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Discrimination against SCs sparks protests in Kerala

D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram

The discrimination shown by a college in providing hostel accommodation to students has triggered massive protests in Kerala.

Inquiries by the state government's scheduled caste and scheduled tribe department have found that the the Ernakulam St. Theresa's College authorities had huddled 40 girl students in a dormitory attached to the college. The college had thus violated several laws which forbid segregation on the basis of caste.

The SC/ST students had also complained of "discriminatory and demeaning" behaviour by the college staff in the distribution of educational allowances sanctioned by the government.

The college's Christian management, which has been on the offensive following the manhandling of its principal by the Students Federation of India, is in quandary over the denial of accommodation to the students in the main hostel by the Ernakulam St Teresa's College.

After defending its action by saying that providing accommodation was a matter of ''distribution'' and ''not discrimination'' against anybody, the college management has since provided the students concerned with accommodation and shifted the staff member responsible for the "discriminatory behaviour".

The SC/ST organisations and the students unions are not satisfied with the action. They have launched a campaign demanding that the college authorities be punished.

"Their crime can fetch them a jail term of up to five years," said Kerala SC Development Department Employees Association general secretary N Karunakaran Nair. "We will not tolerate any attempt to save the college authorities."

Students' Federation of India state vice-president I B Satheesh said that private colleges have been misusing their discretionary powers.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the students' wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party, said the discrimination shown against the SC/ST students was against all cannons of social justice. The ABVP has decided to take up the issue with the Central SC/ST Commission and National Human Rights Commission.

The Kerala Students' Union, affiliated to the Congress, has urged Chief Minister E K Naynar and Education Minister P J Joseph to initiate action against the college management so that such things would not be repeated.

The discrimination in the college came to light following a complaint received by the chief minister. An inquiry conducted by the SC/ ST department following the chief minister's directive revealed that the college has been following double standards.

The SC/ST students had no access to room and cubicle accommodation. All of them had been accommodated in a dormitory, which is generally meant for first-year degree students.

The college authorities said they had provided cheap accommodation to the SC/ST students, as they feared that the government would not bear the high rent for the rooms in the hostel.

Kerala SC/ST Welfare Minister K Radhakrishnan has directed the ST development director and the collegiate education director to conduct an inquiry into the incident.

However, the student agitation in this regard has been drawing flak.

The students' organisations, which had suffered a setback with their recent agitation in several colleges in the state, have allegedly taken up the incident to consolidate their position.

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