Assam: Govt Colleges Spark Outrage by Asking for Caste Identity on Admission Form

Three state-run colleges in Assam have sparked outrage by releasing online admission forms that require applicants for seats to specify their caste, stoking outrage among student groups and academics. The authorities have dismissed it as a “goof-up” by their common software provider.

The drop-down options in the mandatory “caste” section of the application forms for admission to Handique Girls’ College, Arya Vidyapeeth College and Karmashree Hiteswar Saikia College—all in Guwahati—included Brahmin, Ganak (a sub-sect of Assamese Brahmins), Kalita, Kayastha, Shudra and Baishya.

This caste-based scrutiny of applicants was highlighted by the Students’ Federation of India (SFI). Speaking to NewsClick, Sangita Das, Assam State General Secretary of SFI, said, “This is the first time something like this has happened in the state. Why do colleges need to know which caste a student belongs to?”

According to Das, after the outrage, the issue has been partially rectified. Now, while filling the admission form, if one chooses ‘general’ as their category, they do not have to choose their caste. However, if you are registering as someone from one of the reserved categories, you have to write down your caste. “This is not the case anywhere. The caste certificate that you have to furnish if you belong to a reserved category already mentions your caste. Why do the students have to separately write down their caste on the admission forms?” Das asked.

Director of higher education Dharma Kanta Mili said on Thursday that there was no such directive from the government. “We cannot interfere in the functioning of colleges. The directorate has not asked them to collect caste data,” he said. IT service provider Adroit DigiSoft Solutions, which designed the admission portals for these three colleges, allegedly included the caste column on its own.

Das said, “After we brought up the issue, it was picked up by the state and national media, and on Thursday, the state’s education minister clarified that this step was not taken on the order of the state education department.”

“However,” she added, “this is a very serious matter, and we demand a proper investigation into it. This is the first time something like this has happened here, and we, the students, need to know why it happened.”