Faces of Discrimination in Higher Education in India ─ Quota Policy, Social Justice and the Dalits

This book illuminates the experiences of a set of students and faculty who are members of the Dalit caste – commonly known as the ‘untouchables’ – who are relatively ‘successful’ in that they attend or are academics at a prestigious university. The book provides a background to the study, exploring the role of caste and its enduring influence on social relations in all aspects of life. The book also contains a critical account of the current experiences of Dalit students and faculty in one elite university setting – the University of Shah Jahan (pseudonym). Drawing on a set of in-depth semi-structured interviews, the empirical study that is at the centre of this book explores the perceptions of staff and students in relation to the Quota policy and their experiences of living, working and studying in this elite setting. The data chapters are organised in such a way as to first explore the faculty views. The experiences of students are then examined with a focus on the way in which their caste is still an everyday part of how they are sometimes ‘othered’. A focus on female Dalit members of the enrolment attempts to access the interconnecting aspects of abject discrimination.Faces of Discrimination in Higher Education in India explores:

• critical exploration of the Quota System policy and related social justice issues;

• faculty voices: Quota, caste and discrimination;

• students’ perceptions and experiences of the Quota policy;

• being a ‘female Dalit’ student;

• positioning caste relations and the Quota policy: a critical analysis.

This study will be of interest to educational sociologists examining policies in education and analysts of multicultural and South Asian studies. It will also steer pertinent discussions on equality and human rights issues.

Samson K. Ovichegan is a Research Associate at Goldsmiths, University of London.