Not Enough Gandhi, Not Enough Ambedkar, Not Enough Liberal

I did not know I was human
until I left cow land:
Where I was walking carrion,
Where I was walking carcass,
Where I was walking corpse,
Where I was walking death.

I did not know what freedom meant
I did not know what life meant
I did not know what love meant
I did not know what liberty meant
I did not know what light meant
until I left their sacred land.

My hands did not know what touch meant
My feet did not know what free movement meant
My body did not know what respect meant
until I left their Jai Ho nation.

I did not know what identity meant
I did not know what dignity meant
I did not know what equality meant
until I left their Himalayan nation.

I was born and raised on their sacred ideologies
without knowing what civilization meant.

Enough is enough.
Gandhi, Ambedkar, liberalism: enough.

I will not be liberated from my untouchable status.
I will not be liberated from my Dalit status.
I will not be liberated from my inferior caste status.
I will not be liberated from my status as a thing.

I will never be human in your sacred land.
I will never breathe in your sacred nation.

You were born and died with your masked ideologies.
They revered you, glorified you.
But you are not enough.
Your spaces will never civilize inhumanity.
I will not be liberated in your sacred spaces.
Enough is enough now.
Let me leave your toxic ideologies.
Let me leave your toxic way of life.

I am breathing now.
I am walking now.
I am speaking now.
I am loving now.
I am living now.
I am reading now.
I am writing now.

Let my truth seed again.

Copyright @ Suryaraju Mattimalla 2026


Bio: Dr. Suryaraju Mattimalla is an Indian refugee based in Germany, a human rights writer, poet, vegan, and free-speech advocate. Born into the Dalit community, historically subjected to caste-based untouchability in India, he writes poetry addressing Dalit genocide, Dalit pogroms, caste discrimination, human rights, and social justice. He has penned and published hundreds of poems across the United States, Israel, France, India, and Nagalim. More than 50 of his human rights and anti-caste poems have appeared in Indian Currents, a weekly magazine run by Indian Catholic preachers. His poetry has also been translated from English into French and published by Christian humanitarian organizations based in France. His literary work includes poems on Christian theology, including “The Seed of the Word,” published in a newspaper based in Nagaland. Through his writing, Mattimalla seeks to challenge caste oppression, defend human dignity, and give voice to the marginalized.

Author: Dr. Suryaraju Mattimalla

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