The collection of short stories Salaam (« Allégeance »), translated from Hindi and published in India in 2000, offers 14 short stories dealing with the issues constantly faced by the population of the lower castes, also referred to as the dalite community. Some of the short stories take place in an urban surroudings with the emergence of an dalite "elite" who must hide the caste they come from in order to find an housing and manage to mix with the neigboors. However, as soon as their statut of untouchables is revealed, they become subject of denigration and sudden spurge of hate and aversion from the neigboors. This change of behaviour toward dalits also occures at work, especially for those working as office workers, as humilation, act of intimidations and harassement at work become common practices once they are seen as part of the dalite community. Other short stories take place in village, considered as a heavenly place according to the ideals of Gandhi. Yet, for the untouchables, villages are hellish places where arbitay and tiranic power prevails along with social injustice, feodalism, capitalism and Brahmanism, which characterised somehow the hindouist system. The author expresses himself in his short stories in the third person and often resorts to dialogue. The descriptions are both concise and meticulously detailled. The facts speak for themselves and awaken readers to the harsh reality of the Dalite community, making them aware of their suffering and ultimately bringing them to a state of consciousness that makes possible a social change that can restore the dignity of those who have been deprived of it for centuries.