Death of Merit

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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