शिक्षण संस्थाओं में बहुजन छात्रों के साथ जातिगत भदेभाव

जानलेवा है जातिगत भेदभाव?

दिव्या आर्य

बीबीसी संवाददाता

 गुरुवार, 29 सितंबर, 2011 को 15:25 IST तक के समाचार

बालमुकुंद की मां का आरोप है कि अध्यापकों के बुरे व्यवहार की वजह से उनके बेटे ने अपनी जान ली

भारत के बड़े कॉलेजों और विश्वविद्यालयों में दाख़िला मिलना पिछड़ी जाति के छात्रों के लिए एक बेहतर ज़िन्दगी शुरू करने का ज़रिया है. पर वहां पढ़ाई करना अक़्सर सुखद अनुभव नहीं होता.

एक ग़ैर-सरकारी संस्था के मुताबिक वर्ष 2007 से भारत में बड़े शिक्षण संस्थानों में पढ़ रहे पिछड़ी जाति के 18 छात्र आत्महत्या कर चुके हैं. इनमें से दो मामले इसी वर्ष के हैं.

इन सभी छात्रों के परिवारों का आरोप है कि इनके बच्चों के आत्महत्या का कदम उठाने की वजह जाति के आधार पर भेदभाव ही था.
बीबीसी ने जब राष्ट्रीय अनुसूचित जाति आयोग में निदेशक ध्रुव कुमार से बात की तो उन्होंने कहा कि आयोग में भी छात्रों की ओर से ऐसी कई शिकायतें आई हैं.
ध्रुव कुमार ने बताया, कि पहले समझ ये थी कि आरक्षण के तहत दाख़िला होना सबसे अहम् है, लेकिन पिछले छे साल से नई चुनौती सामने आई है कि दाख़िले के बाद शिक्षण संस्थानों में छात्रों को भेदभाव का सामना करना पड़ रहा है.
उन्होंने कहा, “यहां जो छात्र आते हैं वो कहते हैं कि उनपर पिछड़ी जाति का होने की वजह से अत्याचार हो रहा है और उनके अध्यापक उन्हें ठीक से जांचते नहीं हैं, परीक्षाओं में बैठने नहीं देते, क्योंकि वो ज़्यादातर अध्यापक ऊंची जाति के हैं.”
कुमार ने कहा कि अब आयोग, शिक्षण संस्थानों और छात्रों के परिवारों से बातचीत और विशेष कार्यक्रमों के ज़रिए इस मुद्दे पर बेहतर समझ बनाने के प्रयास की योजना बना रहा है.

बालमुकुन्द की आत्महत्या

"यहां जो छात्र आते हैं वो कहते हैं कि उनपर पिछड़ी जाति का होने की वजह से अत्याचार हो रहा है और उनके अध्यापक उन्हें ठीक से जांचते नहीं हैं."

ध्रुव कुमार, निदेशक, राष्ट्रीय अनुसूचित जाति आयोग

मध्य प्रदेश के एक छोटे से गांव, कुंडेश्वर में, बालमुकुंद वो पहला लड़का था जो देश के बड़े मेडिकल कॉलेज, ऑल इंडिया इंस्टिट्यूट ऑफ मेडिकल साइंसेस (एम्स) में दाख़िला ले पाया.
लेकिन अपनी पढ़ाई के तीसरे और आखिरी साल, वर्ष 2010 में बालमुकुंद ने अपने हॉस्टल के कमरे में पंखे से लटककर आत्महत्या कर ली.
बालमुकुंद के पिता, गुलाब चन्द बताते हैं कि उनका 25 वर्षीय बेटा जाति के आधार पर किए जा रहे अत्याचार को सह नहीं पाया और बहुत समझाने-बुझाने के बावजूद उसने आख़िरकार ये कदम उठा लिया.
गुलाब चन्द ने कहा, “वो मुझे कहता था कि उसे अपनी जाति का बहुत दबाव रहता है, उसके अध्यापक उसे परेशान करते हैं और नीचा दिखाते हैं जिस वजह से उसकी पढ़ाई पर भी असर पड़ता है.”
लेकिन एम्स प्रशासन इन आरोपों से इनकार करता है.
जब बीबीसी ने एम्स के प्रवक्ता, डॉ. वाई पी गुप्ता से बात की तो उन्होंने कहा कि उनके संस्थान में जाति के आधार पर बिल्कुल कोई भेदभाव नहीं किया जाता.

एम्स के प्रवक्ता संस्थान में अध्यापकों द्वारा जाति के भेदभाव के आरोपों से इनकार करते हैं.

उन्होंने कहा, “एम्स में अक़्सर छात्रों को डिप्रेशन हो जाता है, जैसा बालमुकुंद के मामले में भी था, इसके लिए हमने तनाव कम करने के लिए विशेष क्लास लगानी शुरू की हैं.”
लेकिन ये भी सच है कि बालमुकुंद की आत्महत्या से तीन साल पहले एक सरकारी जांच ने इसी संस्थान में छात्रों के साथ जाति के आधार पर भेदभाव के आरोपों को सही पाया था.
थोराट कमिटी ने अपनी रिपोर्ट में भेदभाव कम करने और छात्रों और अध्यापकों के बीच सोहार्द बढ़ाने के लिए कुछ कदम भी सुझाए थे.
लेकिन डॉ. वाई पी गुप्ता ने खुद को इस रिपोर्ट और उसके सुझावों से अनजान बताया.

