Immersion Introspection

By Noopur

Every day we spend here is completely draining, physically, mentally and emotionally. We spend our days facing a rich cultural onslaught of observations, conversations and revelations and trying to process all of these reactions simultaneously is an intensely exhausting process. I am running on automatic in terms of translating Gujarati/Hindi into English, and vice versa, and so tired that I am starting to forget words in English when I’m trying to explain a point to Ehi and occasionally addressing Camila in Hindi without even realizing what I’m doing.

Today, I spent the day interviewing women students at DSK on their views regarding issues they have faced before arriving here, both in terms of caste and gender discrimination, and the changes they have felt, if any, within themselves and the surrounding community during and after their experiences here. The stories they told collectively confirm my hypothesis regarding the need for Dalit women to be individually empowered in an external space outside their community, in a locale such as DSK, that will allow them to return to their communities with their newfound knowledge and beliefs of equality to be showcased and effect changes in their own homes, families and villages. Only after they are powerful in their own right can they actively begin work in the social movement of all Dalits combating the caste-based stereotypical system that continues to reign over Indian society. Combining their stories with the viewpoints of the powerful session we had with a group of Dalit women activists yesterday paints a picture of a society where patriarchy rules above all else, and women, although they may receive the benefits of education, particularly from progressive parents, must continue to submit to the gender hierarchy and marital culture, where they are seen to be subservient to their husbands, fathers, and brothers, as well as bound to obey their mothers-in-law in every way, shape and form.

However, everyone also raved about how DSK is different from their families and towns, how much they enjoy being here, how they have learned to believe in the tenets of equality. Many of the boys are doing laundry for the first time after they arrive here, and washing dishes- the latter traditionally is considered to be very much a woman’s role. The worry is that the changes that are brought about in the minds and actions of the men and women when they are here do not translate into substantial long-term behavioral modifications once the students leave campus. One of the teachers I spoke to today suspected less than 20% of the boys who will continue to carry out all of these principles at home. However, little tweaks in behavior are usually wrought on the boys through their experiences here- perhaps they will believe that their sisters should select their own husbands instead of getting arranged marriages, for example, or accept the fact that their wives will be educated. These alterations in perspective, although they may appear trivial in the Western mindset, are incrementally important and significant in terms of an indication that progress that has been made, and continues to be made, in a system that has been established and entrenched for thousands of years and therefore, it will take time, effort, hope and the help of DSK and the Navsarjan Trust to bring about similar changes, albeit slowly, in the future.

We have discussed the notion that this organization is a teaching institution, although not an educational one per se; alongside technical skills, the students are being taught a specific ideology in order to better prepare them to be leaders and activists in the Dalit social movement in the future. Much as this may be debated, however, particularly when questions regarding the center’s orientation are discussed, it has obviously had a profound effect on members of this community within DSK, and perhaps this center is taking a small step in combating discrimination against Dalits and women, and leading the charge for empowerment for both at the same time- the only true way for the social movement to become an effective tool for change within this environment.