Abstract

In Indian society, caste is assigned to us before birth. Caste positions individuals in a social, economic, and political hierarchy. This study explores the meaning of caste discrimination from the perspectives of individuals who experience it in their everyday lives. Many studies have focused on the causes and consequences of caste discrimination and the nature of caste discrimination in different settings. Still, very few have dealt with the “meaning” of caste discrimination and how that meaning-making occurs in the context of present-day academia.

This paper adopts an ecological systems approach to explore individuals’ interactions with different social settings. Grounded in the epistemological standpoint of social constructionism, the study explored the meaning of caste discrimination through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions conducted with 22 students who belonged to reserved categories. Constructivist grounded theory was used for analysis to understand the process of meaning formation along with the meaning of caste discrimination. We found that students conceive caste discrimination as the maintenance of the social hierarchy, imposition of rigid identity, and invalidation of caste discriminatory practices. This conception of the meaning was influenced by multiple factors, such as interactions with peers, local cultural ideologies, and treatment received in the academia by teaching and non-teaching staff. The study’s findings indicate the need for an integrative indigenous theory of caste discrimination to ensure equitable higher education.

中文翻译：

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印度大学种姓歧视的当代意义：建构主义扎根理论

摘要

在印度社会，种姓是在我们出生前就被分配的。种姓将个人置于社会、经济和政治等级中。这项研究从日常生活中经历种姓歧视的个人的角度探讨了种姓歧视的含义。许多研究关注种姓歧视的原因和后果以及不同环境中种姓歧视的性质。尽管如此，很少有人探讨种姓歧视的“含义”以及这种含义在当今学术界的背景下如何发生。

本文采用生态系统方法来探索个体与不同社会环境的相互作用。该研究以社会建构主义的认识论立场为基础，通过对22名属于保留类别的学生进行半结构化访谈和焦点小组讨论，探讨了种姓歧视的含义。采用建构主义扎根理论进行分析，以理解意义形成的过程以及种姓歧视的意义。我们发现，学生们将种姓歧视视为社会等级制度的维护、强加严格的身份认同以及废除种姓歧视做法。这种意义的概念受到多种因素的影响，例如与同龄人的互动、当地文化意识形态以及教学和非教学人员在学术界所受到的待遇。该研究的结果表明，需要一种综合的本土种姓歧视理论，以确保公平的高等教育。