The survey results conducted by various institute bodies of IIT Bombay over the last one and half years have been made public by the media. These results point to the atmosphere of blatant casteism and humiliation that Dalit Bahujan Adivasi (DBA) students must face on a day-to-day basis. Though the survey only shows data from IIT Bombay, if similar surveys had been conducted in other higher educational institutions, especially the so-called ‘institutions of eminence’, the results would point to a similar or worse situation.
Amoung the various results published, one survey conducted by the student media body of IIT Bombay, Insight, stands out. This survey was sent to all students, not just DBA students to understand their opinion on caste issues. The survey asks in the beginning if the student is from general or reserved categories to understand how both category students perceive casteism in campus. Almost 181 students belonging to general category participated in this survey and their responses point to the attitude of savarnas in campuses.
83% of savarna students does not feel that there is any caste discrimination in IIT Bombay, out of which 36% are unsure. But 6% of them have actually agreed that casteism is present and very prevalent in campus. 26% of savarna students wanted other savarna students to be their roommate, which shows that they do not consider the demand for not wanting a DBA student as roommate as casteist demand.
61% of the savarna students do not feel that asking someone’s surname is casteist. 37% are very sure that it is not casteist at all to ask for surnames. 45 students admitted to asking surnames and 65 students said they witness it happening in campus. Surnames are indicator of caste for majority of the students. Asking surnames is a way to figure out the caste location of a person. Yet, majority of savarnas do not accept this as casteist act.
When asked whether asking JEE ranks in order to determine if the person came through reservation is casteist, 36% said that it is not casteist. 19% feel that there is nothing wrong in asking JEE rank to figure out if a person were from reserved categories. 25% of savarna students however accept that it is a highly casteist act. 29 savarna students admitted to asking someone’s rank to know if they came from reservation while 59 said they witnessed it happening. The asking of ones rank to identify category is so prevalent that 41 savarna students admitted that other people had asked their own rank to see which category they came through.
47% of savarna students do not feel that making memes or jokes against reservation is casteist, while the rest of them accepts that it is casteist. 22% feel there is nothing wrong in that act, while 23% feel that it is extremely casteist. While 21 students admitted to making jokes are sharing memes against reservation, 79 said that they witnessed it happening. The high number of students who agrees to have witnessed it shows the prevalence of anti-reservation sentiment on campus. 74% of savarna students feel that saying reservation should not exist is not casteist while rest feels it is. 42% completely denied a casteist angle to taking an anti-reservation stand. Debates about reservation is very common inside the campus and savarnas openly make anti-reservation statements and they feel justified in doing so.
The only question where there was more agreement among the savarna students, where almost 90% agreed was that using caste names as slurs and abuses was casteist. Even though most agreed to its casteist nature, 48 students admitted to witnessing it happen and 8 students accepted to having used caste slurs themselves.
26 savarna students have said that they witnessed caste discrimination happen firsthand. 21 said that the perpetrator was a student while 5 said that the perpetrator was a faculty.
The element of casteism and purity gets visible when we examine the responses to the preference for segregation of eating spaces. The need to demarcate separate eating spaces with an idea of purity is to reinforce the superiority of savarnas in the campus and deem their habits better than that of DBA students. Even though more than half of savarna students responded that they do not want separate eating spaces or utensils, almost half (41%) demanded that they be provided separate spaces away from people who consume meat.
It is imperative that we understand the savarna mind when we think of formulating ways to end the culture of discrimination in campuses. Along with spreading awareness to DBA students and building support systems for their welfare, there have to be active compulsory caste sensitization programs that need to be conducted to sensitize the savarna students about the trauma and humiliation they force upon DBA students. Focus needs to be put on how to create proper narratives that can change the mindset of these students and make them aware of their own privileges and socio-cultural capital that come with their caste.
The idea that some rank in an exam as the sole symbol of merit needs to be dismantled and it needs to be expanded to include the social realities of caste, gender, sexuality, religion, class, abilities etc. The prevalent anti-reservation sentiment needs to be countered through sessions explaining the history of reservation in India and affirmative action programs practiced in other countries. All of this has to go hand in hand with the proper implementation of reservation in faculty positions. The savarna students should also get to see faculties from DBA community to change their minds about reservation.