ABSTRACT
Caste hierarchies in India place children within a complex system of oppressor-oppressed relationships that structurally reinforce practices of othering. This paper draws on research with children from privileged caste communities, raising critical consciousness of caste oppression in a primary school classroom in New Delhi, India. It focuses on children’s dialogues about their identities, privilege and positionality. The study was conducted over a period of 8 months, with three iterative cycles of inquiries and participatory approaches to co-research with 12 children (10-year-olds) in a grade 5 classroom. Informed by critical qualitative, arts-based, and play-based methods, data generated with children included inquiry walls, child-led interviews, drawings, podcasts, zines, maps, comics, puppets and theatre performances. Children’s shifting understandings of caste-based otherness, i.e., from ‘us and them’ conversations to ideas of solidarity and being anti-caste allies, are explored. The paper discusses implications for addressing systemic barriers which limit children’s agency for engaging in anti-caste work in their schools, communities and society.