OBCs Rally for Overseas Scholarships: Equality in Education Sparks Social Media Uproar

Lucknow- Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the father of the Indian Constitution, was able to pursue his dream of studying abroad with the help of Maharaj Sayaji Gaekwad, who provided him with a loan. Studying abroad has always been unaffordable, and even today, only the top 1% of the population can afford the cost of education abroad, which includes tuition, boarding, food, and airfare, ranging from 30 to 50 lakh per year. Most candidates depend on scholarships and education loans to fund their education.

The Ministry of Social Justice provides schemes for SC and Tribal students to pursue education abroad. The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, offers scholarships to Scheduled Caste students, Denotified, Nomadic, and Denotified Tribes, as well as those from the families of Landless Agricultural Labourers and Traditional Artisans. Thirty percent of the scholarships are earmarked for women candidates.

The scheme provides financial assistance to selected candidates for pursuing master’s and Ph.D. level courses. According to information available on the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment's website, any student below the age of 35, with a family income below 8 lakh per annum, can apply for the scheme. Thirty percent of the funds are allocated for women candidates.

The funds are not directly disbursed to the students but are instead allocated to Indian Missions abroad, which make payments of tuition fees, maintenance allowance, and other allowances to the university/students. In 2023-24, the Ministry awarded scholarships to 115 Scheduled Caste students, 06 scholarships to Denotified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Tribes, and 04 scholarships to Landless Agricultural Labourers and Traditional Artisans.

The demand for OBC scholarships for overseas studies gained momentum after being raised on social media. The hashtag #OBCMaangeScholarship trended on Twitter throughout the day on Monday. Parminder Ambar, an academician and research scholar at JNU who initiated the trend, stated that the OBC population in the country was 52% in 1931 and must be around 60% now.

Despite this, the Ministry of Social Justice is not providing scholarships to OBC students. Ambar pointed out that an intellectual class has emerged in the SC/ST category, but there are fewer OBC intellectuals in the country. He suggested increasing scholarships for SC students to 300 from the current 115 and also increasing scholarships for Denotified, Nomadic, and De-notified tribes, Landless Agricultural Labourers, and Traditional Artists to 50. Accordingly, OBCs should be given around 500 scholarships in proportion to their population.

Social activist Laxman Yadav stated, "If everyone is getting the scholarship, then the OBC category should also benefit, especially if the Prime Minister of the country is OBC." Activists and academicians from the OBC category are advocating for the extension of these scholarships to OBC students and are also demanding an increase in the scholarships for SC/ST students.

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