In advance of the publication date of The Trauma of Caste, NAB author Thenmozhi Soundararajan has become the target of a coordinated campaign of online abuse, harassment, and disinformation. Bad actors have responded to a recent interview with casteist threats, misogyny, and violent imagery in a play to discredit her work and suppress her voice.
As her publisher, North Atlantic Books stands behind Thenmozhi and her vital, healing, and groundbreaking book. We condemn all violence and threats of violence against writers and activists. And we see this campaign of abuse for what it is: an attempt to silence Thenmozhi and distract readers from naming the atrocities of caste apartheid.
Whether perpetrated by troll farms or individuals, campaigns of online harassment are designed to intimidate and overwhelm. By spreading outright lies and hijacking discourse around caste abolition, online abusers hope to divert our attention and displace our outrage from the real and urgent issue at hand: Caste-based oppression is happening right now, and it’s fueling apartheid.
Neither Thenmozhi nor North Atlantic Books will be silenced or intimidated by anti-Dalit vitriol, harassment, or threats of violence. NAB remains committed to uplifting Thenmozhi and all writers, artists, and creators who work fiercely and tirelessly to end violent systems of oppression in their fight for healing and justice.
If you’d like to learn more about efforts to end caste apartheid, start here with Equality Labs—the largest Dalit civil rights organization in the U.S., founded by Thenmozhi Soundararajan. If you’d like to support Thenmozhi and NAB during this time, you can lend your time to caste-abolition efforts, spread awareness of caste-based oppression, engage with her book, and report online abuse when you see it.
In solidarity,
The Team at North Atlantic Books