Chances are if you are a Schedule Caste/Tribe student studying or practicing in India’s premier medical institute, AIIMS in New Delhi, none of your fellow student or doctor will work with you and you will have to live in a ghetto, you will not be able to play a certain sport and each and every day, you will be reminded again and again that you belongs to an inferior class in the society.
The Thorat Panel set up by the Union Health & Family Welfare Ministry at the PM behest after a series of articles from the print media exposed the social discrimination practiced in the Institute was led by Mr. SK Thorat, UGC Chairperson with two other members. The report has thrown up many shocking result, which, not surprisingly, the Administration of AIIMS rejected ‘in totality’.
The Panel which interviewed 50% of the Students belonging to the reserved category accused the Director (of AIIMS) of instigating and creating a divide between the students and ghettoizing reserved category students.
The report says the AIIMS administration failed to ensure safeguards for weaker sections of society guaranteed under the Constitution like undergraduate programme and special coaching for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes students. They also accused the faculty of ‘misusing’ their power during internal assessment.
As many as 69% of the reserved category students alleged that they did not receive adequate support from teachers, 72% said they faced discrimination, and 76% said their evaluation was not proper while 82% said they often got less than expected marks.
In practical examinations and viva voce, the treatment meted out to them was 'not fair'. And worse, 76% said higher caste faculty members enquired about the castes of their students while 84% said they were asked, directly or indirectly, about their caste backgrounds. An equal percentage of students alleged that their grading was adversely affected due to their background.
The reserved category students also alleged 'social isolation' at various levels, including even from faculty members, with 84% of the students saying they faced segregation in the hostel that forced them to shift to hostels No. 4 and 5 where there was a concentration of SC/ST students.
So far, the AIIMS administration has rejected the report as a bundle of lies and set up their own panel, their report is awaited. But considering that the panel was set up by the administration which is also the alleged perpetrator, one doesn’t expect much except for ‘another bundles of lies’.
It is no secret the problem between the Health Minister and the Director of AIIMS especially after the recent reservation controversy, but the question is –is these brutalities triggered by the recent reservation controversy or is it a deep-rooted tradition in the institute that was there for a long time but exposed only when this controversy cropped up?
Whatever the answer is, discrimination in any form, be it harsh or subtle, be it based on caste, creed or race, it should be condemned. Every one must note that the Quota system did not guarantee entrance to any institute; all the SC/ST students in AIIMS get there based on their merits. Their selection is not based on caste or religion, but on their performances in the extremely competitive Entrance Exam –so there really is no void of merit.
The Thorat Panel set up by the Union Health & Family Welfare Ministry at the PM behest after a series of articles from the print media exposed the social discrimination practiced in the Institute was led by Mr. SK Thorat, UGC Chairperson with two other members. The report has thrown up many shocking result, which, not surprisingly, the Administration of AIIMS rejected ‘in totality’.
The Panel which interviewed 50% of the Students belonging to the reserved category accused the Director (of AIIMS) of instigating and creating a divide between the students and ghettoizing reserved category students.
The report says the AIIMS administration failed to ensure safeguards for weaker sections of society guaranteed under the Constitution like undergraduate programme and special coaching for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes students. They also accused the faculty of ‘misusing’ their power during internal assessment.
As many as 69% of the reserved category students alleged that they did not receive adequate support from teachers, 72% said they faced discrimination, and 76% said their evaluation was not proper while 82% said they often got less than expected marks.
In practical examinations and viva voce, the treatment meted out to them was 'not fair'. And worse, 76% said higher caste faculty members enquired about the castes of their students while 84% said they were asked, directly or indirectly, about their caste backgrounds. An equal percentage of students alleged that their grading was adversely affected due to their background.
The reserved category students also alleged 'social isolation' at various levels, including even from faculty members, with 84% of the students saying they faced segregation in the hostel that forced them to shift to hostels No. 4 and 5 where there was a concentration of SC/ST students.
So far, the AIIMS administration has rejected the report as a bundle of lies and set up their own panel, their report is awaited. But considering that the panel was set up by the administration which is also the alleged perpetrator, one doesn’t expect much except for ‘another bundles of lies’.
It is no secret the problem between the Health Minister and the Director of AIIMS especially after the recent reservation controversy, but the question is –is these brutalities triggered by the recent reservation controversy or is it a deep-rooted tradition in the institute that was there for a long time but exposed only when this controversy cropped up?
Whatever the answer is, discrimination in any form, be it harsh or subtle, be it based on caste, creed or race, it should be condemned. Every one must note that the Quota system did not guarantee entrance to any institute; all the SC/ST students in AIIMS get there based on their merits. Their selection is not based on caste or religion, but on their performances in the extremely competitive Entrance Exam –so there really is no void of merit.
There is no denying that the quota system as practiced in India is not the best solution for what it is applied for. Still you cannot compare the effect it has on the communities. Just compare this –the general community having one more doctor and the tribal community having its first doctor.
2 comments:
This should be published in the local newspaper here in Aizawl, also on some NE Newsletter etc.
Oh I'm not very up to the mark to be in print.
Anyway thanks for the comments.
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