आरक्षण का प्रभाव

भारत के संविधान के मुताबिक क़रीब एक चौथाई सीटें पिछड़ी जाति के छात्रों के लिए आरक्षित की जाती हैं ताकि कुछ कम नंबर आने पर भी वो दाखिला ले सकें.
लेकिन इस प्रावधान का पुरज़ोर विरोध भी हुआ है. पिछड़ी जाति के छात्र खुद बताते हैं कि रियायत की वजह से उन्हें क़ाबिल और लायक नहीं समझा जाता.
बालमुकुंद के दोस्त, डॉ अजय कुमार सिंह भी पिछड़ी जाति के हैं और अब एम्स से पढ़ाई पूरी कर चुके हैं.

"“आरक्षण हमें अवसर दे सकता है लेकिन लोगों की सोच उससे नहीं बदलेगी, उसके लिए समाज की ओर से कोशिश होनी ज़रूरी है, एक बड़े राजनीतिक-सामाजिक बदलाव की.”"

अनूप कुमार, 'इनसाइट फाउंडेशन'

वो कहते हैं कि, “मुझे लगता है कि अध्यापकों के अपने पूर्वाग्रह हैं कि अगर छात्र आरक्षण के ज़रिए आया है तो पढ़ाई में उतना तेज़ नहीं होंगा, और उसे फेल कर दिया जाए.”
अजय के मुताबिक अध्यापक ये नहीं समझते कि संस्थान में आने वाले पिछड़ी जाति के छात्र अपने समुदाय में सबसे निपुण हैं, और संस्थान में उन्हें उच्च जाति के छात्रों के स्तर तक आने में मदद की जानी चाहिए ना कि तिरस्कार.
पिछड़ी जाति के छात्रों में आत्महत्या के वाक़्यों की जानकारी जुटाई एक स्वयंसेवी संस्था, ‘इनसाइट फाउंडेशन’ ने.
ये संस्था पिछड़ी जाति के छात्रों को शिक्षा से जुड़ी जानकारी देने, भेदभाव से जुड़ी दिक्कतों में सलाह देने के लिए एक वेबसाइट और टेलीफोन हेल्पलाइन चलाती है.
इसे चलाने वाले अनूप कुमार कहते हैं, “आरक्षण हमें अवसर दे सकता है लेकिन लोगों की सोच उससे नहीं बदलेगी, पढ़े-लिखे लोगों की भी नहीं, उसके लिए समाज की ओर से कोशिश होनी ज़रूरी है, एक बड़े राजनीतिक-सामाजिक बदलाव की.”
अनूप ख़ुद पिछड़ी जाति के हैं और मानते हैं कि आरक्षण की नीति बहुत लाभदायक है क्योंकि वो उनके वर्ग के युवा को बेहतर मौके मुहैया कराती है. लेकिन साथ ही उनका कहना है कि ये उच्च वर्ग में रोष पैदा करती है और जब तक भेदभाव की मानसिकता नहीं बदलेगी, पिछड़ी जाति के लोग मुख्यधारा में नहीं आ सकेंगे.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/india/2011/09/110929_caste_suicide_da.shtml

डीयू में ज्योतिष पढ़ना है तो ब्राह्मण होना जरूरी

http://in.jagran.yahoo.com/epaper/index.php?location=49&edition=2011-09-12&pageno=2#id=111720857431502854_49_2011-09-12

ठ्ठएसके गुप्ता, नई दिल्ली ग्रह नक्षत्र की चाल से ख्याति का सफर तय करने के लिए ज्योतिष की पढ़ाई का क्रेज छात्रों में बढ़ रहा है। इसी का नतीजा है कि डीयू के एमए संस्कृत में ज्योतिष पढ़ने वाले छात्र की संख्या बढ़ी है। लेकिन उनकी कक्षाएं नहीं लग रही हैं। खबर है कि संस्कृत विभाग में ज्योतिष की कक्षाएं अभी तक न लगने की वजह प्राध्यापक का न होना तो है ही इसके अलावा एक अनुसूचित जाति की छात्रा भी मुख्य वजह है, जिसने ज्योतिष विषय को पढ़ने की जिद पकड़ी हुई है। उसने इसकी शिकायत डीयू कुलपति से भी की। समस्या का समाधान न होने पर छात्रा राष्ट्रीय अनुसूचित जाति आयोग में शिकायत लेकर पहुंची। आयोग ने डीयू से स्पष्टीकरण मांगा है। डीयू संस्कृत विभाग में एमए अंतिम वर्ष की छात्रा सरिता ने बताया कि 21 जुलाई से तीसरे सेमेस्टर की पढ़ाई शुरू हो चुकी है। इसमें 9 ऑप्शनल विषयों में से एक विषय हर छात्र को पढ़ना होता है। मैने ऑप्शनल के रूप में ज्योतिष विषय चुना है। विभाग ने 5 अगस्त तक सभी छात्रों से ऑप्शनल विषय के फॉर्म भरवाकर जानकारी मांगी। इससे पहले विभागीय प्राध्यापक यह कह रहे थे कि तुम अकेली छात्रा हो इसलिए ज्योतिष पढ़ाने वाले शिक्षक का इंतजाम नहीं हो सकेगा। जबकि गत वर्ष अकेले छात्र को ज्योतिष विषय ऑप्शनल के रूप में पढ़ाया गया था क्योंकि वह छात्र जाति से ब्राह्मण था। ऑप्शनल के फॉर्म में पांच छात्रों ने ज्योतिष पढ़ने की इच्छा जाहिर की। प्राध्यापकों के दबाव में यह संख्या 5 से घटकर 3 हो गई। मुझे संस्कृत के विभागाध्यक्ष डा. मिथलेष कुमार चतुर्वेदी ने मिलने के लिए बुलाया तो अगस्त माह के दूसरे सप्ताह में मैं उनके कार्यालय पहुंची। उन्होंने कार्यालय से बाहर निकलकर बरामदे में कहा कि ज्योतिष तुम्हारी जाति के लोगों के लिए नहीं है। मैने इसकी शिकायत 13 अगस्त को कुलपति प्रो. दिनेश सिंह को ई-मेल के माध्यम से की। वहां से समस्या निदान के प्रति आश्वासन तो मिला, लेकिन समाधान नहीं हुआ। 15 दिन इंतजार के बाद सरिता ने राष्ट्रीय अनुसूचित जाति आयोग में अपनी शिकायत दी। आयोग ने डीयू प्रशासन से पूरे मामले पर स्पष्टीकरण मांगा है। सरिता का कहना है कि वह केवल इतना चाहती है कि ज्योतिष की कक्षाएं शुरू हों और वह ज्योतिष पढ़ सके। इसके अलावा उसे किसी से कोई शिकवा-शिकायत नहीं है। सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने भी 2004 के एक निर्णय में कहा है कि ज्योतिष हर जाति का छात्र पढ़ सकता है।

