Reena Dongre
Yes, India is a country with diverse cultures, religions, classes, castes, communities, and so on, this diversity itself is the reason for discrimination. Caste plays a vital role in one’s condition within India at every stage: educational, financial and social status.
Being a first-generation learner, it was really tough to study in a premier institution of social sciences, replete with different cultures—the culture of social and economic status, the culture of different languages and the culture of high-class English language. For someone growing up in a small basti (slum) and struggling every day, it was really a crucial to get admission to such an institution for pursuing higher education. Till my schooling, I was never aware of caste and discrimination, maybe because I was surrounded mainly by people who belonged to the same community to which I belong. I first felt the sense of caste and discrimination when I went to such a premier institution and experienced several realities, including the reality of caste and, through it, the reality of poverty, the reality of lack of money, the reality of different cultures, and so on.
Politics of caste within the classroom
For any student who enters a premier institute for the first time, it seems a new and fascinating world. Admission to such an institution is a significant achievement for a student from a downtrodden community. A new classroom, new classmates, and new teaching methodology are really difficult to understand for a student who has studied in a government school and has completed a bachelor’s degree in a college where regular classes barely take place. On the very first day of the class, I was shocked when I found my classmates speaking English fluently. That forced me to be silent in class because I did my schooling in Hindi medium and my mother tongue is Marathi. In my daily life, I had no close relationship with English.
In this new institution, for the first time, I did a presentation as part of a group assignment. It made me a little nervous because it was supposed to be in English. Classes and assignments, one after the other, were something new for a girl who had never encountered them them in her previous college. For the first time, I received an assignment that required us to work in groups. There were some rules and criteria to follow in order to complete the assignment. I had no idea about academic sites like J-store, Google Scholar, and others that were needed for reference purposes. I learned about group dynamics for the first time in the classroom while working on this group assignment with my group members. The assignment was divided among three of us and I tried my best to do my part with my understanding. I was depressed and could not even sleep for a week. I was held accountable for the poor assignment and received harsh criticism from my group members.
This experience made me very pessimistic about myself, and I realized that I am a loser, that I lack the ability to do anything, and I was suffering from depression. I planned to quit and return to the place where I belong. But after a few days, I realized that it was not my fault that I was unable to do good; rather, the problem was with the social and educational systems, which do not provide equal level of education for students who cannot afford admission to a high level college which can help you develop your English skills and knowledge, like students belonging to the so-called high castes and class. Such a system discriminates against the students of the downtrodden community: a system that provides an opportunity for quality education to particular communities, who can afford to pay high fees due to their high social status. Students in so-called government schools and colleges do not receive quality education because there are no proper classrooms, no proper infrastructure, and there is a shortage of teachers.
However, it’s not like that I have faced only problems. Indeed the institute has given me the courage to develop myself and at an institutional level encouraged me to represent myself. I got the opportunity to be a part of the ‘Student Union Election Committee’ where I held the position of ‘Returning Officer (RO)’. To be in the position, one needs to go through an interview. It is a big responsibility and opportunity to represent such a premier institution on a big platform. I never expected that I would get the opportunity to be on such a big platform, but my peer group always supported me. Along with this, I was a class representative in the ‘Centre Placement Committee’. I’m sharing these achievements because, as a student from a marginalized community, doing extracurricular activities in addition to academics is really a proud moment to encourage yourself and remind yourself that you have potential. The traditional politics were creating trouble for me, in some way or the other, trying to pull me back to my position (back to my social status).
When I ran for Centre Placement Committee as a class representative, some of my so-called high-class, dominant caste feminist classmates wanted to check my caliber because they felt I wasn’t capable of being a perfect representative. In fact, elections had previously taken place in the classroom and if someone wanted to represent some position, it was done in a very normal manner. None of the contestants were asked to speak in front of the class (to check their caliber) about why they were suitable candidates, because so-called dominant classmates had the mindset that they are capable enough: because they are fluent in English and come from a good background due to their privilege, and they had the notion that the position was made for them. Again, I was humiliated and decided not to run in the election; this type of behaviour undermined my self-confidence. But then I realized that I had created my own space and I stood up to such humiliation to demonstrate my ability. All of these incidents showed me how caste is invisible for such people with their grimy mindset and how they play with us on the basis of their privilege. Dr. B.R Ambedkar stated in his book Annihilation of Caste, “I shall be satisfied If I make the Hindus realize that they are the sick men of India and that their sickness is causing danger to the health and happiness of other Indians.” (Ambedkar, 1936)
There is a mindset/perception that the intellectual positions are made only for the dominant castes because they can represent in a better way.
Segregation, and groupism, is adopted automatically by dominant caste students based on language and physical appearance, and the entry point for the downtrodden community students is then closed. They will not be chosen if a group activity is planned for the class.
Dominant caste people have caste as capital, which automatically generates a privilege for them. In contrast, people from downtrodden communities are never accommodated by so-called privileged dominant caste people. In a social stratification system, people from the margin are always on a lower rung, and that restricts their rise.
In hostel life, students like me who belong to a lower economic background, receive only a small amount of money from their families for monthly expenses. That money is used for field work and other necessities. Hanging out and parties were always a part of higher caste students’ hostel life, which I was always restricted from doing due to lack/limitation of money. I refrained from attending the freshers’ party because the amount of contribution for the party was almost equal to the amount I received from my family for the one month expenses. How could I have survived for a month if I had spent that money? It had not only happened to me, but it was also the situation of many other students who were from a poor socio-economic background.
Despite facing numerous challenges during my master’s programme, I completed it and obtained a job placement in the first attempt, which clearly shows that I am no less than any dominant caste classmate of mine.
Hence, I raise the question of how and on what grounds they claim that caste does not exist, and how they expect us to quit and listen to their domination and discrimination.
According to a recent NCRB (National Crime Record Bureau) report, every hour, one student commits suicide due to depression. In fact, several students from the marginalized communities commit suicide due to depression, and that depression is directly and indirectly linked to classroom discrimination that they have faced, which is rarely discussed. Perhaps because they belong to a community that has no value in Indian society, their life is not as important as others’.
All these incidents have a very important place in my life and have given me the strength to achieve success and prove myself. Our community members have the ability and the skills; they just need to be given the space to flourish. I would like to highlight the view of Paulo Frere, “Pedagogy of the oppressed will be written by the oppressed which will emancipate the oppressor and the oppressed both.” (Freire, 1967-68) These views speak for themselves.
Our community members have made history, and the living example is Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who shook everyone with his work, demonstrating that he is the best in academics and he did it with his writings despite facing a lot of caste-based discrimination. His life experiences give us the courage to fight such filthy-minded people with our work. Savitri Bai Phule, who comes from a marginalized community, faced many challenges along the way, but she never gave up. She worked hard with her partner Jotirao Phule to educate girls from marginalized communities so that they do not fall behind in life. I am honored to have had the opportunity to learn about Savitribai Phule’s contribution to the education of girls from marginalized communities. Because of such social reformers, we now have access to high-quality education and can walk side by side with so-called dominant people.
I will rise, I will shine and I will fly high!
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References
Ambedkar, (1936). Annihilation of Caste.
Freire, P. (1967-68). Pedagogy of the Oppressed.
National Crime Record Bureau.
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Reena Dongre has completed her Master’s in Social Work, with a specialization in Women Centred Practice from Tata Institute of Social Sciences. She is working on the issue of ‘Prevention of Sexual Violence against Women and Children’. Her interest areas are gender, intersectionality, caste, prevention of violence against women and children, women and child rights, health, and livelihood.
