Scum of the Earth

The story of Avinash's father, Dagadoo, being beaten for asking for leftover puranpoli---a festive delicacy he rarely got to eat---was one that stayed with him forever. While discrimination was a shared generational pain, Dagadoo, a Dalit man and a foot soldier in Dr B.R. Ambedkar's social movement, believed that education, hard work and honesty would allow his son to enter the world those high-rise city lights symbolized. This set the tone for a life shaped by a relentless fight against poverty, caste and greed.