AIIMS and its history of caste discrimination

APRIL 26, 2011

tags: AIIMS, Discrimination, Reservation

by thedeathofmerit

If the government and AIIMS authorities had acted on the Prof Thorat Committee report and its recommendations and tried to prevent the discrimination meted out to Dalit and Adivasi students at AIIMS, Balmukund’s family would probably not have been grieving on the death of their bright child today and the community and the country would not have lost a brilliant student, a doctor.

 All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi is one of the premier educational institutions of the country and has been in the news since the last few years for rampant prevalence of caste discrimination and the fight of Dalit students against it.

Following are the links that might help us to gauge the gravity of the entire issue.

• ‘Even if I never become a doctor, I will not give up this fight’: Ajay Kumar Singh(Tehelka, June 2, 2007)

  

In this video Jeetendra Kumar Meena shares what happens with SC and ST students in AIIMS with CNN IBN (26 September, 2006)

• Ghetto in medical hostel - Quota students in AIIMS allege being driven into a corner ( The Telegraph, 5 July, 2006)

Following these allegations from students and news reports of blatant caste discrimination practised against SC and ST students in AIIMS, the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry instituted a three-member committee headed by University Grants Commission Chairperson, S K Thorat, to enquire into the conditions prevalent in the institution.

 Thus AIIMS became, probably, the first and until now, the only education institution in the country to be investigated for caste-based discrimination, a phenomenon that is prevalent in almost all the country’s educational spaces but has never became ‘public’ knowledge.

The Prof Thorat Committee came out with its report in May 2007 and exposed the various forms of caste discrimination practised against our students both by other students and faculty members there and accused AIIMS authorities of ‘encouraging hostile caste discrimination’.

 News links on Prof Thorat Committee Report:

• ‘AIIMS apartheid, cricket to class’ (The Telegraph, May 7, 2007)

• ’SC/ST students at AIIMS face discrimination’ (The Indian Express, May 6, 2007)

However, despite Prof Thorat Committee’s report the Indian government chose to completely ignore its findings, its recommendations and did nothing to prevent the continuing discrimination.

• Probe allegations of caste discrimination in AIIMS, High Court tells Centre (The Indian Express, December 6, 2007)

 If the government and AIIMS authorities had acted on the Prof Thorat Committee report and its recommendations and tried to prevent the discrimination meted out to Dalit and Adivasi students at AIIMS, Balmukund’s family would probably not have been grieving on the death of their bright child today and the community and the country would not have lost a brilliant student, a doctor.

http://thedeathofmeritinindia.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/aiims-and-its-history-of-caste-discrimination/

‘EVEN IF I NEVER BECOME A DOCTOR, I WILL NOT GIVE UP THIS FIGHT’

