We debate against the reservation system, deny the existence of casteism, and then go around flouting our privilege, making tone-deaf jokes emanating from bigotry. A deeply casteist skit by the students of Jain (Deemed-to-be) University, Bengaluru, is drawing outrage from Dalit organisations for using casteist remarks and employing a satiric tone while referring to Dalits.
Have a look at the clip shared by The Dalit Voice, a non-profit organisation, on Twitter.
The skit was part of an event called ‘Mad Ads’ at the college fest. It was enacted by ‘The Delroys Boys’, the theatre group of the Centre of Management Studies of the University. The skit contained several objectionable phrases, like BEER-Ambedkar and THE-LIT. The makers also portrayed various instances of discrimination against the members of minority communities for the sake of humour.
A member of Vanchit Bahujan Yuva Aaghadi lodged a complaint before the Superindentent of Police, Maharashtra, reported The News Minute. An online petition has also been published at Jhatkaa.org.
“It’s unacceptable that the script for the performance went through multiple rounds of approval before being enacted on stage,” reads the petition. The petitioiners have called the skit “incredibly casteist and insensitive skit.”
People have also taken to social media to condemn the skit.
The link to the petition at Jhatkaa.org is here.