Monday, June 20, 2011

On Suicides of Dalit Students in India's Premier Educational Institutions

I am writing this post in response to alarming raise in suicides of many dalit students studying in various premier institutes in India. Dalit students are also fellow human being so what is the need for discriminating them! Dalit students are subjected to discrimination in various forms at many educational institutions.

Many students and teachers stamp Dalit students as reserved or quota student. Quota is not an offer or an election time freebies given to dalits it is given to them in response to the century old slave like treatment meted out to them by the upper castes of India. Dalits got this reservation rights by several protests and fight.

The only way to bring social upliftment of dalits is to give them access to jobs and education hence the reservation policy has come. India alone is not the first country to offer reservation to the oppressed, countries like USA (red Indians, African black), Australia (Aborigines) offer reservation to the oppressed community. If a student get seat by money we don’t dare to discriminate him/her but the students coming through reservation alone is discriminated by upper caste students and teachers.

So friends, I request you to lend your support to the dalit students facing discrimination at your educational institution or work place.

Also I appeal to all the dalit students not to take the extreme step of suicide. If you come across any discrimination from the student or faculty side face them boldly you have nothing to lose.....!