Caste-based exclusion still plagues campuses: Abha Sur

Kolkata: Expressing concerns over incidents like the suicide of Dalit student Rohit Vermula on campus, Abha Sur, who specializes in women and gender studies at the MIT, US, said: “While on the one hand we are talking about academic excellence and are trying to connect with leading institutions globally, we must not forget that realities like the suicide of Dalit student, Rohit Vemula, still rage on even in some of the most exalted campuses of India.” She was speaking at a special lecture on Tuesday on the occasion of Presidency University’s 200 year celebrations.
Starting her argument with Vemula, Sur said that even though this has been publicized in the media, it is not a one-off incident at all because even in the top-most campuses, Dalits are cornered, battered and finally forced to leave the campus. “Take the case of Rohit. Was he prepared for that kind of treatment when he entered the portals of the Hyderabad University? He thought that he would walk the corridors of higher education and make his family proud. Instead, he encountered some medieval torture tactics that were unleashed on him by fellow and senior students and even teachers,” Sur lashed out.

Again, despite all that we talk about gender equality in this post-feminist world, in most campuses, she said. “You can either be a woman or a scientist and not a woman scientist. This marginalisation needs to be addressed at its roots. Why should women not make fine scientists?” Sur asked. Later, answering questions from the audience, she said the problem lies in the fact that numbers are skewed against women when it comes to offering science in plus two and college levels.
She reminded that when it comes to caste exclusion, what happened to Meghnad Saha when he was not allowed to eat on the same table with upper-caste students, continues unabashed till date.

Source: The Times of India