‘Washing Feet is Jumla, Where Are the Jobs?’: Dalit Students of UP
“Eating at a Dalit’s house & washing their feet doesn’t help,” says a student at Sant Ravidas Hotel in Saharanpur.
Video Editor: Ashutosh Bhardwaj
As a part of 2019 election reportage, The Quint reached Sant Ravidas Hotel in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. This hostel is well-known for Dalit politics in western Uttar Pradesh, and students of the hostel have very specific demands from the upcoming elections. The big issues for the students are caste-related violence, unemployment and development.
Yogendra Rakesh has completed a degree in civil engineering, but he is not working anywhere. "There are no jobs," he says.
For Chatrapal Singh too, unemployment is the issue which will decide his vote. After completing his BEd degree in 2011, he has been looking for a job for five years but to no avail. Symbolism towards the Dalits by BJP leaders isn't popular with the students in the hostel. “Eating at a Dalit's house and washing their feet doesn't help,” says Jasvir. Watch the full video above.
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