AJAY KUMAR SINGH Born in 1982. Grew up in Etah in Uttar Pradesh. Gained admission in 2002 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Is in his MBBS final year I was in Class viii when I first heard about AIIMS, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. My mother was a nurse, and the doctor she worked with in Etah, my hometown, had a nephew at AIIMS. He visited Etah once, and my mother was very keen that I meet him. “You need to read a lot if you want to go to AIIMS,” he said. That’s when I told myself I’d study there somehow, someday. Uzma Mohsin The harassment peaked during the anti-reservation protests of 2006. They were always trying to start fights so they could bash us up. Derogatory remarks were common: ‘Yeh chamar log kya karenge?’ My father, who drives an autorickshaw, wouldn’t have been able to send me to Delhi for coaching had it not been for my Physics teacher who helped me get a concession on the fees. I got into AIIMS with 66.16 percent, the same as the “General” cut-off that year. Nirpat Singh, the autodriver, and Munni Devi , the nurse, were very proud of their son. It was a big moment for all of us when we entered the campus of India’s premier medical sciences college. As soon as my parents left, I was summoned by my neighbour, a senior, who asked me to introduce myself. Among other things, I told him I had stood first on the Scheduled Caste list. The next moment I found myself outside the room, on the ground; he had pushed me out. That was just the first day. The next time he tried to insult me, I told him I’d complain. While he never spoke to me as long as he was on campus, he told his friends about the incident and they boycotted me too. Ever since, I have been reminded of my “low” status every moment I have been here. I was the only “Category” student in my wing. One day, I found this on my door: “Nobody likes you here. F**k off.” On another day: “Everybody can use the carom board, but not Room No 45.” People would bang and kick at my door at all hours, disappearing by the time I opened it. They tried their best to make me leave, but I told myself I wouldn’t, no matter what. I gradually isolated myself from them, and started interacting only with others from the “Category”. I had been to school at the Navodaya Vidyalaya for seven years, and I knew about casteism from my experience there, but it was nothing compared to AIIMS. In school, I used to think I wouldn’t have to go through the same humiliations if I were at a big institution. I came to the biggest of them all, but in vain. At least we would eat together at Navodaya. It is true that not all General Category students are casteist, but caste cuts through everything at AIIMS. They won’t talk to us. We have no representation in the students’ union this year. They won’t let us play cricket; in a basket ball match, they won’t pass us the ball once. The hatred was out in the open in 2003, during Pulse (AIIMS’ annual medical college festival). They beat up a Dalit student so badly that it was a miracle he survived. We went to complain, but the administration was ready only to dismiss both parties: those who attacked and those who were attacked. Having been beaten up, he didn’t want to go through that, so he withdrew. The harassment reached a high during the anti-reservation protests of 2006. There were more than a thousand outsiders staying on campus during those days. They slept in our hostels and ate in our messes. Derogatory remarks were common: “Yeh chamar log kya karenge?” They were always trying to start fights so they could bash us up. They even made plans to beat up a few resident doctors. There was no point complaining. Nobody was willing to listen. The media chose to portray last year’s events as if everyone at AIIMS — scs, sts and obcs included — was against reservation. “Category” juniors were dragged out during ragging and forced to participate in the protests; in many of these, they came under baton charges from the police. I could see them going through trauma; I took the initiative and told the director that ragging was being prolonged even after the stipulated time. Nothing happened. They also beat up our gym secretary, a “Category” student. That got all of us very upset. Pushed to the wall, we decided to submit a memorandum. The director, Dr P. Venugopal, promised to act within 24 hours — and he did. All the people we named were informed, and all of them came to each one of us and threatened us with dire consequences if we did not withdraw the complaint. We didn’t; instead we wrote another, this time to the President of AIIMS. There was no response. Then we went to the media. We were accused of obstructing Pulse 2006. They did that to malign us and turn student sentiment against us. We put up posters clarifying our stand — we had nothing against Pulse, we just wanted the harassment stopped. During Pulse, a cd was circulated with a film showing the burning of books written by Babasaheb Ambedkar. I called a press conference against the film; I didn’t get much support. An enquiry committee was appointed, and they asked me why I was out to tarnish AIIMS’ reputation. I told them I had no choice when no help was forthcoming. Never before had a “Category” student raised his voice this way. They decided to teach me a lesson, and send out a message to all the “Category” students of the campus. They failed me in my final professional exam, which was in December. If I fail three times, I will be disqualified. My re-examination was video-recorded — though it is unheard-of, I wouldn’t have had any problem had they informed me beforehand. I wrote another complaint to the director about this illegal recording. A day before the results were due, my result was leaked. Posters were pasted all over campus declaring that the student who had complained and called the press conference had failed. I filed a police complaint. We held a series of protests, as a result of which the Centre formed a committee headed by the University Grants Commission chairman Sukhdeo Thorat, to look into the matter. The AIIMS director did not even allocate it a room, and the hearings happened off-campus. I gathered everyone and we went to depose in groups. I knew I would fail when the only question I was asked on my viva was: “What is your involvement with the Thorat report?” Six or seven students had scored lower in the internal marks than I — all passed, I did not. I was failed in medicine in my re-professional exam by one-and-a-half marks. We later got to know that the faculty association had passed a resolution two days before the vivas that no one would take my re-examination viva. And the director still hasn’t accepted the governing body’s order to grant me re-examination with a new set of examiners. All this is being done to scare my juniors. My case will be an example, since I am in my final year. I had an opportunity recently for an internship at the University of Penn-sylvania. AIIMS couldn’t do anything about it, so they got in touch with their seniors there, who, as I have heard, assured them they would “set me right”. If I am not destined to be a doctor, I won’t be. But I will not give up this fight. Even if I never become a doctor, I have a great satisfaction already. No voices were heard in the past. Now people are willing to come to protest. There are 45 “Category” boys at AIIMS, and whenever there is a protest, at least 40 of them turn up. Though my father is an auto driver, people respect him in my hometown. My parents have taught me to safeguard my dignity at all costs, and that’s what I am doing now. Though it was not easy, I don’t feel it has been all that tough either. As told to Praveen Donthi

Jun 02 , 2007

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main30.asp?filename=hub020607Personal_histories.asp

Violence aganist Dalit Students

http://thedeathofmeritinindia.wordpress.com/
The Death of Merit:Dr Jaspreet Singh
Dr Jaspreet Singh, 22 years,a student of Final Year, MBBS at Government Medical College, Chandigarh committed suicide on 27th Jan, 2008.

