Caste-Based Discrimination in Higher Education: An Application of Microaggression Theory in Indian Context

The quota policy of the constitution has been an effective instrument for the lower caste students to access higher education in India. The presence of a significant and growing population of marginalised student groups on college campuses have been perceived as a challenge to the historical hegemony of the higher castes. Few studies have reported that caste-based discrimination in higher education is evident across the institutions, specifically in elite institutions. However, it is an under-researched topic and this offers a unique opportunity to explore a new theoretical framework to study caste-based discrimination in the context of higher education. The racial microaggressions model offer a new definition, terminology and analytical tool to understand caste discrimination and how such discrimination results in low academic outcomes of lower caste students and also explains the tragedy of the student suicide that has received widespread media attention in recent times. The paper explores a microaggressions theory to illustrate implicit, subtle and complex forms of caste-based microaggressions that appear prevalent in university campuses in India. A taxonomic classification of caste-based discrimination indicates four types of microaggressions conveyed to lower caste students by the higher caste groups. The microaggressions framework facilitates new theoretical ground to comprehend caste-based invisible forms of discrimination. Further, it raises critical awareness of how discrimination operates in everyday institutional life, as well as the need for institutional interventions to stop caste-based microaggressions.