One more suicide. Once more the death of merit.
On 16th April, 2011, Linesh Mohan Gawle, a PhD scholar at the prestigious National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, became one more name in the long list of Dalit and Adivasi students, who have committed suicide in India’s premier educational institutions in recent years.
The large number of Dalit and Adivasi students committing suicide clearly indicates the wide-spread prevalence of caste discrimination in the Indian education system, which perceives them as ‘non-meritorious’, not fit to belong there.
When a student from the lowest strata of society fights against all odds to prove her merit and reach the best educational institutions in India, are those institutions proving themselves meritorious enough to recognize her worth, to accommodate, let alone nurture her aspirations?
When a Dalit or Adivasi student becomes an engineer, doctor, business graduate or scientist, it should be a cause of pride for not just the family or the community but for the entire nation.
Instead, why do our nation and its educational institutions reward their merit with discrimination, humiliation, violence and death?
The time has come for Dalit and Adivasi students to speak up, share their experiences and bring their struggles in the public domain, so that we can fight together to make our campuses caste discrimination-free.
Our communities cannot afford to lose our bright, young hopes like Linesh and Balmukund, in the hands of an insensitive and casteist educational system.
Please tell us about your experiences by calling our Dalit & Adivasi Students Helpline: 0 99 99 48 42 49 or mailing us at deathofmerit@gmail.com.
This blog shall document all kinds of casteist oppression in institutions of higher education, including the kind which results in the ‘suicides’ of young and meritorious Dalit and Adivasi students.
The Death of Merit 
there is nothing new.its radical influence of upper cast pride on the cultural sense and paradigm of Indian society historically.by watching our cultural sphere , we can understand our social sense holds ground by neglecting low casts and subalterns.our higher education system is keeping its ‘higher’ by marginalizing them.our concept of merit is the embodiment example of this.so we have to rise the slogan that ‘do die this merit’………
Mere dalit bhaiyeo meri sabhi se req h aaj time aa chuka h akhir kab sokar uthenge hum .Hum sab ko ye jung ladni h or apni demand har haal me accept karani h chahe iske liye hame koi bhi kurbani deni pade. Mai aap sab ke sath hoin
This is the worst face of humanity in the world where higher institutions
and civil societies are of very notion of discrimination and caste. The
state and its all institutions and organizations are in the hand of
discriminatory power of caste based notion. These must be free from their
hand and must be given to the hand of Progressive, Dalits hand. Govt must
take action and we must fight for it till the atrocities are stopped.
The depressed classes of India must unite and fight against these all
incidents all over the India. We must bring again Ambedkar, Phule and
Periyar etc among us in this era.
—
Sarvind Ram