The Death of Merit: Dr Balmukund Bharti
On March 3rd, 2010, another Dalit, Balmukund Bharti, final year MBBS student from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi committed suicide.

Read More

List of Dalit students committing suicides in India’s Premier Educational Institutions, (click here)
Report of Prof Thorat Committee on Caste Discrimination in AIIMS, New Delhi, (click here)
Report on Caste Discrimination in IIT Delhi,(click here)
An article ‘On Suicides, Caste and Higher Education‘, (click here)
Media Coverage

In Dalit student suicides, the death of merit, The Hindu, (May 8, 2011)
Death of merit, and of a family’s dreams, Hindustan Times, (May 10,2011)
Icarus goes to flying school:Why are Dalit students in India’s best educational institutions committing suicide?, Tehelka Magazine (Vol 8, Issue 20, 21 May 2011)
Les dalits ne sont pas les bienvenus dans les grandes écoles indiennes, inde.aujourdhuilemonde.com (May 19, 2011)
India education: Dalit student suicide, Global Post (May 24, 2011)
A Dissonance In Saraswati’s Divine Veena:The spectre of caste prejudice lingers on even in our most prized institutions, OUTLOOK Magazine, June 27, 2011

The Death of Merit: Manish Kumar (IIT Roorkee) [A Documentary]

July 6, 2011

tags: Caste, Caste Discrimination, Chamar, Dalit, Death of merit, Depression, IIT, IIT Roorkee, Muzaffarnagar, Student, Suicide

by thedeathofmerit

When a student from the lowest strata of society fights against all odds to prove her merit and reach the best educational institutions in India, are those institutions proving themselves meritorious enough to recognize her worth, to accommodate, let alone nurture her aspirations?

When a Dalit or Adivasi student becomes an engineer, doctor, business graduate or scientist, it should be a cause of pride for not just the family or the community but for the entire nation. Instead, why do our nation and its educational institutions reward their merit with discrimination, humiliation, violence and death?

This documentary is third in the series of our efforts to document caste-based discrimination prevalent in Indian higher education system resulting in large number of suicides of Dalit students in the Indian campuses.

Manish Kumar Guddolian, 20 years of age, was pursuing his IInd year, Integrated Dual Degree Programme, Department of Computer Science & Information Technology, at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee.

The only son of a Junior Warrant Officer at Indian Air Force, Manish committed ‘suicide’ by jumping off from 5th floor of his hostel on 6th February, 2011.

The documentary is based on the testimonies of Manish’s parents and other family members who have yet to come in terms with his death and are fighting against the collective might of IIT Roorkee and Roorkee Police that, as usual, want to relegate their child’s death to ‘a weak student getting depressed for not able to cope up with rigorous academic environment of highly competitive IITs’ .

However the truth is Manish committed suicide, unable to bear the constant castetist assaults and abuses by his own batch-mates, criminal attitude of his hostel warden and IIT Administration that instead of acting on his complaints forced him to live outside IIT Roorkee, and perhaps also due to the complete shattering of his faith on IIT Administration that was supposed to treat all its students as equals and without using caste-lenses.

The Death Of Merit – Manish Kumar (IIT Roorkee) Part – I
http://youtu.be/QA3wEeD4m2g

The Death Of Merit – Manish Kumar (IIT Roorkee) Part – II
http://youtu.be/4SRzk8Sf32Q

First two documentaries 

• The Death of Merit:Dr Jaspreet Singh

Dr Jaspreet Singh, 22 years,a student of Final Year, MBBS at Government Medical College, Chandigarh committed suicide on 27th Jan, 2008.

• The Death of Merit: Dr Balmukund Bharti 

On March 3rd, 2010, another Dalit, Balmukund Bharti, final year MBBS student from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi committed suicide.

Read More

• List of Dalit students committing suicides in India’s Premier Educational Institutions, (click here)
• Report of Prof Thorat Committee on Caste Discrimination in AIIMS, New Delhi, (click here)
• Report on Caste Discrimination in IIT Delhi,(click here)
• An article ‘On Suicides, Caste and Higher Education‘,  (click here)

Media Coverage 

• In Dalit student suicides, the death of merit, The Hindu, (May 8, 2011)
• Death of merit, and of a family’s dreams, Hindustan Times, (May 10,2011)
• Icarus goes to flying school:Why are Dalit students in India’s best educational institutions committing suicide?, Tehelka Magazine (Vol 8, Issue 20, 21 May 2011)
• Les dalits ne sont pas les bienvenus dans les grandes écoles indiennes, inde.aujourdhuilemonde.com (May 19, 2011)
• India education: Dalit student suicide, Global Post (May 24, 2011)
• A Dissonance In Saraswati’s Divine Veena:The spectre of caste prejudice lingers on even in our most prized institutions, OUTLOOK Magazine, June 27, 2011

एम्स के छात्र डॉ बालमुकुन्द भारती की हत्या का दोषी कौन?

