Identity and Experience of Dalit Youth in Urban Context: A Narrative Inquiry

Abstract

This study is an exploration of the lives of Dalit youth in urban Kathmandu, focusing to how they narrate, negotiate, and assert their caste identity in daily life. Although Nepal has progressive laws against discrimination, and people generally view urban spaces as casteless, caste still somehow influences the interactions of social life, the formation of identities, and everyday belonging. Nevertheless, little has been done to explore how Dalit youths are affected by caste in urban settings outside of the structural inequalities. To fill this gap, the research explored how Dalit youth in urban Kathmandu narrate, negotiate, and assert their identity as a caste in their daily lives. The study objectives were to investigate the development of caste awareness, discuss identity management strategies, and learn how Dalit youth respond to subtle forms of discrimination. The study is based on the first-hand experiences of four educated Dalit youth, Abhisha, Avash, Sita, and Meena, using a qualitative narrative inquiry approach. The results demonstrate a continuum of caste awareness, ranging from delayed awareness to early critical awareness. The strategies participants used to manage identities included passing, concealment, and selective disclosure. Although these strategies were occasionally protective, they had a psychosocial cost, such as identity fatigue, anxiety, and conditional belonging. The research also demonstrates how caste discrimination in urban settings operates through microaggressions, institutionalization, and daily interactions. Meanwhile, the agency manifested through emotional resistance, digital protest, identity expression, and strategic disclosure, as proven by participants. Drawing on Narrative Identity Theory, Social Identity Theory, and Intersectionality, the analysis illustrates how caste intersects with gender, class mobility, and urban experiences to shape various identity negotiations. Placing the narratives of Dalit youth at the center, this study puts the notion of casteless urban modernity into perspective and urges scholars and policymakers to pay closer attention to insidious caste discrimination as a research and policy focus.