ABSTRACT
Caste-based discrimination is a common occurrence in Indian universities. In India, Dalits have been historically deprived of the right to education as per Indian caste division into four categories. Therefore, low castes in India have been constitutionally given reservations in education institutions to bring them at par with the upper caste society. The central research questions guiding this study are: Whether casteism exists as dominantly on educational campus as in society? Are the upper caste teachers free from casteist mindset? Does caste discrimination affect the level of learning of Dalit students? To seek answers to these questions, the short-story “Shodh Prabandh” by Sheoraj Singh Bechain has been selected for study. The story will be analysed from postcolonial perspective. The paper explores how Dalit students are discriminated, oppressed and exploited on educational campus and how efforts are made to ensure their exclusion in universities and colleges. It investigates the effect of reservation on Dalits in higher education and the behaviour of upper caste teachers towards Dalits. The study reveals that caste discrimination exists in academia in a significant way. It badly affects the learning of Dalit students.