May 28, 2011

by thedeathofmerit

This article has been translated from the previous blog post ‘Who Killed Dr. Balmukund Bharti in AIIMS‘ by Ratnesh Kumar, PhD, Babasaheb Ambedkar National Institute of Social Sciences, Mhow, Indore.

'फक ऑफ फ्रॉम दिस विंग'-एम्स के SC/ST विद्यार्थियों के लिए एक सन्देश. (सौजन्य: द टेलीग्राफ)

स्वास्थ्य एवं परिवार कल्याण विभाग मंत्रालय, भारत शासन ने वर्ष २००६ में ऑल इंडिया इंस्टिट्यूट ऑफ़ मेडिकल साईंसेस (AIIMS), नयी दिल्ली, के दलित और आदिवासी विद्यार्थियों द्वारा संस्थान में व्याप्त  जाति भेदभाव की शिकायतों की जांच के लिए  तत्कालीन विश्वविद्यालय अनुदान आयोग के अध्यक्ष प्रो एस के थोरात के नेतृत्व में एक ३ सदस्यीय कमेटी  का गठन किया था.

कमेटी  ने अपनी रिपोर्ट ५ मई २००७ को सौंपी जिसमे न सिर्फ देश के इस  ख्याति प्राप्त शिक्षण संस्था के दलित और आदिवासी विद्यार्थियों के प्रति जाति विद्वेष की भयावह दास्तान सामने आई  बल्कि  संस्थान के कुछ अनुसूचित जाति और जनजाति के शिक्षको की भी व्यथा  प्रकट हुई. परन्तु इसके बावजूद सरकार ने कुछ नहीं किया.

इस रिपोर्ट की सिफारिशों  के आधार पर न तो कार्रवाही की गई और न ही किसी दोषी को दण्डित किया गया.

तीन साल बाद, ३ मार्च २०१० को एम् बी बी एस (MBBS) अंतिम वर्ष के एक दलित छात्र बालमुकुन्द भारती ने अपने हॉस्टल के कमरे में फांसी लगाकर आत्महत्या कर ली. इसके कुछ दिनों पहले भी वह आत्महत्या का एक असफल प्रयास कर चुका था.

एम्स प्रशासन ने अपना रटा रटाया बयान दिया कि ” उक्त छात्र एम्स के कठोर शैक्षणिक वातावरण से तालमेल नहीं बिठा पाने की वज़ह से गहरे डिप्रेशन में चला गया था.”

पुलिस ने भी मृतक के पिता जो कि अपने बेटे की लाश लेने आये थे पर दबाव डाल कर हस्ताक्षर करवा लिए कि ‘ इस मौत का एम्स प्रशासन से कोई लेना देना नहीं है’.

इस तरह इस प्रकरण को बड़ी  आसानी से  ख़त्म  करा दिया गया. पर सच्चाई तो यह है कि डॉ बालमुकुन्द भारती को उसकी आत्महत्या करने से पहले ही मार डाला जा चुका था.

आत्महत्या  तो महज़ एक औपचारिकता भर थी.

प्रोफेसरों के द्वारा अपशब्दों की मार, पीड़ा और प्रताड़ना, वरिष्ठ छात्रों से रेगिंग के नाम पर बुरी तरह से पिटाई खाने और कैम्पस की मुख्यधारा से पूरी तरह से कटने का एकमात्र कारण उसका दलित होना था. डॉ भारती ने संस्थान में इस पीड़ा को पूरे ६ साल तक झेला था.

यह एक अत्यंत ही कष्टकारी और धीमी मौत थी.

बालमुकुन्द ने अपने कटु अनुभव माता-पिता और अन्य रिश्तेदारों से बांटे थे. जिनकी रिकॉर्डिंग हमने “The Death of Merit ” डोक्युमेंट्री  में की है.
कृपया इस डोक्युमेंट्री को आप अवश्य देखें.
Read more…

Why we must read these suicides as protest

May 23, 2011

by thedeathofmerit

By Malarvizhi Jayanth

Merit did not die. It kills. It lies in wait and takes the life of dalit students after they have entered the prestigious educational hellhole – by refusing to let them pass, by standing between them and the future. Merit is a murderer.

The deaths of young people, the hopes of their parents and their communities, has forced the festering casteism and anti-democracy of the ‘prestigious’ educational institution into the public realm.

Their deaths remind us again that Merit has blood on its hands, that bloody Merit is the offspring of generations of privilege and exploitation, that Merit was fed on blood.

This is why we must read these suicides as protest, why we must reclaim these lives within the struggle against caste.

Illustration by Dr. Harish Wankhede (JNU, New Delhi) Courtesy:Insight Magazine (Dec 2004)

When did the language surrounding an educational institution become so vicious – elimination, testing, selection, exclusion, prestigious, hallowed, competitive, meritorious, premier, leading? A little less prestige and little more democracy would be welcome.

The anti-democratic nature of educational institutions is never clearer than when they begin to talk with smug complacence about how prestigious they are.

Within their hallowed portals, learning is not a broadening of the mind but a restriction of it. Political engagement will be systematically strangled at birth.

Read more…

Who Killed Dr. Balmukund Bharti in AIIMS?

