Amit Gautam (they/she)
Amit is a Dalit queer, anti-caste librarian, writer, and grassroots activist.

They hold a postgraduate degree in Rural Technology & Development from Allahabad Central University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Development Management from SPJIMR, Mumbai. They are the founder of the Savitribai Phule Village Library & Resource Centre.

Their work is rooted in libraries, education, justice, and liberation. They believe that stories of oppressed communities can help create a more possible and better world for historically and systematically excluded people.

Driven by their experiences with caste and intersectional oppression, they are dedicated to creating safe and fearless spaces, especially for historically oppressed communities. Since 2019, they have used education as a tool to building an anti-caste library movement and advance literacy, fair wages, and the right to read—working toward a more just, equitable, and liberated society.

In 2022, Amit officially inaugurated the Savitribai Phule Village Library & Resource Centre, a collaborative effort from their community to provide an accessible library entirely funded and built from the labor of love of their village on land reclaimed by filling in a former pond. This critical learning center offers a safe and fearless space where children and others can read, write, rest, question and dream freely.

In June 2023, they founded Dalit Queer India (DQI), a platform advocating for the rights of non-English-speaking queer and trans Dalits and challenging trans-homophobia, casteism, patriarchy, and elitist Brahminical supremacy.

They were a former fellow of Nirantar, where they worked together with library leaders and members to develop a reading programme, “Hamare Kisse, Hamari Kahaniyan” (हमारे किस्से –हमारी कहानियाँ)
Their storytelling practice brings Dalit history, Dalit joy and Dalit legacy into children’s and community spaces. In 2025, they self-published their library’s first children’s storybook, “Phuggi Chali Mela” (फुग्गी चली मेला)

They are an Executive Board Member of the Free Libraries Network, a network working to strengthen the free library movement in India and South Asia.

They incorporate the power of storytelling into their critical pedagogy and contribute to curriculum development, library building, and organisational policymaking through anti-caste and feminist lenses.

They love storytelling and enjoy listening to and sharing stories deeply connected to people’s lived experiences. They particularly enjoy working with children and can often be found at the library or walking through their village, listening to the stories of children, women, and young people.