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In the US the debate around Critical Race Theory and whether it should be made a part of the curriculum is a sign of a progressive society. CRT, an academic concept that emerged in the 1970s, posits that racism is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice but is embedded in legal systems and policies. This is an outrageously transparent way of teaching the future generation about the past.

But in India, where nationalists claim stem cell theory was first practiced in their aboriginal civilization thousands of years ago, there is only regressive ideology and thoughts that are being sown into the Indian minds.

While progressive societies aim at teaching their upcoming generations the harsh bitter truths, the pseudo-progressive ideologies of BJP rely on propaganda that are remotely true about Indian history. 

One of the crudest propaganda of the BJP is that India, in essence, is losing its culture to the Western way of living and they blame Muslims for the same. This theory in itself is contradictory because the Muslim population worldwide is antagonistic to Western values. But what is relief to the BJP is that it’s only a propaganda and in the post-truth world any random pieces of self-delusional ideologies can be concocted and presented as facts. It’s a combination of Islamophobia and anti-western values but Islamophobia works the best in dividing the country via western inventions like Twitter (now X – What a branding blunder?) and other social media. 

While they say the life of Hindus and their culture are at risk – a question arises here: whether its about upper caste Hindus alone? This question is not answered by the propaganda machinery. However, it seems like the administration is concerned only about upper class Hindus. This can be inferred from the events like the government snubbing the Dalit President of India and not inviting her for the new Parliament building inauguration, and the act of maintaining silence and inaction when two minority women were undressed and paraded in the streets of Manipur – the reality is quite the opposite. 

Below are some numbers (Source: Nature) that provide a quantitative perspective on the extent of caste-based disparities in India’s academic and research institutions. They highlight the significant underrepresentation of marginalized communities, particularly in higher education and elite research institutions, despite the existence of reservation policies. These numbers pose the question “Aren’t Adivasis and Dalits a part of Hindu culture?”. Well they may belong to the Dravidian stock and hence unimportant to the Fascist Indian government. 

• Government Quotas for Marginalized Communities: The Indian government has set a 7.5% quota for Adivasis (Scheduled Tribes) and a 15% quota for Dalits (Scheduled Castes) in public-sector jobs and education.
• Underrepresentation in Elite Institutions: At the top-ranked Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), less than 1% of professors are from Adivasi or Dalit communities.
• Representation in Undergraduate Courses: The proportion of Adivasi and Dalit students in undergraduate science courses is lower than their respective government quotas. For instance, in medicine, science, technology, arts, and engineering, their representation is consistently below the 15% and 7.5% quotas.
• Representation in PhD Programs: Data from 2020 for PhD courses at five high-ranked IITs show an average of 10% representation for Dalits and 2% for Adivasis. These figures are slightly lower than the average for five mid-ranking IITs.
• Faculty Representation in Elite Institutes: At higher-tier IITs and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), 98% of professors and more than 90% of assistant or associate professors are from privileged castes.
• Funding Disparities: Between 2016 and 2020, 80% of recipients of the INSPIRE Faculty Fellowship for postdoctoral research were from privileged castes, while just 6% were Scheduled Castes (Dalits) and less than 1% Scheduled Tribes (Adivasis).
• Muslim Representation in Higher Education: Muslims make up about 14% of India’s population, but only 5.5% of those enrolled in higher education in 2019-20 were Muslims.

The report titled “Who Tells Our Stories Matters: Representation of Marginalized Caste Groups in Indian Newsrooms,” produced by The Media Rumble in partnership with Oxfam India, provides a comprehensive analysis of caste representation in Indian media. Here is a rewritten passage summarizing key findings and important numbers from the report:

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In a revealing study of caste dynamics within Indian media, a report by The Media Rumble and Oxfam India uncovers a significant upper-caste dominance across various media platforms. The study, encompassing TV news, newspapers, digital media, and magazines, highlights the stark underrepresentation of marginalized caste groups in newsrooms and leadership roles.

Key Statistics from the Report:

• Newsroom Leadership: Among 121 leadership positions in newsrooms, none are held by individuals from Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). This includes positions such as editor-in-chief, managing editor, executive editor, bureau chief, and input/output editor.
• TV News: In the English TV news sector, 89% of leadership roles are occupied by individuals from the general category. Similarly, 76% of anchors in flagship debates are from upper castes, with no representation from Dalit, Adivasi, or Other Backward Classes (OBC).
• Panel Representation: Only 5.6% of panelists on surveyed TV channels belong to Scheduled Castes, with less than 1% from Scheduled Tribes.
• Debate Panels: In discussions on caste issues, an overwhelming 62% of panelists across channels are from the general category.
• Newspaper Articles: Analysis of over 16,000 articles from English newspapers revealed that more than 60% were written by upper-caste individuals. The exception was The Hindu, where 26% of writers’ castes were indeterminable.
• Digital Media: Leadership positions in digital media are held 84% by those from the general category. Moreover, 56% of articles on caste issues are penned by writers from the general category.
• Magazines: The magazines showed a somewhat better representation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) but still no place for SC and ST in leadership roles. Among the 12 magazines studied, 56% of total output came from general category writers, while only 6.5% were from SCs and STs combined.

The report’s methodology involved analyzing data from top-ranking Hindi and English newspapers, TV news channels, digital media outlets, and magazines based on their Indian Readership Survey rankings and online archives. The study scrutinized front-page articles, opinion pieces, and prime-time debates, focusing on the representation of marginalized caste groups in content and leadership.

These findings underscore a concerning pattern of caste-based exclusion in Indian media, highlighting the need for greater diversity and representation of marginalized communities in shaping the nation’s narratives and discourse.

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These numbers and insights from the report paint a clear picture of the caste disparities in Indian media, demonstrating a significant skew towards upper-caste representation in both content creation and leadership roles.

The Indian National Congress’s demand for a caste census is vital to the growth of India as a nation and to ensure equal opportunities for everyone for the above reasons. 

Caste is a reality and how it debilitates Indian society should be known to everyone, especially the younger generation. 

Instead of filling up their mindspace with propaganda theories, let them hear about the harsh realities of the caste system in India as well. Not just Islamophobia and anti-western ideologies.