May 21, 2011

by thedeathofmerit

'Fuck off from this wing' - A message for SC/ST students in AIIMS. Courtesy : The Telegraph

In 2006, a 3 member committee under Prof S.K. Thorat, Chairman, University Grant Commission, was instituted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India to look into the complaints of  caste-based harassment against Dalit and Adivasi students at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.

The committee came with a report, on 5th May, 2007, that brought out the horrors of caste-discrimination suffered not only by the students but also by handful of SC and ST faculties in the Institute that is considered to be one of the country’s premier educational institutions.

However, the government did nothing and singularly failed to initiate any action to punish the perpetrators or implement any of  its recommendations.

Three years later, Balmukund Bharti,  a final year MBBS Dalit student at AIIMS, commits suicide on 3rd March, 2010.

He hanged himself to death in his hostel room after a failed attempt on his life just few days before.

The AIIMS administration came out with the standard version of  ‘a student who went into depression as he was not able to cope up with the rigorous academic environment of AIIMS’.

The police also closed the case by forcing the father, who had come to take the dead body of his son, to sign on the statement that ‘he has nothing against AIIMS administration’.

But the truth is that Dr Balmukund Bharti was killed much before he committed ‘suicide’. Suicide was a mere formality.

Read more…

Prof Thorat Committee Report on Caste Discrimination in AIIMS, New Delhi (2007)

May 17, 2011

by thedeathofmerit

Towards our efforts in exposing rampant caste-discrimination that is prevalent against Dalit and Adivasi students, in country’s premier institutions, we are uploading Prof Thorat committee’s report on AIIMS, New Delhi.

The committee was set up by Government of India, in September 2006, to enquire into allegations of differential treatment of SC and ST students in the above campus.

It is probably the first effort in Independent India to probe into the kind of caste discrimination suffered by our students in any institution of higher learning and therefore its report is a very important document for us to understand the nature of caste-discrimination and its impact, not only in AIIMS but in other institutions of higher learning too.

View this document on Scribd

The committee came with a report, on 5th May, 2007, that brought out the horrors of caste-discrimination suffered at every level not only by the students but also by handful of SC and ST faculties in the Institute that is considered to be one of the country’s premier educational institutions.

Read more…

Media Reports on ‘The Death of Merit’

May 16, 2011

by thedeathofmerit

• In Dalit student suicides, the death of merit, The Hindu, (New Delhi, May 8, 2011)
• Death of merit, and of a family’s dreams, Hindustan Times, (Chandigarh, May 10,2011)
• Icarus goes to flying school:Why are Dalit students in India’s best educational institutions committing suicide?, (Tehelka Magazine, Vol 8, Issue 20, Dated 21 May 2011)
• Les dalits ne sont pas les bienvenus dans les grandes écoles indiennes (Dated May, 19, 2011)
• India education: Dalit student suicide, Global Post (May 24, 2011)
• A Dissonance In Saraswati’s Divine Veena:The spectre of caste prejudice lingers on even in our most prized institutions, OUTLOOK Magazine, June 27, 2011

The Hindu, (New Delhi, May 8, 2011)

In Dalit student suicides, the death of merit

by Vidya Subrahmaniam

He killed himself in his college library, unable to bear the insults and taunts. The suicide note recovered from his coat pocket charged his Head of the Department (HOD) with deliberately failing him and threatening to fail him over and over. Seven months later, a three-member group of senior professors re-evaluated his answer sheet and found that he had in fact passed the test.

Read more…

The Death of Merit

May 7, 2011

by thedeathofmerit

When a student from the lowest strata of society fights against all odds to prove her merit and reach the best educational institutions in India, are those institutions proving themselves meritorious enough to recognize her worth, to accommodate, let alone nurture her aspirations?

When a Dalit or Adivasi student becomes an engineer, doctor, business graduate or scientist, it should be a cause of pride for not just the family or the community but for the entire nation. Instead, why do our nation and its educational institutions reward their merit with discrimination, humiliation, violence and death?

In our efforts to document caste-based discrimination prevalent in Indian higher education system resulting in large number of suicides of Dalit students in Indian campuses we have produced and uploaded two documentaries on two different cases of Dalit students’ suicides in India’s premier institutions.

Documentaries 

• Dr. Jaspreet Singh: The Death of Merit

Dr Jaspreet Singh, 22 years,a student of Final Year, MBBS at Government Medical College, Chandigarh committed suicide on 27th Jan, 2008.

• Dr. Balmukund Bharti: The Death of Merit

On March 3rd, 2010, another Dalit, Balmukund Bharti, final year MBBS student from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi committed suicide.

Read More

• List of Dalit students committing suicides in India’s Premier Educational Institutions, (click here)
• Report of Prof Thorat Committee on Caste Discrimination in AIIMS, New Delhi, (click here)
• Report on Caste Discrimination in IIT Delhi,(click here)
• An article ‘On Suicides, Caste and Higher Education‘,  (click here)

Media Coverage 

• In Dalit student suicides, the death of merit, The Hindu, (May 8, 2011)
• Death of merit, and of a family’s dreams, Hindustan Times, (May 10,2011)
• Icarus goes to flying school:Why are Dalit students in India’s best educational institutions committing suicide?, Tehelka Magazine (Vol 8, Issue 20, 21 May 2011)
• Les dalits ne sont pas les bienvenus dans les grandes écoles indiennes, inde.aujourdhuilemonde.com (May 19, 2011)
• India education: Dalit student suicide, Global Post (May 24, 2011)
• A Dissonance In Saraswati’s Divine Veena:The spectre of caste prejudice lingers on even in our most prized institutions, OUTLOOK Magazine, June 27, 2011

Chuni Kotal, Vidyasagar University and an Anthropologist’s Suicide

May 7, 2011

tags: Anthropology, Chuni, Kotal, Lodha, Mahasveta Devi, Medinapur, Tribal, Vidyasagar University, West bengal

by thedeathofmerit

Dalits and Adivasi students committing suicides in Indian campuses is not a new phenomenon.

