Deepa Mohanan’s claim of campus caste harassment, which led to a 10-day hunger strike at a Kerala university, is just one of a long line of similar accusations from universities across India where caste bias is rampant, according to academics and activists.
Academics highlighted data received from the University Grants Commission in a webinar held on Sunday for expressing solidarity with Deepa, which showed universities had mostly ignored a June 2019 UGC letter demanding information on caste discrimination over the previous year and the actions taken.
They said that the data provided by universities revealed a significant rate of caste harassment on campus.
In a single year, Banaras Hindu University got 11 complaints from Scheduled Caste students, four from Scheduled Tribe students, and two from Other Backward Class students, according to the higher education regulator.
Apart from the June 2019 letter, the commission has addressed nine letters to all universities and colleges in the last ten years, the most recent on September 9 this year, requesting that they establish a framework to combat caste prejudice on campus.
This system includes a committee that investigates complaints from Dalit and tribal students and a page on the university’s website where they can file concerns.
According to sources, several universities have failed to comply, and the commission has done nothing to enforce the rules.
Dr Payal Tadvi, a postgraduate gynaecology student at Mumbai’s Topiwala National Medical College, committed suicide in May 2019, prompting the commission’s June 2019 letter. She had accused three senior pupils of making fun of her because of her tribal heritage.
An academic filed an RTI request last year, requesting information on how certain top universities responded to the commission’s orders. According to UGC statistics, Delhi University did not furnish the requested information in June 2019.
The commission’s June 2019 letter was prompted by the death of Dr Payal Tadvi, a postgraduate gynaecology student at Mumbai’s Topiwala National Medical College, in May 2019. She said that three senior students made fun of her because of her tribal ancestry.
Last year, an academic requested information on how select prominent colleges responded to the commission’s orders through the RTI process. Delhi University did not provide the needed information in June 2019, according to UGC statistics.
The regulator said Hyderabad Central University, where Dalit PhD researcher Rohith Vemula hung himself in 2016 alleging caste victimisation, had received one complaint from a Dalit student in the previous year and “settled” the situation. It also stated that it has yet to complete the web page development as requested.
Many universities are forming committees with persons whose political inclinations make them likely to conceal any charge of caste abuse, according to N. Sukumar, an Ambedkarite and DU political science professor.
THE CASE OF DEEPA MOHANAN
Deepa P Mohanan, a scholar at Kerala’s Mahatma Gandhi University, went on a hunger strike a week ago to protest caste discrimination that prevented her from completing her research. Nandakumar Kalarickal, the head of the International and Inter-University Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (IIUCNN), allegedly obstructed Mohanan’s efforts to obtain a PhD, according to Mohanan.
After Nandakumar was removed Aat the centre, Mohanan ended her hunger strike on Monday. Although the fight is far from done, this is a remarkable moment for Dalit and Bahujan students fighting institutional casteism across the country.
THE EPIDEMIC OF CAMPUS CASTE DISCRIMINATION
Caste discrimination in universities is a long-standing problem that has mostly gone unnoticed by the general public. The suicide of Rohith Vemula became a talking point, bringing the issue to national attention. However, Vemula’s name is virtually entirely associated with Dalit students and activists, with minimal backing from Savarna media or institutions.
The topic is crucial because it depicts a successful Ambedkarite resistance story and because it symbolises a tale of Ambedkarite struggle that did not end in death. This contrasts with another ongoing struggle at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, where an OBC professor who claimed caste prejudice has yet to receive justice and continues to pursue his case.
The lack of redressal processes for caste discrimination and grievances often serves as one of the most significant barriers to even acknowledging the problem and twisting “due process” to favour the already privileged caste.
Following the death of Rohith Vemula, there have been calls for a “Rohith Act,” akin to the “Nirbhaya Act,” to combat institutional casteism. In spite of not being passed as of yet, the bill highlights the existence of a systemic issue that functions as a gatekeeper for education, admitting only oppressor caste members.
