A few weeks ago a Dalit boy Kalpit Veerwal created a history, topped IIT Mains examination with 360/360 marks. Now, a Dalit girl, Riya Singh has topped TISS entrance examination. As per a report of the National Dastak, Riya Singh will pursue PhD in Women’s Studies from Mumbai campus at Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS). She beats the so-called merit-wala to grab the top position!

Riya Singh is a resident of Ghaziabad and has graduated from Delhi University’s Lady Shri Ram College. “Even to get admission in the LSR, I cracked the entrance exam. I am saying this since general category candidates feel that reserved category students are not talented enough,” the report quoted her as saying.

Riya Singh completed her post-graduation from TISS and MPhil from Ambedkar University in New Delhi. “Be it any educational institute, I have faced discrimination from classmates and teachers,” said Riya Singh, who believes through her writing she wants to fight against such injustice.

Here is an excerpt from Riya Singh’s article for the Round Table India, which will give you enough information to understand she is fighting caste discrimination.

I wonder when people say that they are anti-caste, what do they mean by that. How would they be against caste when they can’t even raise a voice against a casteist comment made by a friend? When they are not even ready to confront their good friends, not willing or I may say not courageous enough to take a stand against such behavior of their own friends and family. I am sorry, but you know if you don’t even have the courage to open your mouth in front of your friends and family then one should not pretend to be ‘so anti-caste’ and demand social justice. You are one of those who somehow want to do nothing to annihilate caste, rather keep yourself on the safe side, not raise your voice, let things happen so that you may have peace with all other people irrespective of how casteist they are. You would point your finger at the outside world and call them casteist but not confront your own people. How convenient is that.

“Ph. D for me is not a mere degree but it is my political opposition. I want to reach out to places where our caste people have been deprived of their rights and still, efforts are made to keep Dalits away from education,” said Riya Singh.

Riya feels her degree will confront those who believe that the Dalit class is weak, illiterate and poor. “I wish to see myself in educational institutions as a professor. My research will be on caste, sex and marriage and I would like to teach the same to my students,” she said.

There is not even a single Dalit student who has not faced discrimination while studying at school, college or university. Riya Singh also faced the caste discrimination.

Her family belongs to a village in Uttar Pradesh. Singh has been writing about caste-based biases in many websites. She said that professors in higher institutions are clever and discriminate against Dalit students. She has written complaints but discrimination has never stopped.

Image Credit – Round Table India

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