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Defying the Odds: The Rise of Dalit Entrepreneurs
Defying the Odds is about the new Dalit identity. It profiles the phenomenal rise of twenty Dalit entrepreneurs, the few who through a combination of grit, ambition, drive and hustle—and some luck—have managed to break through social, economic and practical barriers. It illustrates instances where adversity compensated for disadvantage, where working their way up from the bottom instilled in Dalit entrepreneurs a much greater resilience as well as a willingness to seize opportunities in sectors and locations eschewed by more privileged business groups.
Traditional Dalit narratives are marked by struggle for identity, rights, equality and for inclusion. These inspiring stories capture both the difficulty of their circumstances as well as their extraordinary steadfastness, while bringing light to the possibilities of entrepreneurship as a tool of social empowerment.
Traditional Dalit narratives are marked by struggle for identity, rights, equality and for inclusion. These inspiring stories capture both the difficulty of their circumstances as well as their extraordinary steadfastness, while bringing light to the possibilities of entrepreneurship as a tool of social empowerment.
271 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 18, 2014
7 people are currently reading
103 people want to read
About the author
Devesh Kapur
22 books16 followersDevesh Kapur is the Starr Foundation South Asia Studies Professor and Asia Programs Director at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C.
From 2006-18, he was the Director of CASI, Professor of Political Science at Penn, and held the Madan Lal Sobti Chair for the Study of Contemporary India. Prior to arriving at Penn, Professor Kapur was Associate Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin, and before that the Frederick Danziger Associate Professor of Government at Harvard. His research focuses on human capital, national and international public institutions, and the ways in which local-global linkages, especially international migration and international institutions, affect political and economic change in developing countries, especially India.
His book, Diaspora, Democracy and Development: The Impact of International Migration from India on India, published by Princeton University Press in August 2010, earned him the 2012 ENMISA (Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Migration Section of International Studies Association) Distinguished Book Award. Defying the Odds: The Rise of Dalit Entrepreneurs (co-authored with D. Shyam Babu and Chandra Bhan Prasad), was published in July 2014 by Random House India. The Other One Percent: Indians in America (co-authored with Sanjoy Chakravorty and Nirvikar Singh), published in October 2016 by Oxford University Press, received widespread acclaim. His latest edited works are Navigating the Labyrinth: Perspectives on India’s Higher Education (with Pratap Bhanu Mehta), published in January 2017 by Orient BlackSwan, and Rethinking Public Institutions in India (with Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Milan Vaishnav), forthcoming in May 2017 by Oxford University Press.
Professor Kapur is the recipient of the Joseph R. Levenson Teaching Prize awarded to the best junior faculty, Harvard College, in 2005. He is a monthly contributor to the Business Standard. Professor Kapur holds a B. Tech in Chemical Engineering from the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University; an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota; and a Ph.D. from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton.
From 2006-18, he was the Director of CASI, Professor of Political Science at Penn, and held the Madan Lal Sobti Chair for the Study of Contemporary India. Prior to arriving at Penn, Professor Kapur was Associate Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin, and before that the Frederick Danziger Associate Professor of Government at Harvard. His research focuses on human capital, national and international public institutions, and the ways in which local-global linkages, especially international migration and international institutions, affect political and economic change in developing countries, especially India.
His book, Diaspora, Democracy and Development: The Impact of International Migration from India on India, published by Princeton University Press in August 2010, earned him the 2012 ENMISA (Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Migration Section of International Studies Association) Distinguished Book Award. Defying the Odds: The Rise of Dalit Entrepreneurs (co-authored with D. Shyam Babu and Chandra Bhan Prasad), was published in July 2014 by Random House India. The Other One Percent: Indians in America (co-authored with Sanjoy Chakravorty and Nirvikar Singh), published in October 2016 by Oxford University Press, received widespread acclaim. His latest edited works are Navigating the Labyrinth: Perspectives on India’s Higher Education (with Pratap Bhanu Mehta), published in January 2017 by Orient BlackSwan, and Rethinking Public Institutions in India (with Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Milan Vaishnav), forthcoming in May 2017 by Oxford University Press.
Professor Kapur is the recipient of the Joseph R. Levenson Teaching Prize awarded to the best junior faculty, Harvard College, in 2005. He is a monthly contributor to the Business Standard. Professor Kapur holds a B. Tech in Chemical Engineering from the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University; an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota; and a Ph.D. from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 26, 2019
An Impressive book of various Entrepreneurs in India from Dalit Community. Growing up in Tamil Nadu, India - I did hear stories from various communities.
But I do think, this needs to be re-told and shared among many people in India. I am not familiar with life-style of people outside of Tamil Nadu, India. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in Business, India, Caste System.
Deus Vult
-Gottfried
But I do think, this needs to be re-told and shared among many people in India. I am not familiar with life-style of people outside of Tamil Nadu, India. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in Business, India, Caste System.
Deus Vult
-Gottfried
February 7, 2015
A book to understand how dalit entrepreneurs succeed their dreams
In book "Defying the Odds: The Rise of Dalit Entrepreneurs", authors Devesh Kapur, D. Shyam Babu and Chandra Bhan Prasad narrate inspiring real life stories of dalit entrepreneurs across the breadth and length of India working 24X7 for the betterment of society and their own communities. Many of them also have reached the pinnacles of success while running their businesses in strategically right directions. However, a reviewer observed that entrepreneurs from eastern and north-east regions are not covered in this book. Also we would like to know implications of reservations in top tier business schools, particularly IIMs. Could they able to produce dalit entrepreneurs (who availed reservations in these premier institutions), or only career technocrats suited for working with MNCs? I saw another book on the similar topic "Dalit Millionaires: 15 Inspiring Stories", by Milind Khandekar.
In book "Defying the Odds: The Rise of Dalit Entrepreneurs", authors Devesh Kapur, D. Shyam Babu and Chandra Bhan Prasad narrate inspiring real life stories of dalit entrepreneurs across the breadth and length of India working 24X7 for the betterment of society and their own communities. Many of them also have reached the pinnacles of success while running their businesses in strategically right directions. However, a reviewer observed that entrepreneurs from eastern and north-east regions are not covered in this book. Also we would like to know implications of reservations in top tier business schools, particularly IIMs. Could they able to produce dalit entrepreneurs (who availed reservations in these premier institutions), or only career technocrats suited for working with MNCs? I saw another book on the similar topic "Dalit Millionaires: 15 Inspiring Stories", by Milind Khandekar.
May 30, 2015
Devesh very aptly picked all Dalit entrepreneurs in India, and illustrated quiet well all challenges are faced by them. Quiet inspiring.
September 26, 2024
3.5/5
certainly interesting however i wish there was an organised chronology of stories -- maybe by broader groupings [for example, those in the service sector, those battling twin problems, etc]. though the writing was readable i felt it could have been better. i appreciate the endeavour and the amount of research that went into this!
certainly interesting however i wish there was an organised chronology of stories -- maybe by broader groupings [for example, those in the service sector, those battling twin problems, etc]. though the writing was readable i felt it could have been better. i appreciate the endeavour and the amount of research that went into this!
January 3, 2025
I liked the book but I am also looking forward a second part. Things have dramatically changed in the last decade and how is that impacting the lives of entrepreneurs in general is something I am eager to know!
May 24, 2018
A simple but inspiring read.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews