Brown saviors and their others: race, caste, labor and the global politics of help in India: by Arjun Shankar, Durham, Duke University Press, 2023, xx+336 pp., $29.95 (paperback), ISBN 978-1-4780-2509-2.

Arjun Shankar's book "Brown Saviors and their Others" critically examines India's "help economy" through an ethnographic study of Shahaayaka, an Indian NGO focused on education led by upper-class savarna caste individuals. The book highlights how brown savarna saviors, often with STEM backgrounds, inadvertently reinforce social inequality in India while attempting to combat poverty through technological interventions. Shankar's analysis emphasizes the intersection of global capitalism, racism, colonialism, and caste in development efforts, challenging traditional Eurocentric models and calling for a deeper understanding of these dynamics in addressing social inequality. The book contributes to discussions in anthropology, development studies, and critical race studies, advocating for a decolonial approach to ethnographic research and a shift away from savior mentalities towards dismantling racial and caste hierarchies perpetuated by the current global capitalist system. [Extracted from the article]