Dalits and Access to Higher Education Oppressed, broken, or crushed is the direct translation of the word Dalit, which is used to describe the class of citizens that are lowest on the caste system’s social ladder. Previously considered “untouchables” by the standards of the caste, their goal is to eliminate this oppression that they have experienced going back to the beginning of the Hindu religion and second century BCE. However, during the time of Mahatma Gandhi, he called the groups Harijans and promoted keeping the caste system in place while changing the stigma behind calling almost 25 percent of the country’s population. Currently, there are over 200 million Dalits in India alone, according to Paul Diwakar, from the National Campaign of Dalit Human Rights. Dr. Ambedkar, a lawyer and Dalit from the 1950’s initially called for the caste system to be ripped apart to limit the “untouchability” of the Dalits, but eventually gave up on this and converted to Buddhism. He had the ri...
For me, becoming isn't about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn't end.