The rise of new elites i.e. people from outside the established upper class is a now well-established feature of modern India. Indeed, this phenomenon is a central theme of our bestselling book “Behold the Leviathan: The Unusual Rise of Modern India” (you can buy it here ). Three decades before us, the late and (controversially) great VS Naipaul made this a central theme in his genre defining book “India: A Million Mutinies Now”. Sagarika Kissu’s poignant story in The Print would have been read with great interest by the Nobel Laureate because Ms Kissu has captured both the emotional aspect of the rise of hitherto suppressed castes and the more emotive, more political aspect of what is playing out in India today. Her story is that of two JNU scholars – Shiv Shankar Das and Kshipra Kamlesh Uke – who fell in love in JNU, graduated from JNU, got married and then rather than getting a regular corporate job with Mediclaim benefits and regular promotions did something more interesting. We quote from Ms Kissu’s Bollywood-screenplay type story:
“Das and Uke met at JNU, where they were both active members of the United Dalit Students’ Forum, a cultural organisation on campus. Uke pursued a PhD in International Relations, specialising in American politics, while Das focused on the cultural politics of Buddhism in Uttar Pradesh.
Their relationship brought together two people from different states—Uke from Gadchiroli in Maharashtra, and Das from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh—yet they found common ground in their fight against casteism.
“I fought elections for GSCASH [Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment at JNU] and Shiv campaigned for me,” Kshipra laughed over the phone.
During long night conversations in their hostel room, they realised the need to revive the Babasaheb Politics School. With that vision in mind, they moved to Nagpur after submitting their PhD theses in 2014.”
In Nagpur, things got a little spicy for the newly wedded activists: “In 2014, JNU scholars Das and Uke moved to Nagpur to revive Dr BR Ambedkar’s Training School for Entrance to Politics, which was established in 1956. They rented a one-bedroom flat in Deekshabhoomi—a historical site where Ambedkar embraced Buddhism in 1956.
For six years, they collected more than 5,000 survey samples from various educational institutions. However, in 2018 an ongoing dispute with their landlord—who belonged to the dominant caste—resulted in the theft of their laptops, books, and physical research materials. That’s when the fight began.
The couple traces the origins of this hostility to a protest rally they led following the suicide of PhD student Rohith Vemula in 2016. Videos of their march to the RSS office began circulating within the community, prompting the landlord to enquire about their caste.“And when we told them that we were Dalits, he asked, ‘Why didn’t you tell us before?’” recalled Das. “We said, ‘You never asked us, so we didn’t tell you.’”
According to the couple, that was when the landlord asked them to vacate, claiming that neighbours were not happy about Dalits living in a society dominated by Brahmins. They requested some time…
A few months later, in October 2016, the landlord died from an age-related illness, and his son assumed ownership. Soon after, he and a friend allegedly visited the couple and asked them to leave. At the time, Kshipra was eight months pregnant.
“I told the owner’s son that in this situation, we were not going to shift,” she recalled.
This situation continued until 2018, when the theft occurred. That year, while the couple was in Delhi, they received a call from the landlord asking for a meeting.
“We told him we were in Delhi and would return in a few days,” said Uke. But when they returned, they found that the lock on their door had been broken and replaced. Upon entering the house, they discovered that their laptop, books, and research material were missing.
They then went to the local police station and filed a complaint, accusing the landlord’s son of breaking and entering and theft. The Bajaj Nagar police filed an FIR against the landlord’s son and an accomplice on charges of criminal trespassing and violations under the SC/ST Act. He was arrested but was released on bail within days.
“When we returned to Nagpur from Delhi, we had 700 kilos of books. The raw data we had gathered in 2014—coinciding with the Maharashtra Assembly and Lok Sabha elections on socio-political awareness among Nagpur’s youth—had vanished. Our degrees, laptops, and even passports were stolen,” said Das, recalling their helplessness after losing years of research.”
At this point this couple did something that most of us working in the financial markets would not dream of doing – they moved court: “With nothing left, the couple approached the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC), seeking a proper investigation and compensation for the loss of their intellectual property. When no progress was made, they filed a petition in the Bombay High Court, asking the court to direct the NCSC to act on their complaint.
A year later, in 2022, the high court ordered the NCSC to take action within six weeks, leading to the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT). A chargesheet was filed in a special court in Nagpur.
Meanwhile, district authorities agreed to provide Rs 5 lakh based on their complaint to the NCSC. When Uke and Das argued that the amount should have been higher, the authorities cited a lack of provisions under the SC/ST Act for intellectual property loss.
This injustice prompted the two scholars to return to the high court, seeking adequate compensation for the loss of their intellectual property. This time, they decided to represent themselves. They studied legal provisions, consulted lawyers, and conducted extensive research to prepare for the courtroom battle. It became a battle between two researchers and the state—for intellectual property rights under the SC/ST Atrocities Act….
On 10 November 2023, the Bombay High Court ruled in their favour, directing the Nagpur City Collector to assess the quantum of intellectual property damage within three months. Subsequently, the Maharashtra government appealed the decision in the Supreme Court….
The Supreme Court upheld the Bombay High Court’s ruling, recognising intellectual property (including its digital form) under the SC/ST Act.
This ruling sets an important precedent that could potentially serve as a historic deterrent in the Dalit battle against everyday discrimination….”
It is fashionable amongst a certain group of people these days to say that the judiciary is captured and that the legal system is dysfunctional. In that context it is interesting to note that: “Meena Kotwal, founder of the digital platform Mooknayak, said that the couple’s case and the Supreme Court’s order serve as a crucial lesson for those who discriminate based on caste.
“It will make people think a hundred times before discriminating against someone based on caste. It will also instil fear of the law. Had the couple not been educated, they wouldn’t have understood the country’s laws and their rights so well,” Kotwal said.”
If you want to read our other published material, please visit https://marcellus.in/blog/
Note: The above material is neither investment research, nor financial advice. Marcellus does not seek payment for or business from this publication in any shape or form. The information provided is intended for educational purposes only. Marcellus Investment Managers is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and is also an FME (Non-Retail) with the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) as a provider of Portfolio Management Services. Additionally, Marcellus is also registered with US Securities and Exchange Commission (“US SEC”) as an Investment Advisor.
