diff --git a/_posts/2023-03-28-the-merit-myth.md b/_posts/2023-03-28-the-merit-myth.md index 99adaa1..58195cc 100644 --- a/_posts/2023-03-28-the-merit-myth.md +++ b/_posts/2023-03-28-the-merit-myth.md @@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ excerpt: "Through this article we aim to understand what casteism is, how it is In July 2021, Vipin P. Veetil, an assistant Professor at IIT Madras, resigned, alleging caste-based discrimination. According to him, the discrimination came from all individuals in power, irrespective of their political affiliations or gender. This incident sums up how caste is perceived and how caste-based discrimination exists in the elite institutions of the country, like the IITs and the IIMs. -IITs have always been a glaring example of a dichotomy that exists in India with respect to the accessibility of resources. While IITians get good quality education and lucrative packages, the reality is very different for the rest of the country. Such glaring inequality is normalized in conversations by terming this phenomenon as “Merit” and conveniently ignoring the needs and aspirations of the majority. This classist and meritocratic system harms a developing country like India by segregating all resources in the hands of the few. People from the Upper Castes make up only about 35% of the population, yet if you look around you, in campus groups, in student bodies, and in the administration, you’ll hardly find any individuals from the Dalit, Bahujan or Adivasi communities. +IITs have always been a glaring example of a dichotomy that exists in India with respect to the accessibility of resources. While IITians get good quality education and lucrative packages, the reality is very different for the rest of the country. Such glaring inequality is normalized in conversations by terming this phenomenon as “Merit” and conveniently ignoring the needs and aspirations of the majority. This classist and meritocratic system harms a developing country like India by segregating all resources in the hands of the few. People from the Upper Castes make up only about 20% of the population, yet if you look around you, in campus groups, in student bodies, and in the administration, you’ll hardly find any individuals from the Dalit, Bahujan or Adivasi communities. Through this article we aim to understand what casteism is, how it is seen in Educational Institutions in the country and how it is seen in IIT-Roorkee specifically. @@ -112,3 +112,5 @@ Having different utensils in the mess is nothing but a form of segregation, rein An SC-ST Cell exists in colleges like IIT-Bombay and IIT-Delhi and its aims include addressing academic and non-academic issues and complaints received from students and staff belonging to the SC and ST communities. There is a dire need for such a cell to exist in our institute for the reasons stated above. An SC/ST Employees Welfare Association does exist on paper in our institute. When WatchOut! tried to verify the existence of such a cell, we found that it does not hold meetings/meet on a regular basis. Moreover its working has hardly any bearing on an average student. A recent case of a student from IIT Bombay shows how important such a cell is. Our college needs a student led body which promotes diversity and equality on campus to build a discrimination free environment. A SC/ST Cell in particular can ensure that very strict actions are taken against individuals promoting caste discrimination and support is provided to students from marginalised communities. The situation currently, is abysmal to say the least, with the SC/ST Cell existing merely in name. + +Disclaimer: Since the last caste census was conducted in 2011, and it's findings were thought to be unreliable, there is a general disagreement about the percentage of each caste. However we have tried to use the most recurring numerical data. We do however recognise that some sources might disagree with our data