ABSTRACT
This chapter develops a grounded understanding of the situation of female Dalit students, and the various perceptions they hold of their personal, social and academic lives within an elite-university environment. It discusses the experiences of female Dalit students and the issues that arise in relation to their caste and gender identity. The chapter reviews the use of 12 female interviewees, 10 Dalit and 2 non-Dalit students, whose responses are judged to describe most accurately the sociological make-up of Dalit and non-Dalit women in Indian society. Caste culture has forced many Dalit women in Indian society to drop out of school due to discrimination against them from upper-caste men and women alike. This all constitutes a significant challenge to Dalit women self-esteem and sense of personal agency. Rao emphasises the importance of India's National Policy on Education (NPE), formulated in 1986, which in effect increased the power of the Quota policy to monitor and improve Dalit women's participation in higher education.
