The Death of Merit is a four-part documentary series. The first three parts were created by the Insight Foundation, a Dalit-Adivasi student group.[1][2] The fourth was posted by Round Table India. The whole series has been edited by Gurinder Azad and team. The documentary series focuses on caste-based discrimination in the Indian higher education system and the suicides of Dalit students in Indian campuses.[3][4] The Wire, states that the "Death of Merit, remains one of the most crucial documentations of forms of discrimination faced by Bahujan students in university spaces."[5]

The videos are available on YouTube.[6]

Synopsis

Each part focuses on a specific student who committed suicide and are based on the testimonies of their parents and family members. These interviewees posit that the suicides were a result of caste-based hostility and harassment Dalit and Adivasi students have had to suffer from the faculties, fellow students, and administration in some of the country's premier educational institutions.[7]

Balmukund Bharti

The first part of the documentary focuses on Dr. Balmukund Bharti, a final year MBBS student from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, who committed suicide on 3 March 2010.[8] This was published in two parts on 24 April 2011 on the group's blog and documents the testimonies of parents and family members.[9]

Jaspreet Singh

Part two, entitled Dr. Jaspreet Singh: The Death of Merit – Another Documentary, documents the testimonies of parents and family members of Dr. Jaspreet Singh, a final year MBBS student from Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, who committed suicide on 27 January 2008.[10][11]

Manish Kumar Guddolian

The third in the series is titled The Death of Merit: Manish Kumar (IIT Roorkee)[12] documents testimonies of parents and family members of Manish Kumar Guddolian, a second year student who was graduating from the Department of Computer Science & Information Technology, at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee, who committed suicide by jumping from the fifth floor of his hostel on 6 February 2011.[13] This was released in two parts.

Ajay Sree Chandra

The fourth part in the series, The Death of Merit: Dr. V. Ajay Sree Chandra [A Documentary Film], focuses on Dr. Ajay Sree Chandra. Chandra committed suicide by hanging on 27 August 2007 in one of the hostel rooms in IIScl.[14]

References

  1. ↑ Munshi, Suhas (3 June 2010). "Help for reserved categories". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  2. ↑ "Dalit suicides in India's top colleges". Christian Today. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  3. ↑ Subrahmaniam, Vidya (7 May 2011). "In Dalit student suicides, the death of merit". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  4. ↑ "This tragic documentary series tells the stories of Dalit students who were driven to suicide". Scroll.in. 18 January 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  5. ↑ "Rohith Vemula's Suicide Triggered a New Political Wave". Sukanya Shantha. The Wire (India). 19 January 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  6. ↑ Boopalan, Sunder John (18 September 2017). Memory, Grief, and Agency: A Political Theological Account of Wrongs and Rites. Springer. p. 212. ISBN 978-3-319-58958-9.
  7. ↑ Neelakantan, Shailaja (11 December 2011). "In India, Caste Discrimination Still Plagues University Campuses". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  8. ↑ "AIIMS student kills self in hostel room". The Indian Express. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  9. ↑ "'The Death of Merit': A Documentary". Round Table India. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  10. ↑ Nagarkoti, Rajinder (19 August 2010). "GMCH suicide: Charges framed against two". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  11. ↑ "Dr Jaspreet Singh: The Death of Merit – Another Documentary". Death of Merit. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  12. ↑ "Documentary: The Death of Merit – Manish Kumar (IIT Roorkee)". Dr. B. R. Ambedkar's Caravan. 6 July 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  13. ↑ Kunwar, DS (7 February 2011). "Student of IIT Roorkee commits suicide". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  14. ↑ Azad, Gurinder (26 July 2016). "The Death of Merit – Dr. V. Ajay Sree Chandra". Round Table India. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
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