yet again ... getting lost ... then enjoying self-discovery ...

Title:  Shaping and Denying Education: Role of Class, Caste, and Gender Author:  Aman Madan   Illustrator:  AbiraBandhyopadhyay Publisher:  Eklavya Foundation Price: 360/- Pages: 299 License:  Creative Commons   Development Support:  Tata Trusts Education : An uneven playing field Up at Teacher Plus , July 2026.  In his latest book, author Aman Madan talks about the impact of inequalities in our society ( gender, class, and caste ) on education, the dynamic nature of these inequalities, and how societal changes in the recent decades have impacted them. The book is spread across 14 chapters, each with its own set of references. The first two chapters lay the premise, the next five focus on caste and class, the three that follow talk about gender, and the final four about government policies and intersectionality. Towards the end is a list of further readings.   Caste and class. The author talks about caste and class in a manner that is un...

Thanks to the team at  Teacher Plus  for publishing this in the March 2026 issue.  Meeting the Savarnas by Ravikant Kisana resonated in a manner than not many books do. It reminded me of some of the conversations I had had, took me back to some situations I had been a part of, had me reread some sections, got me talking excitedly about the subject with friends, and make notes. This is a book school teachers will do good to read. It may help broaden their horizons, and in turn, benefit children in the long run. I will briefly talk about the book and follow it up with how it can help teachers. First, the book. Title: Meet the Savarnas: Indian Millennials Whose Mediocrity Broke Everything Author: Ravikant Kisana Publisher: Penguin Random House India First Published: 2025 Pages: 187 Price: 699/- This is a book that questions the credibility of the elites by pointing out how deeply entrenched caste, and as a corollary, privilege are in our society. How we have looked at, and...

A taboo in our schools Published at Deccan Herald . Thanks to the team there.  Thanks also to Richa for comments on the draft.  Caste-based census has been in the news during the recent days. Caste-based violence often gets some space in the news. Caste-based discrimination, however, is too ingrained in our lives to become news. Unless, of course, for example, one of our elite high education institutes faces the brunt!  This is what Saniya Roomie and Kapil Joshi had to say in How caste discrimination plagues IITs earlier this year, “ What strikes clear as day is that despite the rising cases, IITs across the country are hesitant to acknowledge the institutionalized casteism within their campuses. This is further cemented by their unserious stance on creating a robust grievance redressal system ”.  We also refrain from discussing caste at homes and at schools. Even the British were careful not to topple this proverbial apple-cart.   Let us focus on schools here;...

Why Talking Matters This finds place at Hindu EDGE . Thanks are due to the team there. Will we be better off discussing with children, listening to their views, and trying to put forth issues in as neutral a manner as possible? Schools avoid bringing up topics ranging from gambling to pornography for discussion with students. It is not that we have very open environments at home either. Talking of periods, for example, is a taboo. A couple of months ago, at a workshop on children’s literature, we discussed why hardly any book, primarily catering to children, talked of death. The list is lengthy. There are, of course, no explanations offered by us adults. Enough has been written on sex education in this context. Let us try to look at caste and religion. Few schools discuss these topics. Many prefer silence or ignorance. Reports of caste-based discrimination in schools are common. These include students refusing to eat food cooked by a lower caste cook, or...

It does not happen in our kind of societies and families used to be a favourite line with aunties as one grew up. I was reminded of these when during the past 3 months came across a line as many times. That caste based discrimination is not a part of lives of our generation; in other words it does not exist. Some years back I moved from Vadodara in Gujarat to a village in Sheopur in Madhya Pradesh. It took a few months to understand why the village had 3 tea-stalls and why some colleagues washed their glasses and plates while others did not. As I moved around the landscape – some months later – in course of a project to learn of tribe that was amongst the de-notified tribes I continued to be surprised. In Shivpuri I was told how some of them could not wear dhotis that went below their knees, how their children at schools were regularly beaten by other children. The upper caste male would sleep with the lower caste lady but otherwise would not allow her in the house! There was ...