India, Aug. 13 -- In the early years of Independence, Dalit students at a primary school in Paraunkh village of Uttar Pradesh were not free to drink water as they pleased. They had to inform their teacher, who would then ask another student to give them water. This protocol was not required for students from savarna families.

On July 25, 2017, one of those students, Ram Nath Kovind, took charge as India's second Dalit president, tracing a stunning arc - "of a village lad from the rural hinterlands of Uttar Pradesh to the Central Hall of Parliament to be sworn in as the First Citizen of India".

The former president details this broad journey in his memoir, Triumph of the Indian Republic: My Life, My Struggles, released on Wednesday by Pr...