Beyond admission: The battle to belong

The entry of Dalit, Bahujan, and Adivasi (DBA) students into the prestigious halls of higher education is a modern reality. Many of these young people are the first in their family history to ever step onto a university campus. However, getting through the door is only half the battle.

Because of historical marginalisation and modest financial backgrounds, these students often lack the ‘social capital’ – the hidden network of professional connections and ‘insider knowledge’ that the social elite participants have to navigate their academic success.

Some of the social-elite peers of DBA members are influenced by deep-seated prejudices and frequently struggle to acknowledge them as their equals.

This exclusion is not always loud or obvious; it often operates through subtle aggressions. It might look like a student changing hostel rooms to avoid a Dalit roommate, or a professor giving a DBA student the lowest possible marks during an oral exam.

At a structural level, it appears as the deliberate failure of universities to fill reserved seats for students and faculty. When these tensions go unaddressed, the friction turns into humiliation or physical violence. In the most extreme cases, it leads to the ‘institutional murders’ (in cases of Dalit students committing suicides) caused by a toxic, unsupportive environment entrenched in the institutions of higher learning.

Since the tragic deaths of students like Rohith Vemula and Payal Tadvi, there has been a persistent demand for a real legal shield to protect  the dignity and careers of DBA students. This is necessary because most universities still lack internal systems to deal with the unhealthy social atmosphere created by caste-based unequal relationships.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) proposed the Equity Regulations to replace an outdated 2012 framework. This was meant to be a democratic move toward real justice. Similarly, the Karnataka government’s proposal to enact the ‘Rohith Act’ has further strengthened the demands for effective social justice for the marginalised social groups.

However, these moves, especially the new UGC regulations, have faced backlash from some elite groups who claim these rules will only worsen caste divisions or be used to file false complaints.

The courts have traditionally protected these inclusive measures. However, a Supreme Court bench recently put the UGC’s new rules on hold. The  apex itself previously ordered the government to create a ‘robust mechanism’ to stop caste bias. Numerous official reports have already proven that even India’s top-tier institutions, like the IITs and IIMs, practice subtle forms of exclusion that stunt the progress of DBA students.

The UGC Equity Regulations or the Rohith Act were designed specifically after examining the limitations of the old institutional mechanisms  to  protect and promote the interests of the vulnerable social groups in the institutions of higher education.

Resistance to these crucial reforms only demonstrates the myopia of the conservative social elites as they refuse to admit that caste discrimination is built into the system itself.

While reservation policies have helped DBA students enter universities, they alone cannot erase the social prejudices that govern daily life on campuses. Too often, attempts to protect the constitutional rights of these students are dismissed as a threat to ‘merit’ or dangerous for social unity. This narrative makes discrimination seem normal and mocks voices for social justice.

Universities are more than just places to get a degree; they are supposed to be spaces where society evolves. Ensuring that everyone is included is not just a legal box to check, but also a moral requirement.

The UGC regulations or the regional versions like the Rohith Act are necessary remedies and a sign that the government is taking its responsibility toward social justice seriously. Without these institutional protections, the ‘citadels of education’ will continue to be private playgrounds for the social elite.

Harish S Wankhede

The writer teaches at Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.