'Fighting casteism alone can come at a grave personal cost'

Students hold a protest following the suicide of Darshan Solanki, who allegedly jumped off the eighth floor of his IIT-B hostel earlier this year. His parents alleged that a fellow student had harrassed me on the ground of his caste

On Asang Wankhede's first day at the National Law University (NLU), Delhi, in 2011, he discovered that he had been allotted caste-segregated housing. Now, a scholar of the University of Oxford working towards a PhD in law, Wankhede uses his legal expertise to make students like himself aware of their rights.
The 30-year old is behind the recently-launched open-to-all resource project that students experiencing caste discrimination can use to hold their university accountable. "I lived in a Dalit-dominated slum colony in Nagpur," he tells mid-day over the phone from the UK, "and was placed in the ‘reservation' wing of the student housing complex. My activism over the next few years made sure this changed, but discrimination continued at
the university."

Wankhede created this simple online folder after he received messages from students who, though confident of their abilities claimed to be systematically belittled by faculty. "They tell me that they are constantly downgraded in internal assessments when compared to their peers with equal abilities." Given that in his first week at NLU, a professor spoke openly against India's reservation policy, and questioned the merit of Dalit students before a class of 80, Wankhede knows what that feels like.

Discrimination from both, students and faculty, Wankhede says, also places SC/ST students at risk of self-harm. "We all know about the case of Dr Payal Tadvi," he says, referencing the 2019 hanging of a Mumbai doctor who belonged to the Tadvi Bhil tribe. She allegedly died by suicide after she was ragged by three seniors at Topiwala National Medical College and BYL Nair Hospital. "But there are enough and more students not covered by the media, who experience similar harassment and lack the avenues to fight," he says, recounting an instance when a privileged classmate called him out for his poor English.

Asang Wankhede experienced casteism at university, and is dedicated to help others in the same position

On the Google drive, Wankhede shares a list of Frequently Asked Questions that students can refer to when attempting to combat institutionalised discrimination. "It starts simply, explaining how to identify discrimination. Caste discrimination is so mainstream, many students need guidance on how to place the actions of their peers in context." He also clears common misconceptions about the reservation process. "Upper-caste students often argue that admission to top institutions should be based on merit alone, but fail to understand that according to the Supreme Court, merit cannot be determined through standardised university tests alone. An individual's overall standing in society and background must be taken into account to determine academic merit. I address this in the FAQs."

The perception that reservation unfairly offers opportunities to minority groups is also unsupported by research, with a report by Nature released earlier this year revealing that between 2016 and 2020, Indian universities failed to meet government quota for minority students. "At NLU, the dropout rate for Dalit and adivasi students was extremely high. We [student activists] were able to reduce this to zero by implementing measures like English tutoring," Wankhede shares. He explains that by creating this open-source data Google drive, he hopes that others will be able to band against discrimination and embrace the same activist mindset he adopted.

Wankhede's online resource also has a guide to navigating discrimination by the institute; the resource reference mandates established by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to support SC/ST students. "The UGC mandates that special cells for SC/ST students be established, so that they can seek support against casteism. Often, these are not implemented." The FAQs provide instructions that students can follow to demand access to the institutional support they are legally entitled to.

Hoping to encourage them to read and learn for themselves, Wankhede, who calls himself an Ambedkarite, shares links to articles from journals as well as a comprehensive reading list. "The main aim," he says, "is to help the students develop consciousness of what is unravelling around them. The goal is not to spoon-feed."

Reactions to the week-old project has been promising. "Upper caste students and university faculty try and convince the rest that caste discrimination is a thing of the past. This data then becomes empirical evidence that the students need to hold their own in the face of misinformed arguments," he believes. "I know from experience that fighting a casteist institution alone comes at a grave personal cost. With this resource, I want to encourage students to work as a collective."

Our top four

. How binding are the UGC recommendations to each college?
The guidelines for the establishment of special cells for SC and ST students by the UGC are not recommendations, but are a mandatory obligation for universities. They are under a legal obligation to implement these guidelines.

. Most students do not know about the UGC. Is it negligence by individual colleges to not circulate such information among students?
This may or may not be negligence with or without intention. It may be difficult to establish that the administration did it intentionally, though the information about these safeguards is almost always intentionally neglected and suppressed. However, this should not stop students, student unions, and student associations from making strict and timely demands for its implementation. You are seeking enforcement of your legal right.

. Upper caste students argue that only a few economically well off from the SC/ST families grab the quota seats and the poor from these categories do not get a share. How authentic is this claim?
This is a fallacious claim without any empirical evidence. Empirical studies undertaken in academia show that relatively economically poorer sections within SC/STs are predominant beneficiaries
of reservations in India.

. Reservations were originally meant for only 10 years; when will they stop?
This is upper caste propaganda and shows a lack of understanding of reservations in India. There are three types of reservations in the Indian constitution - 1. Political; 2. Educational; 3. Public employment. The time limit of 10 years was meant for only political reservations and not any other form of reservation. These reservations in educational institutions and public employment must last for as long as the discrimination persists and that has been the original intent of the Constituent Assembly of India.