Anti-Caste Dialogues – Episode 1: Dr Ali Saha
- Jun 29
- 2 min read
Anti-Caste Dialogues is a podcast series hosted on the Casteism Studies website that features conversations on casteism, discrimination, and lived experiences structured by caste-based hierarchies. The series includes contributions from academics, activists, advocates, and allies whose work engages with questions of inequality, representation, and social justice in media, culture, and public life. Each episode is structured around dialogue-driven exchanges that examine how caste operates in everyday institutions and how it is addressed through scholarship, practice, and public engagement. The series offers a space for reflective discussion grounded in research and lived experience rather than abstract theoretical framing.
The first episode features Ali Saha, a media sociologist whose research focuses on media practices and the formation of identity among marginalised communities. She is currently based at the University of Melbourne and has previously held academic positions at several international institutions. Dr Saha completed her PhD at Monash University, Australia, and undertook her earlier studies at Banaras Hindu University, where she received the Faculty Gold Medal for academic performance. Before entering academia, she worked for nearly a decade in communication practice, which continues to inform her academic writing and research orientation.
Her research focuses on media representation, journalism practices, and caste, with particular attention to how news organisations construct public understanding of Dalit lives. She examines how editorial decisions and storytelling practices often position Dalit experiences through restricted references to violence or public dispute, while wider social and political realities receive less sustained attention. Her work draws on media sociology and questions of representation, with emphasis on how institutional practices shape visibility and recognition in public communication.
This episode also draws on her book, Dalit Identity in Indian Print Media: Caste, Power, and Representation, published by Routledge. The book examines caste representation in Indian print journalism, with attention to leading newspapers such as The Times of India and Amar Ujala. It argues that Dalit visibility in news reporting is frequently structured through restricted frames linked to conflict, violence, or public disruption, while broader forms of social life receive comparatively limited attention. Drawing on media analysis and social theory, the study examines how journalistic practices contribute to shaping public understanding of caste and democratic life in India, particularly through choices of framing, selection, and emphasis in reporting.
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