Where's the pride in calling oneself backward?

As you read this post, bear in mind that: 1) I hail from a family that has seen its share of struggles; sleeping on railway platforms, traveling in unreserved compartments, four people staying in one room; and 2) I've been known to be anything but a casteist/classist at work or elsewhere.

This was in 2011. I was chairing the Senate Under Graduate Committee (SUGC) at IIT Kanpur, a body that essentially oversaw the academic administration of all UG students. One unfortunate, yet essential, task was to make decisions on which students to put on warning or probation. And for some students who kept performing below par despite all nudges, assistance, warnings and probation, it would come down to making a decision on whether it was best to ask them to leave IITK and join some other college, or in case of severely extenuating circumstances like health concerns or family emergencies, give them more time to recover to acceptable academic standards.

In one such meeting we were explaining to a student and his father that there was no way we could keep the student on. He had some 15-20 backlogs with no extenuating circumstances, had been through the warning-probation period (which lasts at least one full year and is usually extended), and just had to go.

Eventually when all discussions and arguments led nowhere, the father stood up and spoke belligerently: "Ham backward hain, backward! Aap hamein nahi nikaal sakte!"

Now this is certainly not true. Students under affirmative action get extra leeway at the time of admission, but once they are in the college, they are expected to clear courses like everyone else. And if someone's academic performance falls too low, he or she has to go regardless of forward/backward/caste/class. And eventually, the student and his father had to, very correctly, accept this.

But what left me stunned was the sheer arrogance with which the father said "ham backward hain!".

Truth be told, the sentiment should exactly be the opposite! Extreme poverty aside (which is the real backwardness in society), if anyone calls you backward for reasons of birth or community, every fiber in your being should rebel with a "kaun kehta hai ham backward hain aur aap forward? ham bhi utne hee forward hain jitne aap! koi kami nahi hai ham mein!"

This shift needs to come in our society. Thinking of oneself, calling oneself, or allowing anyone else to call one backward is psychologically denting! Your whole approach to life becomes negative. You have decided stay on the backfoot unnecessarily.

No! Step forward! Make your presence felt! Work hard, do the best you can, and then let the chips fall where they may!

[Extreme poverty of course is a different matter! We must go the extra mile to help students coming from severely poor families regardless of their caste, class, religion or gender.

Note: My views on combatting backwardness effectively are here: https://strike-a-pause.blogspot.com/2022/10/a-four-point-algorithm-to-combat.html ]