Ashoka University's Social Justice Forum Demands Caste Census Ahead Of Student Body Election, Asks For Anti-Discrimination Cell

The Social Justice Forum (SJF), an independent student organization at Delhi's Ashoka University that advocates for the rights of individuals from ethnic and religious minority backgrounds, has urged the university administration to launch an online petition. This petition is aimed at advocating for a comprehensive caste census.

The decision was made following the forum's prior insistence on the establishment of an autonomous anti-discrimination unit, aimed at combating diverse types of discrimination within the campus.

On 7 November, the SJF, supported by roughly 200 co-signers, dispatched a letter to Vice Chancellor Somak Raychaudhury. The letter stated, "We have observed numerous instances over time where individuals from marginalized groups have been subjected to discriminatory actions and behaviors. Unfortunately, these incidents frequently remain unrecorded and unaddressed due to the lack of an official reporting body...."

It further said, “The lack of a formal body in this University to handle issues on discrimination is not only a substantial oversight that encourages openly discriminatory behavior with impunity but is also against the law. In 2012, the UGC issued the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutes) Regulations, 2012 (‘the Regulations’).”

In a response to the letter, Raychaudhury said, “…we are actively working on establishing a robust Student Grievance Redressal Committee (SGRC) in accordance with the latest UGC Regulations of 2023. The SGRC will address a wide spectrum of concerns. In addition, we are also constituting an Equal Opportunities Cell to specifically address cases of discrimination. As with all committees dealing with student complaints at Ashoka, we aim to include elected student representatives in the composition of both these committees.”

He went on to say that his office is currently working on outlining the prerequisites for these committees. He anticipates that they will be up and running at the start of the forthcoming semester. In the interim, students are encouraged to direct their queries or concerns to the nodal officer, who also serves as the University's registrar.

Speaking to The Indian Express, an SJF member, on the condition of anonymity said, “It has been 11 years since the University has been set up but there is no independent body to specifically counter discrimination….Similar attempts like this one have been made by the Forum in the past four years, but even today after the VC responded there is still no clarity on how this body will be formed.”

"We are advocating for the establishment of an anti-discrimination cell, however, the administration continues to refer to it as the equal opportunity cell or the SGRC, leading to confusion about whether we have a mutual understanding. The Vice Chancellor's response has been notably ambiguous, lacking clear details about the prospective members and composition of this cell," added the student.

Furthermore, students expressed their perspective on the imminent student body election, stating their request for the administration to conduct a caste census. This is to ascertain if students from diverse backgrounds are being granted equal opportunities.

One anonymous student emphasised the need for a more structured entity to address discrimination issues on campus, stating that the elected student body merely serves as a liaison between the administration and students. The student revealed that there have been ongoing demands for such a body and disclosed plans to submit a request to the Vice Chancellor on Monday for the initiation of an online caste census form.