The generational curse of caste discrimination broken, a story of a young Dalit boy, a decade ago, going viral

• ByStartupStory     |    September 10, 2022

 LinkedIn witnessed the perfect example of how the curse of generational subjugation of lower caste can be broken with will and resolution. Decades ago, the determination of a young lower caste boy from Maharashtra to improve his situation culminated in his granddaughter graduating from Oxford, one of the world’s most prestigious colleges. The tale of his struggle has gone viral on social media when Juhi Kore shared her narrative on LinkedIn, his granddaughter recently graduated from Oxford with a Master’s degree in Comparative Social Politics.

Juhi shared her grandfather’s childhood anecdotes of how he struggled as a lower caste boy from a rural village in Maharashtra to get basic necessities such as education. Being the eldest son in the family, he was forced to earn for his family. Despite his parents’ concerns that he might be harassed at school, he agreed to work on their farm from 3 a.m. and attend school later in the morning. To quote Kore on LinkedIn, “ He persevered. Since his farm work didn’t pay in money, only food, he would borrow old books from older similarly ‘outcast’ (scheduled caste) students and study under the village’s only lamp post late into the night. Despite all the bullying from his upper caste peers, discrimination from his upper caste teachers, and not being allowed to sit inside the classroom, his determination and resolve led to him not simply passing his exams, but outranking all his classmates!” Read the linkedin post.

His school principal saw his potential and assisted him financially by covering his expenditures. Later, while working full-time as a janitor in a government building, he earned a Bachelor of Law degree in Mumbai. Rising up the ranks, the guy retired as a high-ranking government employee in the same building and earned his Master’s degree at the age of 60.

Juhi became emotional while her graduation announcement and contacted him the day she was approved, and within about 12 hours, every vegetable seller and corner store worker in his neighborhood had heard the news. Unfortunately, she lost him a little more than a year ago, and we were unable to fulfill our mutual desire for him to attend my Oxford graduation ceremony in person. But she was sure he was thinking about her from the other sphere of life. In only two generations, he went from not being permitted to sit in the classroom to having a granddaughter stroll through the halls of the world’s top institution. 

The story moved the audience and has received thousands of beautiful comments.

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