Caste Amid Aspiration and Opportunity: Everyday Struggles of Dalits to Gain Access to Education

Ajeet Kumar Pankaj

American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 2021, vol. 80, issue 3, 931-947

Abstract: In India, there are a number of Dalit autobiographies and Bollywood movies that narrate the humiliation of Dalits in various spheres of their life. The autobiographies of Dalits and a few prominent Bollywood movies capture the struggles of Dalits to obtain a high level of education. Education has been one of the primary instruments for Dalits to achieve upward mobility. Drawing from two prominent Dalit autobiographies by Tulasi Ram and Omprakash Valmiki, two Bollywood movies—Pariksha and Arakshan, and my own fieldwork experience with Dalit students confirms the experience of Subodh, a Dalit student who is currently pursuing higher education in Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow. The experiences of Subodh exemplify the humiliations a Dalit experiences in educational institutions and the struggles of Dalits to use education to achieve upward mobility.

Date: 2021
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