A thousand Dalits abroad
for the Dalits hold new promises for the upliftment of the meritorious Dalit students who aspire to study abroad
CHANDRA BHAN PRASAD | Columnists
30 March 2014
Most top Indian leaders who fought for the independence of India attained degrees in higher education abroad.
To begin with, Mahatma Gandhi went to England in 1888 to study Law. He became a Barrister. Pt Jawaharlal Nehru went to England in 1907 to study Natural Science followed by a degree in Law. He too became a Barrister. Rabindranath Tagore also landed in England in 1878 to study Law. The same applies to Sardar Ballabhbhai Patel. Again, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia completed his PhD from Germany in 1932 from Berlin University.
Similarly, BR Ambedkar went to Columbia University and studied Economics. He also pioneered Dalits’ emancipation. At Columbia, his thesis was titled ‘The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India’ and the same was published in 1925 by PS King and Company, London.
The first Dalit to become the President of India too went to England in 1945 to study Political Science. Over one lakh Indian students are going to the United States for education every year. Thousands are going to England, Australia and Russia. Upon return, most get top jobs immediately and some even settle abroad itself.
I know a few Dalit students who are studying in the US and know some who are trying to. But, sure enough, it is not feasible for a variety of reasons, sponsorship being one of them.
For a B Tech or just a BA, a student needs to arrange about Rs 15,00,000 for the very first year. A course might extend to four years. In other words, a student needs to arrange over Rs 50,00,000 to gain a degree from the US. The situations in England or Australia are no different.
The question is — how many Dalit parents can afford to send at least one of their children to study abroad?
There is a way out however: Scholarships. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has an overseas scholarship programme for Dalit students. But they are few in numbers. A total of 27 Fellowships are set aside for Dalits every year.
The good news has arrived though. The Congress manifesto released on March 26 promises 1000 Overseas Fellowships to Dalit and Adivasi students every year. That’s a great step from the Congress Party. Hope the BJP and other parties will follow in the Congress’s footsteps too.
The Dalits are at a turning point in their journey to freedom. Thanks to affirmative actions, a tiny Dalit middle class has come into being. Post the reforms of 1990, this section is gradually evolving through their forays in entrepreneurships.
Almost extraordinarily, the children of the Dalit middle class are also competing with and superseding the children of upper castes.
As of today, the children of the Dalit middle class look at bureaucracy as the best career option. Since there is an Affirmative Action Policy in recruitments in India, Dalit students get tempted to use it.That reiterates the stereotype that Dalits can’t really make it unless something like this policy helps them. As we know, Dalits using Affirmative Action will, all through their lives, carry the cross of ‘Quota Fellows’.
The Overseas Fellowships are just financial support schemes. The Dalit students will have to qualify for admissions on their own without any ‘Affirmative Action’ in the admission criterion.
A 1000 Overseas Fellowships to Dalit/Adivasi students would mean 840 fellowships to the Dalit aspirants. The UPSC recruits about 1000 civil servants every year whereas the Dalits’ share is just a 160 seats.
If the 840 Overseas Fellowships turn into a reality, then the success rates of winning these fellowships will be much higher than the success rate in civil services. The consequences can be truly emancipatory. Thousands of Dalit youths who compete for civil service posts might turn towards Overseas Fellowships.
If these thousand fellowships promise to come into practice, then within a decade, thousands of Dalit students will turn into role models globally. What Affirmative Action has meant to the Dalits in over half a century, the Overseas Fellowships will have done much more within a couple of decades. Kudos to the Congress Party.
Source: The Pioneer
