The first autobiography written by a Dalit woman, The Prisons We Broke is a critique of patriarchy in the Dalit community and uses the author’s life as well as the lives of all Mahar women to illustrate the situation of Dalit women. It is about the experimental worlds and inhumane conditions of Dalits, particularly women, who experience the triple junction of caste, gender, and class marginalisation. Along with these themes, the author tries to show the transformation of the Dalit community from a state of enforced subjugation to a position of dignity and social equality. It is more of a sociography than an autobiography that explores the problems of the Mahar community as a whole and provides a picture of their life by focusing on the abolition of untouchability and women’s emancipation.

Sujatha Gidla’s Ants Among Elephants is a powerful family memoir set between the 1940s and early 1960s. Through the lives of her mother, Manjula, and uncle, Satyam, the author exposes how caste, gender, religion, and class intersect to shape the persistent marginalisation of Dalit women, even within progressive movements and marginalised communities themselves. The book challenges romanticised narratives of anti-colonial nationalism and post-independence progress, revealing how discrimination and patriarchy endured despite political change. Blending personal memory with political history, the book remains highly relevant for understanding intersectional oppression, the limits of social mobility, and the continuing quest for justice and dignity among Dalit communities.