps you awake at night?
The next book I’m going to write and the excitement of thinking about new ideas. In a larger sense, I’ve become someone who has my own voice, so I feel more responsible on certain issues. But I’m not a prophet – I have to learn. How do I make a cause I believe in a concern of everyone in the world while at the same time making sure this doesn’t become the next model that fails to do the things it is fighting for?

What advice do you give to academics like you coming from a deprived background?
I’d tell them you’re entering a space that was never meant for you. Be mindful of that and let that not be a judgement of your ability – you’ll overcome if you’re persistent. Also be compassionate. If a person is frustrating you, forgive them with a smile. Try to find mentors, a few of them. If somebody’s not kind to you in writing, keep a channel open. Also, today’s world is of instant justice and cancel culture. Educate yourself, and if you make a mistake, apologise. Apologise in a way that will demonstrate your grace.

What do you do when you’re not busy with academic work?
I like watching movies. I really like to do Netflix and chill time. I like going on long walks, talking, reconnecting with friends. I think people find me weird – I don’t really text much; I just call. Also cooking. I am a very confident, proud guru chef. I love experimenting.

pola.lem@timeshighereducation.com

CV 

2011-12 master’s degree in international human rights law, Birmingham City University

2012-16 PhD in migration and diaspora, University of the Witwatersrand

2017-20 W.E.B. Du Bois non-resident fellow at Harvard University

2018-20 postdoctoral fellow, Harvard 

2020-21 senior fellow, Harvard Kennedy School

2020-present DPhil in intellectual history, University of Oxford

2015-present research associate, Harvard 

Appointments

Duke University’s provost Sally Kornbluth has been named the 18th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), replacing Rafael Reif, who is stepping down after 10 years in post. A cell biologist, Professor Kornbluth has been at Duke since 1994, with the past eight years spent as its chief academic officer. She said her “greatest joy” as a leader has “always been in facilitating and amplifying the work of others”, and she was “eager to meet all the brilliant, entrepreneurial people of MIT”.

Lingnan University Hong Kong will be led by data scientist S Joe Qin from August 2023 when he succeeds retiring president Leonard Cheng. Currently dean and chair professor of data science at City University of Hong Kong, Professor Qin studied at Tsinghua University and the University of Maryland at College Park. The university’s council chairman, Andrew Yao Cho-fai, said Professor Qin was “a proven leader in higher education and an accomplished scholar with global recognition”.

Stacey Farraway has been appointed La Trobe University’s inaugural deputy vice-chancellor (future growth). She is currently the Melbourne-based university’s acting deputy vice-chancellor (global).

IÉSEG School of Management in Lille has named Elise Marescaux dean of faculty and Maria Castillo social and environmental impact director. The two have been promoted from their current roles as deputy dean of faculty and corporate social responsibility manager respectively.

Helen Boucher has been made permanent dean of the Tufts University School of Medicine and chief academic officer for Tufts Medicine, having served in the positions on an interim basis since July 2021.

Francesca Panetta has been appointed the first director of the new AKO Storytelling Institute at the University of the Arts London. The documentary maker has previously served as executive editor, virtual reality at The Guardian and creative director at MIT.