Engaging with 'Caste' in higher education: Reflections on critical pedagogy in India

Abstract

Caste based discrimination is an often denied social reality of higher education in India. But, the National Sample Survey (NSS) data (2007-08) for Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) is indicative of the structural exclusion of students from amongst marginalised social groups. The overall GER in India was 17.31, while GER is the lowest among Scheduled Tribes (ST) at 7.74, followed by Scheduled Castes (SC) at 11.60, (Other backward Castes) OBC (14.80) and others (26.85). The suicide of Dalit PhD scholar Rohith Vemula (University of Hyderabad) and MPhil Student J Muthukrishnan (Jawaharlal Nehru University) has accentuated the assertion that what is needed is a challenge to Brahminical hegemony in the Higher Education rather than a debate between the competing values of inclusion and quality. In this paper, I argue that through critical dialogue and pedagogy in pursuit of the humanist goals of liberty, equality and fraternity those involved in higher education have a responsibility to counter Brahminical hegemony in our classrooms and campuses