The Indian political system is a monster of a machine even more so than most systems which makes it very daunting to tackle, especially for people that aren't from India to comprehend. And while this book only looks at a tiny glimpse at a small side of party politics it's very well done, a great jumping off point towards understanding.

The focus is on the author's family through the lens of her uncle: his beginnings, struggles through life in the Indian caste system as an untouchable, early communist party activities and fighting in a young India. Too much to describe without ruining a lot of what there is to discover through the book itself.

The narrative did tend to drag at a lot of points however the information was worth the time to drive through it. Those outside of India like myself might have to do some look ups to fully understand some of the historical context of stuff but the good side of course is he learning. ( )

This was an interesting story, but I found it very, very difficult to get past the writing. It needed another editing pass. ( )

I wavered between 3 and 4 stars, so went with 3.5 stars rounded up. But what the hell do stars matter, in the end. I would recommend this book to anyone, and especially so if you want to learn about the ingrained brutality and injustice of the caste system in India. It's also a great look at radical politics and the social values that continue to trip up revolutionary movements (casteism, patriarchy, bourgeois leaders). I found it incredibly illuminating, and the sections about what women in particular had to endure were both infuriating and heartbreaking, as is always the case.

My problem was that the writing/style was occasionally choppy and brusque. I think I understand why this is the case--Gidla was transcribing oral history, basically, and as an author I think maybe it was a conscious decision not to "fill out" or pad out sentiments and thoughts of characters in the story in order to make it more readable. Because she's not making up this story and the author has a responsibility to the truth. But on the other hand an editor could have maybe helped to polish or smooth over those rough edges.

It's a minor complaint. And I'm seeing some reviews here by people living in the West who are referring to Satyam, her communist uncle, as a "bum". It's not controversial to say that no one has any right to call a Dalit who organised labourers and peasants and went to prison for his political beliefs a "bum". Especially if you're judging his life from the comforts of your chair while reading a book. A sexist wanker? Yes, most likely. But not a "bum". The lack of self-awareness among reviewers reviewing a person's LIFE is astonishing, especially among readers with privilege who never had to live in the circumstances Gidla's family was subjected to because of both caste and poverty. I mean, fuck off. So to counter ignorant negative reviews, I'm giving this 4 fucking stars. ( )

3 ⭐️ Ants Among Elephants is a memoir of sorts. Sujata Gidla writes about her grandparents, uncle and aunt, all in the untouchable caste, who were part of the Communist party in India. The treatment of the untouchables is horrific and limits them for their lifetime in terms of education, jobs and blatant prejudice.
As someone with very little understanding of India history, I was lost in a majority of the story, even after some google searches. Sujata's introduction said she didn't realize she had a story to tell until she moved to the US, but I think she still didn't understand how unknown the details of Indian revolutionaries are to Americans. I looked up reader reviews and found that most Americans and Brits had the same confusion, while Indians give it 5 stars and says it is an uncomfortable but important read. ( )