00:00In January this year, the University Grants Commission's new rules to tackle caste-based
00:04discrimination on university campuses ended with massive upper caste mobilisation opposing the
00:10rules. Campuses witnessed angry protests, social media became a battleground. Some upper caste
00:16student groups said the rules were unfair and open to misuse. The matter reached Supreme Court,
00:21which then paused the regulations. Amid all this noise, Outlook decided to take a closer look at
00:27what equity means in a country like India and why the idea of equality was met with such strong
00:32opposition. In its February 21st issue titled Seeking Equity, Outlook asks why these rules were
00:37introduced in the first place and why they have triggered such strong emotional reactions.
00:43Because this story did not begin this year or even the last decade or even the 70s or 80s or
00:4890s.
00:49However, in 2016, a young Dalit scholar Rohit Vemala died by suicide. He had faced suspension,
00:56he was removed from his hostel, his fellowship was stopped. But he was also a Dalit student who had
01:02spoken out. His caste identity shaped how he was treated and how the institution responded.
01:08In his final letter, he wrote, my birth is my fatal accident. He also wrote, I always wanted to be
01:14a
01:14writer, a writer of science like Carl Sagan. But he couldn't do any of it and he died by suicide
01:20in
01:20January of 2016. Three years later, in 2019, Dr. Payal Tadvi, a young talented medical student from a
01:27Schedule Tribe community, died similarly, facing alleged caste abuse by senior colleagues. She had
01:34complained but to no avail. And these are not isolated tragedies, they raise a tough question.
01:40Were the systems meant to protect students actually working?
01:44Our issue, Seeking Equity, shows how the UGC's 2012 anti-discrimination rules were barely enforced.
01:51When the UGC tried to strengthen them with court permission, this time around with proper equity
01:56centres and committees, protests erupted. Recall the Mandal era protests when upper caste fears of
02:01erasure sparked nationwide anger, self-immolations. But upper caste continue to dominate workplaces today.
02:08For Outlook, our writers explore the various facets of this debate. Anal Til Tumre argues that claims of
02:15misuse often appear whenever protections for marginalised groups are strengthened. Mirnalini
02:21Dhyani finds there were hardly any misuse case of SCSD Act in universities, countering the worries of the
02:28current protest. Surajit Mazumdar reflects on the gap between the promise of equality and social reality.
02:34And Kishore Desai reminds us that while laws may change, everyday prejudice can remain. Rohit Vimula's words of
02:43despair and Payal Tarvi's silenced future do continue to haunt Indian universities. Explore these stories and more in
02:52Outlook's latest issue, Seeking Equity.
02:54Authentic Studies
02:57End
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