Multi-layered exclusion in premier higher education institutions of India

Science and Engineering education are jewels of higher education. In India, among the pioneers of premium technical institutes, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are structurally designed to deliver global knowledge capital with a state-of-the-art curriculum and rigorous standards. Their capability to positively impact the global scale is visible, yet they are internally challenged. The constant interplay of inclusion and exclusion impacts the progress and performance of students. The study specifically examines the role of the social identity of caste in generating accessibility and mobility barriers in IITs. Although the affirmative action policy serves as a gateway for marginalised identities like Dalits, IITs ecosystem preserves the privileges of upper castes. Through IIT Delhi fieldwork, an attempt has been made to check how the gaps in affirmative action policies result in the exclusion of the marginalised in higher education. Educational mobility is restricted for Dalits students who battle against the indifference and caste hegemony of IIT Delhi. The study contests the idea of merit and castelessness in IIT Delhi by contextualising cultural capital with caste discrimination in India. It displays a contrast between the theory and practice of inclusion in higher education. The findings are useful for tracing subtle or indirect forms of discrimination operating in IIT Delhi that contradict the Indian constitution democratic ethos of equality and social justice. The findings will assist public policy and professional institutes of higher education to devise an inclusive strategy beyond government-sponsored affirmative action for sustainable education development.