I shall be satisfied if I make the Hindus realize that they are the sick men of India, and that their sickness is causing danger to the health and happiness of other Indians. – Dr Ambedkar in The Annihilation of Caste.

After the young Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide, depression in India has come into the spotlight and everyone is talking about mental illness. But, had anyone cared about the mental illness when Rohith Vemula took his life? Had any media discussed depression in Dalit students who are taking their lives in educational institutions due to caste discrimination? No! More importantly, none ever has discussed mental illness of so-called upper castes, affected by caste virus, that Dr Ambedkar pointed out and wanted everyone to introspect on that. In this article, I want to focus on the depression and mental trauma that Dalit students face at the hand of so-called upper castes at educational institutions.

But, Dalits for thousands of years are facing mental trauma and depression. Since our depression is not a matter to discuss on TV debates, is no one going to talk about our depression? No one!

If we go deeper insight into the topic of depression in Dalit students, the results will be more shocking and reveal how caste is still affecting the lives of Dalits from school going students to PhD scholars in universities.

Let me state how Dalit students go through depression since school age due to caste. The innocent Dalit kids are alien to the casteist world, and they don’t know how caste is going to injure their mental health until they embark on their new journey into their studies. From kindergarten to universities caste follows. When so-called upper castes parents start opposing that the food cooked by Dalit anganwadi worker is not acceptable to their kids, how does that affect Dalit kids and so-called upper caste kids? None wants to talk on that. Why?

Dalit children get exposed to Casteist remarks from fellow students and teachers during high school. Many times, they even face Casteist slurs during primary school life itself, shattering their dreams from the very beginning, eventually, these will lead to depression among them.

Typically, the flaws were in the parents of upper caste kids for not bringing them up without caste conscious and caste privilege. Sowing of Casteist seeds on their innocent minds begins at the very early stages of a child at the time of name ceremony or before joining their kids in schools by tagging their caste at the end of their children names.

As Upper caste kids grow up, their minds get contaminated with caste due to the casteist nature of their parents. Eventually, caste-based discrimination becomes part of life. This results in flaunting casteist attitude towards their fellow students in the schools.

As thus Dalit students are exposed to face the casteism and casteist remarks at the very initial stages of life. Accordingly, the caste seeds sowed in the minds of upper-caste students also grow up and haunt the Dalit students from school age to university level, and from workplace to even in burial grounds or crematorium.

Nowadays, educational institutions have become slaughterhouses for Dalits.

The practice of caste-based discrimination by Caste Hindu students has created a pathetic environment in colleges and universities. Especially for the Dalits students who question the caste dominance, ill practices of caste Hindus, and strongly defend the reservation system are subjected to a lot of humiliation, again not only by so-called upper caste “colleagues” but the administration as well.

As expected after getting admission into college or university. The caste monster accompanies the myth “Merit” and turns even more evil compared to the school age. This combined merit and caste starts taunting Dalits constantly as a reserved category, undeserved, and incompetent to kill self-esteem of Dalits, and further push them into questioning their self-worth. Consequently, Dalit students who couldn’t overcome hostile situations are ending their lives after getting humiliated by casteist educational spaces.

Here are some Casteist remarks and apprehensions a Dalit student usually faces from schooling to college level, which causes depression in him/her.

Depression when a fellow student asks what your caste is?

Depression when a friend says you do not look like Dalit after he knows about the caste of his Dalit friend.

Depression when fellow upper-caste students knowing or unknowingly use caste slurs against a Dalit student.

Depression when the Upper caste folks start humiliating Dalit students as a reserved category, underserved, meritless, incompetent.

Depression when a socially aware Dalit student faces a lot of humiliation from fellow upper caste friends for staunchly defending reservations.

Depression when a talent of Dalits goes unnoticed just because of being from a reserved category.

Fear and depression whether he gets a job or not just because of hailing from a Dalit community.

Depression even if he gets a job when his colleagues discriminate and hurl Casteist remarks.

Depression when caste stood as a monster between the lovers.

Depression when fellow upper caste avoids friendship just because of being Dalit.

Depression when isolation starts in friendship because of asserting Dalit identity.

Many students like Rohith Vemula, Payal Tadvi, etc.. are taking their own life because of mental trauma and depression due to caste discrimination in educational institutions. While I am talking about depression leading to Dalit students to suicides, none should take or even think of them as weak.

As I sat to write this article, I still remember a Reddy friend of my friend asking him to eschew friendship with all SC-ST students during my college days. And I also remember a friend of mine once said an incident during her initial days of post-graduation. A Dalit female friend of hers while introducing had said her caste also, when my friend asked her why caste? Her reply was that she told her caste before itself because my friend should not avoid her after knowing her caste. Luckily, my friend was also a Dalit who wouldn’t stop friendship with anyone based on caste.

Depression! Let’s talk now.

Author – Sridhar Jeripothula