From Overt to Covert Treatment of Dalits- A Study of Shudra: The Rising and Quota: The Reservation

Abstract

Aims: The present paper attempts to study the covert oppression of Dalits in Indian academia through an analysis of two independent movies- Shudra: The Rising and Quota: The Reservation. The two movies have been selected to depict the changing nature of oppression in the forms of caste-based profiling and the use of languages as a tool for differential treatment meted out to Dalits by the upper-caste people. This paper traces the various trajectories of Dalit education in India. The present paper attempts to show that there are caste hierarchies in the educational system and the caste-based profiling and language are the two important aspects of practising castes.

Methodology and Approach: The present paper takes recourse to the cinematographic techniques like editing, movement, distance, height and angle of the camera as well as the pro-filmic elements like setting, props, costume and lighting to study the representation of Dalits in the select movies.

Outcome: Through the analysis of the two movies, the present paper concludes that despite several efforts made by the reformists to provide Dalits an opportunity for higher education, academia still remains an anti-assimilationist space.

Conclusion and Suggestions: The priority should be the merit, not the caste. There should be policies and laws which can reduce educational inequalities by finding out the newer forms of caste-based oppression which can help Dalits achieve intergenerational mobility.