A proposed new law, named after a student whose tragic death high lighted a deep-seated crisis, offers significant hope for tackling caste discrimination in India’s higher education system. The Rohith Vemula Act, now under consideration in Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh, represents a turning point in addressing the systemic bias against marginalized communities. Rohith Vemula, a research scholar at the University of Hyderabad, and over 50 students have committed suicide in elite institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) since 2004, reportedly due to social exclusion and bias.

Caste in India is a centuries-old system of hereditary social stratification. Genetic research conducted by institutions such as Harvard Medical School, the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG), and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) shows that endogamy ~ marriage restricted within caste groups ~ became prevalent around 1,900- 1,600 years ago, significantly influencing genetic patterns.

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These genetic findings suggest that caste classification and caste-based isolation of people is about 1,900-1,600 years old. Discrimination based on caste persists, impacting access to opportunities and creating exclusive environments, particularly for students from historically marginalized groups ~ Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC). Between 2018 and 2023, over 13,600 students from these communities dropped out of central higher education institutions, as informed to the Parliament.

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The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 criminalizes caste-based violence and discrimination, offering legal recourse and victim protection. Its scope primarily addresses overt atrocities, while subtle forms of institutional discrimination in higher education go unaddressed. The Thorat Committee, constituted in 2007, to........

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