The Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, proposed in the 12th FYP, is yet to be established in many HEIs, especially in IITs
By Dr Nayakara Veeresha
The discrimination on caste-based identities and situating the same in the institutional space in higher education has raised social concern in recent times. The subtlety of caste-based discrimination in higher educational institutions (HEIs) is a tough terrain given the complex nature of the caste and its intricate relations with the identities of the power-holders. The normativity of the established hegemony within HEIs has been explained through the cases of Anita, Payal Tadvi and Rohit Vemula. These cases have shown how the HEIs have become a place and space for the reproduction of caste-based discrimination.
The persistence of caste and its identity politics is very well-known and documented widely both in academia and the policy arena. The question is how the caste, both as an institution and social practice, has been able to sustain itself in spite of the policies of anti-discrimination. Two critical factors are important to note here: continuation of a column of caste in the academic enrolment right from the school, and less or no stringent institutional checks and balances to identify and restrict the persons who engage in caste-based discrimination in the HEIs. The first is known as caste labelling and is systemic in nature. In several cases, both the Supreme Court and high courts, have adjudicated that the entry of caste in the school records is not entirely a true authentication.
Caste Labelling
The caste labelling was used to ascertain the phenomenon of exclusionary governance of HEIs. This rigidity of attitude and unchanged mindset among some people, mostly belonging to upper caste, in the HEIs and its deep implications on the perceptions of marginalised sections is reinforcing Marx’s concept of alienation. The attitude to alien the marginalised sections within the corridors of HEIs is as deep as the sea and has percolated into the minds and hearts of the upper castes. This has severely affected the idea of fraternity among the HEIs.
The hegemonic practices and systematic alienation embedded in HEIs towards the marginalised sections have developed an array of protective shields so as to keep the exclusionary practices intact only to deepen the socio-economic and cultural inequalities. The anthropology of elite institutions and the everyday practices of caste-based discrimination in HEIs reveal the weak social regulation to check the same. This brings the fact of existence, persistence and even resilience and reproduction of caste in its multiple forms in HEIs.
The rate of suicides in the institutions of national importance such as IITs, IIMs, IIITs and NITs is showing an increased pattern. The inadequacy of data makes it much more difficult to identify such discriminatory practices which is well-qualified to be called structural violence. This means that the structures of HEIs are made such that they ensures that less number of people from marginalised sections make entry and lesser than this come out with a degree. One can witness both symbolic and actual exclusionary violence in the elite (education is so costly and unaffordable to the marginalised sections) HEIs.
Studying ‘Exclusion’
The courses on ‘Dalit Studies’ and ‘Adivasis/Tribal Studies’ as a separate discipline or sub-discipline in the universities of India is still at the embryonic stage. The dichotomy between theory and practice, discourse and pedagogy has arisen through the hegemonic rule of the Varna system in most of the HEIs. The systematic ‘alienation’ of these disciplines and subjects is deeply embedded in a controlled knowledge production system.
It is interesting to note how the HEI/universities have become the place and spaces for reproducing the inequities and inequality between socially advanced and marginalised sections of society. What is more surprising is the way these inequities of mind have been produced through the means of inclusion of discipline within the ambit of the already existing hierarchical and exclusionary departments. This can be substantiated by looking at the objectives and the monitoring of the scheme, ie, establishment of the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, in universities that was initiated as part of the 12th Five-Year Plan.
While explaining the need for the establishment of these centres, the University Grants Commission (UGC) notes that “The primary space where ‘exclusion’ can be studied, understood, and first transcended, are our universities, which can and must act as a beacon for society”. One of the key objectives is “Conceptualizing discrimination, exclusion and inclusion based on castes/ethnicity and religion”. Sadly, a glimpse of the functioning of these centres in most universities gives a dismal picture in terms of inadequate faculty members and a severe shortage of funds to undertake research on the themes of social exclusion. Such centres have yet to be established in the HEIs, especially in IITs, within the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Revise NEP
To illustrate, as per the scheme guidelines, there has to be a total of six teaching and research faculty members in the centre. A cursory look at the staff in these centres indicates a severe shortage of people and funds. The situation remains the same in most central universities. It’s time to establish the study centre in the national institutes to reduce the rate of dropouts among the same. The HEIs and their marginalised governance regime are perpetuating the already inherent anxieties and fears among the marginalised sections.
India needs an egalitarian education system where knowledge is the criteria and the passion to contribute to the existing knowledge domain is the motivation to pursue higher education. A holistic reform to bring such an attitudinal and behavioural change is the need of the hour and is a fundamental right of youth. The persistence of caste-based discrimination is a disgrace for the country; be it in HEIs or any institutional spaces. Accordingly, changes must be made in the National Education Policy (NEP) of 2020 so as to truly achieve the goals of social equity and equality in education.