Page 58 - EW July 2022

Indian students. In January, the California State University
system, covering 23 public institutions, specifically includ-
ed caste in its non-discrimination policies.
While caste discrimination is more ubiquitous and ex-
plicit in India, it also exists overseas, says Suraj Yengde, a
Dalit activist and a research associate in Harvard Univer-
sity’s department of African and African American studies.
“People might not call you names, but the things they might
do are tantamount to caste discrimination,” he told Times
Higher Education. Dr. Yengde recounted his experience of
a higher caste Indian colleague who would “casually” make
jokes and “infantilise” him, even though he would “pretend
it was not intentional”. Still, the colleague would invite him
to social events to “show me off as a token to other people,”
he recalls.
Saikat Majumdar, professor of English and creative writ- Taliban militia patrolling Kabul: academic targets
ing at Ashoka University, Sonipat, says that abroad and at
home, institutions must call out and “shame” such behav- Prison after being seized by a group of five men shortly after
iour. “It’s bad enough that caste discrimination is practised he emerged from hiding last November. “Every morning,
in poor and remote villages in India, but it is absolutely I was beaten with a stick,” he says. “I was told: ‘You are a
appalling that wealthier, supposedly more ‘enlightened’ In- Jew and an infidel. You are Western.’”
dians who go abroad for higher studies also possess these The lecturer said his captors asked him about his re-
prejudices in the UK,” he says, welcoming steps taken by search activities: “Do you write articles any more? Do you
universities abroad to address such discrimination. do research any more? Do you still work in the field of hu-
“Westerners have no idea of the immense degree to man rights?” In those 12 days, after morning prayer he was
which bastions of knowledge, education, and white-collar beaten until the prison officer got tired. He was not allowed
labour have been historically monopolised by upper caste to bathe, and his teeth were broken. And he was charged
Hindus. It is worse than the old boys’ network in academic Af150 (Rs.131) per day for his meals.
and professional circles in the UK,” he says. The lecturer’s imprisonment came to an end within
While several scholars told THE that such discrimina- weeks when a religious leader’s intervention won his re-
tion is often subtle when encountered abroad, there is still lease. Soon after, he fled Afghanistan, entering Iran on a
disagreement over how widespread it is — and whether it tourist visa. The country shares a border with Afghanistan
is an issue at all. “We don’t see ‘caste-based’ discrimination and has a similar language. But the lecturer did not receive
at UK universities,” says Kishore Dattu, a national commit- a warm reception there. “Iran is not a good country for me…
tee member of the country’s Indian National Students As- Iranians do not consider us human. They call us Afghan
sociation. “Since caste discrimination does not exist in UK donkeys,” he says.
universities, introducing caste-based legislation based on Because the Taliban have blocked his bank account, he is
misinterpreted and misunderstood caste structures in the borrowing money from a friend for his daily needs. He lives
West will only inflame ruptures and dampen brotherhood in a remote village, in a damaged country house. He cannot
among Indian students,” he warns. teach, but he tries to retain some of his old activities. “One
of the ways I still try to defend human rights these days is
AFGHANISTAN by attending some international conferences, webinars, and
Swelling academic anger talking about the situation in Afghanistan,” he says.
It is impossible to say exactly how many Afghan aca-
AN AFGHAN LECTURER AND HUMAN RIGHTS demics have been displaced since the Taliban takeover, but
activist has described being beaten daily by Tali- Afghan students and staff previously told THE about steep
ban prison guards, amid mounting warnings about declines in university attendance. They say many colleagues
the prospects for academia in the country. Scholars teach- — those who could — have left the country.
ing contentious subjects have expressed concern that they “We have a difficult path ahead. (The Taliban) are com-
will be targeted since US forces’ hurried retreat in August pletely unpredictable, (but) as a human rights defender, I
2021, but although fears of imprisonment and beatings are strive to fulfil my mission. I am even ready to lose my life
widespread, first-hand accounts of what happens inside the in this way,” he adds.
Taliban’s prisons are rare.
One former Herat University lecturer told Times Higher (Excerpted and adapted from The Economist and Times
Education that he had been imprisoned for 12 days in Herat Higher Education)

JULY 2022 EDUCATIONWORLD 57