Dalit student alleges caste discrimination at Indian university
Final-year law student says he was barred from campus for six months and fined after student protest, accusing university authorities of disproportionately targeting Dalit students
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — A Dalit law student at a university named after India’s foremost anti-caste icon B.R. Ambedkar has accused administrators of caste discrimination after he was barred from campus for six months and fined over unrest following the death of a student.
Pawan Chaudhary, a final-year LLB Honors student at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Lucknow, said he was also fined 12,000 Indian rupees ($125), according to Hindi-language newspaper Dainik Bhaskar.
In a video statement, Chaudhary alleged that serious criminal accusations, including robbery-related charges, had been brought against students following an April protest and claimed he was being punished because he is Dalit, a community historically placed at the bottom of India’s caste hierarchy.
“I have been restricted from campus for six months and fined 12,000 rupees,” he said. “This action has been taken against me with allegations like robbery because I am a Dalit student.”
The dispute dates to April 28, when students protested after undergraduate student Anamika Singh reportedly died from food poisoning. Angry students surrounded the vice chancellor’s residence, and some people in the crowd subsequently vandalized property inside.
Police were called to restore order. The university later filed a complaint naming 16 students and several unidentified people, leading police to register a criminal case.
Students facing action have denied responsibility for the vandalism, claiming outsiders had entered the protesting crowd and damaged the property. The university subsequently barred students accused of involvement from entering the campus.
Chaudhary said the punishment was particularly troubling because BBAU was established in honor of Ambedkar, the Dalit jurist and social reformer who led India’s struggle against caste discrimination and was a principal architect of the country’s Constitution.
The university also reserves 50% of its seats for students belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, historically marginalized communities entitled to affirmative-action protections under Indian law.
BBAU Chief Proctor Ram Chandra rejected suggestions that the disciplinary action was unjustified, saying around 20 students had faced action over conduct that was “not worthy of forgiveness.”
However, he said the university would reconsider the punishments following appeals from students and their parents because of their potential impact on the students’ futures.
A university board is expected to review the cases and decide whether the disciplinary measures should be reduced or withdrawn.
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