On November 5,
2015 Indian Express published an article exposing divisive caste practices that
take place in Tirunelveli.
The article
starts off saying “In
the schools of Tirunelveli, about 650 km south of Chennai, caste comes in
shades of red, yellow, green and saffron. It’s what students wear on their
wrists, on their foreheads, around their necks, under their shirts. It’s who
they are.”
The article states that Dalit children (Pallars) are
made to wear interwoven threads of red and green while, the colour code for
threads worn by Thevars are red and
yellow, blue and yellow for Nadars, saffron for Yadavs--- all socially and
politically powerful Hindu communities. These are mechanisms adopted for easy
indentification, easy exclusion.
This is one story of exclusion of marginalized
sections from accessing guaranteed basic rights. There are many other stories
that don’t evn make it to the newspapers or go unnoticed and undocumented.
As of 2015, there are about 6 million school going
children who are out of school. A whooping 6 million. However what stands out
more to me is that the numbers are much higher for children from disadvantaged
groups. This is worrying.
The law says that everybody is
equal. Everybody is guaranteed the same basic rights. And Untouchability is criminalized.
But in reality,
we have long way to go.
Numerous reports
of lynching, burning down of houses, rapes, torture, ostracization, killing
that take place in some part of India every day, make their way into our daily
newspapers. And you realize the caste system and discrimination that stems from
is deeply entrenched into our society. The caste system still dictates our
mind, behaviour, norms, values, social systems that is every means and manner
of living.
However something
that is more worrying is the covert fashion in which the caste system manifests
itself in institutions of higher education. You see no killings or rape. No
beatings or burning of houses. What you see are student suicides, failures,
degrees delayed for years on end.
In recent years multiple scholars in universities have
become victims of systemic forms of discrimination, institutionalized,
hostility and indifference. The case of Rohit Vemula brought a burning issue to
the forefront, an issue that has for long been managed to be suppressed or
sidelined. This is the issue of discrimination and the plight of Dalit students
in our country. The stories of many other students like Anil Meena, Senthil
Kumar stay in obscurity or are forgotten. In the past four years itself there have been around
nine suicides at IIT Kanpur – seven SC/ST and two General students. Suicide of Dalit student is at an all time
high.
This is a little attempt on my part to talk about it.
I have a maid who has been working for my family for
quite a few years now and I have watched her children grow. The other day I was conversing with my
maid’s daughter, Aarti and while it was quite a normal chat about school, her
friends, studies, teachers, I couldn’t help but realize how wildly different
her life is from my own.
I realized how
different our approaches are towards education. For me, attending school was as
a basic aspect of anyone’s childhood- a normal progression of how things take
place in one’s life. School in many ways was a burden for me because it came so
easy. I never really gave it much of a thought when I was young, it was
someplace where all kids my age went and that was it. For Aarti, education/schooling
stands for something much more. For her going to school is vital since she has
friends who aren’t encouraged to go to school. She knows how important it is,
even at such a young age. She considers education to be a vehicle to a better
life, a better means of living, a good source of income when she grows up.
 |
| Rhea Chauhan, Student at St. Xavier's College |
To give you a
little background of her life- she is a Dalit and has had to migrate to the
city with her parents who were looking for better prospects. Her parents have
had to leave behind their eldest son back at their village who still continues
to receive education. Meanwhile, Aarti and her brother, Vishal study in a
nearby NGO run government school in Lower Parel. I know of the school she goes
to, to be providers of good quality education for underprivileged students. She
came home one day and recognized Malala’s autobiography on my bookshelf. She
told me that they were shown a documentary about her. So I know she is
receiving good education and that her school provides her with a safe
environment and conducive environment to grow.
She is a very
bright student and has high aspirations for herself. What worries me the most
is- what happens when she goes to pursue her higher education?
The reason why
it is pertinent to speak of these issues now more than ever before is because
in a fast changing world that we live in, this is one social evil that has
managed to live on. It has managed to permeate our minds and our exchange. And
It is time things change.
Aarti is a
little girl with dreams just like anyone else’s. But unlike many others, she
has little access to resources and probably a life of difficulties if she intends
to pursue higher education. But she deserves a chance. A chance equal to
everyone else’s. Access to education that is not a privilege but a basic right.
For her it is a fight for her basic right. A fight to receive what is hers.
- Rhea Chauhan (Intern)