One of the earlier and relatively well-known case is of Chuni Kotal, a tribal woman, first woman graduate among her tribe of the Lodha Shavars, who committed suicide on August 16, 1992, due to continuous caste-based harassment and discrimination by one of her Professor, Falguni Chakarvarti, at Vidyasagar University, Medinapur, West Bengal. She was pursuing her MA in Anthropology.

Her death united the Lodha Shabar community in protest, and became the focal point of a movement spearheaded by the Bangla Dalit Sahitya Sanstha questioning the liberal credentials of Bengali society. Mahasweta Devi wrote about her in Byadhkhanda (1994) and The Book of the Hunter (2002).

Given below are the excerpts from a commentary on Chuni Kotal’s suicide, ‘Story of Chuni Kotal‘, written by Mahasveta Devi that was published in Economic and Political Weekly (EPW), August 29, 1992, just 13 days after her suicide.

The complete article can be accessed at http://www.cscsarchive.org

Story of Chuni Kotal

Mahasveta Devi

Chuni Kotal’s suicide has ripped the mask off the face of West Bengal under Left Front rule: the caste prejudice and persecution and the government callous indifference

Chuni Kotal, a girl of 27, from the denotified Lodha tribe, the first graduate woman among the Lodha Savara and Kheria Savara of West Bengal, hanged herself on August 16, at her husband’s one room residence in Kharagpur, a railway town.

The reasons that led Chuni, a unique woman, to take her own life, are palpable ones and she “became a victim of sheer injustice and callousness of the university authorities and the West Bengal government” (The Statesman, 23/08/1992)

Chuni was appointed a Lodha social worker in 1983 at Jhargram ITDP office. From childhood she had starved , worked in the fields, had had no money to purchase books, yet doggedly she continued to study.

Dr Jaspreet Singh: The Death of Merit – Another Documentary

May 5, 2011

by thedeathofmerit

This documentary is second in the series of our efforts to document caste-based discrimination prevalent in Indian higher education system resulting in large number of suicides of Dalit students in Indian campuses.

It is based on the testimonies of parents and family members of Dr Jaspreet Singh, 22 years, who was a student of Final Year, MBBS at Government Medical College, Chandigarh. He committed suicide on 27th January, 2008, by hanging himself on the 5th floor of his college’s library.

In next few days, we are coming up with few more documentaries to expose the kind of caste-based hostility and harassment Dalit and Adivasi students have to suffer from the faculties, fellow students and administration in some of the country’s premier educational institutions. These documentaries are part of our efforts to make Indian educational system inclusive in real sense and free from caste-discrimination.
http://youtu.be/Rd9lcsy9Ty8

About the Documentary

Dr Jaspreet Singh (1987-2008) was a school topper and quite bright Dalit student, from a very humble background.

He used to clear all his papers without fail, in 4 years of his MBBS, till he met a professor whose criteria of merit was not Jaspreet’s performance but his ‘caste’.

After completing his MBBS from Government Medical College, Chandigarh, Dr Jaspreet wanted to become a surgeon. However his dreams were cut short by a professor who not only humiliated him on caste lines but failed him twice in the same paper and threatened to further keep failing him.

Echoes of stillborn histories

May 1, 2011

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by thedeathofmerit

What can we learn from this documentary, ’The Death of Merit’?

Bal Mukund Bharti was determined to become a doctor. And his teachers were also very determined: ‘you’ll never pass MBBS’, they told him.

Bal Mukund didn’t give up, nor did his family. Father, mother, married sister, uncle, aunt– they were all determined to support him in his ardent journey, which was steadily converted into an uphill struggle by AIIMS, to become a doctor. They scraped, pooled together whatever meagre resources they could to send him to AIIMS.

Uncle says they invested everything they earned in his education. Sister who made only 2,500 rupees a month helped whenever father, who worked in a job which sometimes made him wait 3 long months for wages, couldn’t. It wasn’t a small dream; if realized, it could have become a source of hope and pride for many more people outside the immediate family.

As Bal Mukund’s proud father says, ‘he was the first one from our community to become a doctor in fifty years!’. Bal Mukund’s intelligence and superior scholastic record instilled that kind of confidence in the family, stoked such high hopes.

Imagine: the first doctor from a community in fifty years, or in two millennia, possibly. Also imagine Rakesh Sharma or Kalpana Chawla, people of the ‘wrong’ race, being told by the Russians or the Americans: ‘you’ll never go into space’.

But AIIMS was determined it would see Bal Mukund only as a ‘harijan’, as a person from the ‘wrong’ caste. Imagine history being snuffed out in the womb. That shouldn’t be very difficult to imagine if you step two years back into history and think of Senthil Kumar of the University of Hyderabad.

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