The Dalit Woman who became a Real-Life 'Slumdog Millionaire'

Bangalore: She was once called dirty, ugly, a little packet of poison and the offspring of donkeys. But Kalpana Saroj is now called something else: a millionaire. Kalpana, a dalit or untouchable, symbolizes what was once unthinkable in India: upward mobility for someone whose caste long meant she would die as she was born- an uneducated, poor, and fated to a life of dangerous and filthy work, writes Mark Magnier of Los Angeles Times.

The manufacturing tycoon is among a host of dalits embracing new opportunities in business, politics, the arts and academia. One admirer of hers called her "a real slumdog millionaire."

"Before, Indians thought the only way up was life after death, assuming they avoided hell," said Chandra Bhan Prasad, a dalit researcher and activist. She further added "Now, not having a mobile phone is hell. Dalits can't become Brahmins, but they can become capitalists. Once you become rich, you become free," the article says.

Others oppose the rag to riches stories can't sugarcoat the continued suffering of the 17 percent of India's 1.2 billion people facing discrimination under an ancient, complex system. The traditional system determines one's occupation and social status at birth, with Brahmins at the top and "unclean" dalits at the bottom shoveling human waste.

Saroj, 51, once scorned by Brahmins, has built a business empire that employs thousands of upper-caste workers. Saroj today wears gold bracelets, diamond earrings and a traditional salwar kameez worth thousands of dollars.  Saroj bought her daughter a hotel after she settled on studying hotel management a few years ago.