A CASE FOR CASTE CONVERSATIONS

This Dalit History Month, CE talks to people in education field who reflect on discrimination in schools and the hope for an inclusive space for children

- ANUSREE PV

Dalit girl made to sit outside during exams because she was menstruating; Dalit students forced to clean toilets; a teacher brutally beats up a student from a lowered caste; a student bullied ruthlessly to death; fingers of a Dalit boy severed off just before his exams—these are a few headlines that prove that educational institutions in the state are becoming seedbeds for heinous activities, not sparing even the children.

Caste, class, and all sorts of discrimination have seeped into the crevices of classroom walls, and their stubborn roots could not be pulled out completely even after decades of attempts. Dr B.R. Ambedkar's words, "I like the religion that teaches liberty, equality, and fraternity," is now buried under dominance and hierarchy. The core idea of education has often been reduced to just scoring marks, be it at the cost of becoming intolerant and complacent. The teachers are quiet, students ignorant, authorities imprudently brushing aside the cases of violence, painting the buildings clean, and the facades of schools boasting their progressive ideas.

This Dalit History Month, as we celebrated the Father of the Constitution's 135th birth anniversary, teachers and followers of Ambedkar's ideologies talk about the discrimination they have witnessed and raise a clarion call.

When teachers are silenced

Christyana Rose, an independent research scholar, draws on her dreadful experiences. As a neurodivergent person and someone who has been subjected to bullying, then and even now, she says, "The increase in violence in schools is mostly because of not teaching empathy at a very young age, and shielding them from the idea of social justice. Violence was rampant then, and even now, the only difference is that now these cases are coming out."