Ants Among Elephants is a memoir by Sujatha Gidla that details her family in Andhra Pradesh. It is named after the image of Dalits being trampled on by other castes, like ants being trampled on by elephants. The full name is Ants Among Elephants: An Untouchable Family and the Making of Modern India. It was released by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 2017, and was published by The Wikipedia Foundation in 2019. This guide details a synopsis of the book, the ideas represented, how it was received by critics, and who is most likely to benefit from reading it. There are no spoilers beyond what is provided by the publisher.
What is Ants Among Elephants about?
The memoir is a family history that encompasses ninety years and covers a Dalit family in Andhra Pradesh. (publisher’s page quoting The New York Times, Macmillan). Gidla was born into a family of college lecturers. However, she writes she was still born an Untouchable and that her family practiced Christianity. (The Minnesota Star Tribune, July 2017) The book is 306 pages (The Minnesota Star Tribune).
Two of her uncles, Satyam and Carey were born in the final years of British colonial rule. (Macmillan) While Satyam had a successful career in the Communist Party and became a published poet, Carey committed suicide at age 28 due to heartbreak and despair. (Macmillan) The book follows both men and several other members of the family during colonial rule, and through the birth of independent India. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
About Sujatha Gidla
Sujatha Gidla is an Indian-American author working as a subway conductor in New York City. She wrote the book based on her family history (The Post and Courier, March 2018; BBC, “The defiance of an ‘untouchable’ New York subway worker”). She started writing the book after countless conversations with her mother and relatives (Wikipedia, “Sujatha Gidla”). The book is her first work of literature.
The main characters
There are two characters in particular that Gidla focuses on. The first is her uncle Satyamurthy, who was a key figure in the Naxalite movement. The movement was a collection of insurrectionist left-wing groups that aimed to overthrow the Indian government (The Minnesota Star Tribune). The second character is Gidla’s mother, Manjula, who is described to have faced both caste and gender discrimination (Desi Writers Lounge, “Book Review: Ants Among Elephants”).
Summary of Ants Among Elephants
One of the main themes in “Ants Among Elephants” is caste in day to day life. There are descriptions of discrimination and stereotyping that continued well into the latter part of the 20th century, and even into today (Book Marks, review of Ants Among Elephants).
The second main theme is caste and gender. There is one review in particular that says the chapters that focus on Manjula are centered on sexism, and therefore, personal (Yellow Crane in the Rain, August 2018).
The book explores Communism and the Naxalite movement through the eyes of Satyam, a Dalit who passes from Gandhian Nationalism in his boyhood to the Naxalite movement (The Post and Courier).
The book offers a fine-grained history of modern India. According to the Star Tribune, the book also offers such a history (The Minnesota Star Tribune).
What the critics said about “Ants among Elephants”
There was much praise. It was a New York Times Editors’ Choice, a Wall Street Journal top 10 nonfiction book of 2017 and a Publishers Weekly best book of 2017 (Macmillan). It won the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize (Desi Writers Lounge). Pankaj Mishra, in The New York Review of Books, wrote it was a deeply compelling and moving work of literature which shed considerable light on contemporary Indian politics (Wikipedia). Our What is the Caste System? guides explains the class and our guide to the Dalit Panthers covers a similar movement of the same era.
Not everyone praised it. One review in the Post and Courier found it difficult to admire Satyam because of his self-defeating nature, and found some of the episodes to be puzzling (The Post and Courier). According to a summary of reviews on BookMarks, Gidla’s account of political events is often influenced by her family’s communist ideology, spanning Leninism, Stalinism, Maoism, and Naxalism (Book Marks, citing a review). It is best to take this memoir as a family memoir, and thus, a biased history.
Who should read it?
This book is of interest to readers wanting to learn more about caste from a first-hand account spanning multiple generations, and about the Indian Left’s political history. This book is also of interest to readers wanting a basic introduction to caste law and history, and may wish to first consult our more concise explainer on how the ranking works. The book is also on our Dalit memoirs reading list.
Why it matters in the West
The author lives and publishes in the West, and it is often referred to as an introduction to Dalit life and a family history. (For communities wishing to document their history, blogging, artificial intelligence, and email marketing skills have become crucial. The Ambedkarite Educational Program was built to teach exactly these skills.)
Final thoughts
Sujatha Gidla’s 2017 memoir Ants Among Elephants traces her Dalit Christian family of Andhra Pradesh through her mother Manjula and her uncle Satyam, a Naxalite poet. Critics hailed it for the unsentimental way it traced the footsteps of caste for almost a century, and awarded it a prize for the best first book. Some reviewers believed that the family’s ideology skewed certain parts of the political narrative. It is one narrative, and it complements a short guide to caste and the history of the Dalit movement.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Ants Among Elephants about?
It is the author’s family memoir of Dalits in Andhra Pradesh, tracing them through her mother Manjula and her uncle Satyam.
Who is Sujatha Gidla?
Sujatha Gidla is an Indian-American writer. She worked as a subway conductor while she wrote her debut book.
Is Ants Among Elephants a true story?
Yes. Ants Among Elephants is based on Sujatha’s conversation with her mother and other relatives.
Is the Ants Among Elephants book worth reading?
The New York Times and The New York Review of Books praised the book. Sujatha also won the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize.
Where can I read more books on caste?
Our reading list has memoirs, fiction, scholarship, and other books on caste.
Understanding caste is step one. Building digital independence is step two.
Ambedkarite communities across the globe are using the same tools and strategies to challenge prejudice and create digital platforms that cannot be taken down.
The Ambedkarite Educational Program teaches these same tools and strategies: AI tools, building and hosting a website, Google Marketing, email and blogging, for only ₹297 (~$4).
or join the Movement to learn for free.
SOURCES
- Macmillan, Ants Among Elephants (publisher’s page, with review quotations)
- The Minnesota Star Tribune, review, July 14, 2017
- The Post and Courier, “Review: ‘Ants Among Elephants’ a compelling family saga of strife and success”
- Desi Writers Lounge, “Book Review: Ants Among Elephants by Sujatha Gidla”
- Yellow Crane in the Rain, “Book Review: Ants Among Elephants,” August 2018
- Book Marks, review summary
- Wikipedia, “Ants Among Elephants”
- Wikipedia, “Sujatha Gidla”
