As several testimonies of caste discrimination within the apex technical institutes of the country such as the IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) frequently surface, the question of separatism and deeply seated casteist tendencies within the students, arises.
The recurrent deaths of 21-year-old Anil Kumar, an SC (Scheduled Caste) student of IIT Delhi, succeeded by the death of Ayush Ashna, another student from the same community, raises questions regarding the brunts of institutionalism these students bear when they think of a brighter future at these premier institutes of the country.
Until recently, a development that took place at IIT Bombay on September 27, further drew the attention of scholars and critics as the mess council of the institutions allegedly sent an email to students residing in hostels, regarding reserving six tables specifically for the students who eat vegetarian food. Jumping onto the bandwagon, IIT Hyderabad too came to light for passing similar orders.
A caste survey carried out by the Board of Students Publications (BSP), the official student media body of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, for the year 2019-2020, shed some light on how students either understand or fail to acknowledge the nuances of the caste system. The survey revealed, “The purpose of this article is not to simply draw inferences out of statistics, but to sensitise ourselves to deeper matters that we do not get the time to think about.”
Introduction to the survey
According to the article, the survey was conducted via Google Form and was circulated through IIT Delhi notices and other social media platforms. A total of 545 responses were gathered from the undergraduate student community. It also said that 60 per cent of the students belonged to the general category while 40 per cent of the students belonged to the reserved categories such as OBC (Other Backward Classes), SC and ST (Scheduled Tribe)
The survey also mentions that the purpose of the analysis was to gauge how the divide between students is created based on their behaviour or comments grounded in their recognition of their social caste.
Here is a list of a few highlights from the survey that are indicative of how students perceive the notion of caste.
Encountering casteist behaviour
The survey showed that more students, especially those hailing from small towns and villages, have already encountered casteism before facing it at IIT Delhi than students from metros and big cities, and more than one in two out of the SC/ST category respondents felt that the students intentionally pass casteist comments.
As per the survey, 30 per cent of the general category students agreed to it in comparison to the 53 per cent of the reserved category students hinting at what the survey calls “a casteist comment definition-mismatch”, meaning that the perception of “casteist” and “non-casteist” is perceived differently by the students belonging to different social backgrounds.
Additionally, it also observed that 11 per cent of the students knew administrative staff or professors who allegedly had made casteist comments.
Students’ reaction to casteist comments
The survey revealed that the majority of the students, an estimated 36.2 per cent, do not like or entertain casteist remarks that are passed but do not oppose it either, whereas, 19.2 per cent of students are neutral to such comments.
The data further showed that 59 per cent of the general category students agree or are neutral to casteist remarks while 41 per cent of them are negatively affected.
Another important point that emerged is that three in four students from the reserved categories are negatively affected by the casteist comments.
Students' realisation about casteism
The survey inquired from the participants if they were able to realise if they had passed casteist comments advertently or inadvertently where the data showed that 15 per cent of the general category students admitted that they had made casteist comments purposely and not only this, a significant proportion of students from the reserved categories were also found to have made casteist remarks.
Also, two in three of the general category students felt that, “Students who belong to the reserved classes get undue advantages in IIT-D,” and 14 per cent of students tend to socialise with people belonging to the same caste as them, which further hinted at the social divide that is created by the students.
The general category students were also of the opinion that the system of reservation within various regulations of the institute, which is meant to provide some relief to the reserved category students, is “unfair.”
About 72 per cent of the general category students felt that the system of differential fees and the book bank system that is made available first to the reserved classes is discriminatory in nature. In addition to this, the ‘department change CGPA cutoffs’, which is allegedly lower than the cut off set for the general category students, has been deemed unfair by 88 per cent of the students.
Inferences drawn
The segregation of the thought processes that the students have has led to the reserved category students generating tendencies of self-doubt. In the survey, 68 per cent of the respondents from metro cities felt that they were undervalued as compared to 24 per cent hailing from a small village.
The data also reveals that 88 per cent of the SC population, 74 per cent of the ST population and 46 per cent of the OBC students are hesitant to reveal their rank or caste.
The conclusion that the survey circles on, is a societal issue gradually making its way into academic spaces which is detrimental to the minds of these young impressionable students and would leave an indelible scar, causing issues with their mental health and driving many to take extreme measures.
However, it is to be noted that the BSP had conducted another survey for the year 2023-24 which was withdrawn on the grounds that the survey was not done with proper sanctions from the administration and a complaint was also filed by the SC/ST cell of IIT Delhi on September 7, against the survey.
EdexLive could establish contact with a member of the BSP and was given a statement that currently they (BSP IIT-D) are working with the SC/ST cell tto create a survey, and they would provide statements only after the process is complete.
