Dr. Rahul Kumar, PhD-
(Samajweekly) There has been a significant decline in the quality of education during the last few decades. Additionally, the right-wing government has been working to modify the curriculum that stifles Indian students` ability to think critically. The majority of Indian students feel unprepared for the future in technologically advanced nations as a result of right-wing government endeavors. Most educational institutions are infected with divisive politics. A large section of people having political and administrative support are making efforts to encourage an irrational agenda in the campuses.
Is Reservation responsible for brain-drain?
The majority of Upper Caste parents contend that they are sending their children abroad for studies because of the Reservation System. Absolutely incorrect. In their hearts, they are convinced that the poor quality of education and politicization of educational institutions would block academic development of their siblings but in general they keep on criticizing the Reservation System. According to media reports, the majority of students from the upper caste are enrolled in foreign colleges and universities because of their parents` wealth. Rich and resourceful parents can offer the bank collateral hence their children obtain student loans readily in contrast to students belonging to the marginalized sections of the society. In recent times, upper caste students came from Ukraine when Russia invaded it. There was not a single student from the lower classes.
Government scholarships are extremely important to students from lower socioeconomic strata who want to study abroad. There are several states in India that do not offer scholarships for higher studies abroad. For example, Punjab is one of the Indian states that does not provide scholarships for PhD programmes abroad. However, a lot of studies reveal that despite prejudice and financial struggles, the majority of students from higher castes do not perform better academically than those from lower castes.
Caste is violent in Indian colleges and universities
Caste-based violence has crept into most Indian colleges and universities. Dalit students are savagely killed and assaulted. Christian students experience stigma. Muslim students bear the brunt of societal alienation. Some upper caste professors, by lowering their grades, attempt to obstruct their future. In the prevailing poisonous atmosphere in the campuses, parents from the lower social classes do not feel secure about their kids. After India gained independence in 1947, not a single member of the upper caste died on campus as a result of social prejudice, but thousands of students of the lower castes are beaten, or killed under the protection of professors and college/university administration. Rohith Vemula, 26 years –old PhD student, activist for Dalit rights was brutally killed inside the campus of central Hyderabad University. In addition, lower class teachers who dare to expose superstitious beliefs of Hindu Gods or goddesses risk being punished or fired if they discuss Dr. B.R. Ambedkar`s philosophy and the ideals of Equality, Fraternity and Liberty or the implementation of the Indian constitution drafted by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, a hero and nationalist, faces social sanctions. In other words, one can say that the upper caste students do not tolerate at all the name of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar or Buddhism. A Dalit guest lecturer at Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith in Varanasi has lost his job and been barred from entering the university premises for suggesting on social media that women are better off reading the Constitution and Hindu Code bill instead of fasting during Navratri. The litany is that no upper caste teacher has been suspended or fired for being an intolerant and a discriminator in the past 75 years. Bertrand Russell in his book, Why Men Fight wrote, “Men fear thought as they fear nothing on earth- more than ruin, more even than death. Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible, thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions and comfortable habits, and thought is anarchic and lawless. Indifferent to authority, careless of the well-tried wisdom of the ages. Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid ….. Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world, and the chief glory of man.”
Equal Employment Opportunity abroad
We frequently hear men or women from higher castes discussing nationalism. Numerous studies show that the majority of men or women from the upper caste desire to get permanent residency in such nations. Upper caste men or women who travel and work abroad assert that there are equal employment opportunities abroad even if they or their children pick menial jobs like cleaning or domestic work. Although they claim to be serving the country, for them, money is God. They have no concern for nationalism. Children of Dalit, Christian or Muslim parent who work at the gas station or restaurant or in the public work department face discrimination and poor treatment from these upper caste men and women. What kind of Nationalism?
Upper caste kids are studying abroad due to their own financial interests and promising futures, not because of the current Reservation System. As there has been a sharp increase in hostility between higher caste teachers and lower caste students, the reservation system has become a scourge for the marginalized groups.
Dr. Rahul Kumar, Ph.D. in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi (India), is an independent researcher. His area of interest encompasses diplomacy, foreign policy and international relations. The views expressed in this article are personal.
