Sanjana Choudhary, 23, arrived in Oxford on a prestigious scholarship to pursue a master’s in South Asian History, hoping to escape the caste, class and geographic markers that had shaped her life in Bhopal’s outskirts. Growing up in a community where Dalit families struggled to secure formal names, she saw early on how schools divided opportunities along caste lines. At Delhi University, she felt her identity reduced to a footnote in the curriculum, a reality she described as “systemic invisibilisation.” Reclaiming reservation as a right, she drew strength from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s anti‑caste writings and later secured an open‑merit scholarship that sent her to Oxford.
However, the promise of a blank slate faltered when Sanjana found herself alienated within the broader Indian student group at Oxford. Her caste identity shifted social dynamics, pushing her toward a small circle of Dalit scholars who co‑convened the Oxford South Asia Ambedkar Forum. The group advocates for caste to be recognized as a protected category under U.K. anti‑discrimination laws and amplifies marginalized voices. Yet, Sanjana noticed that upper‑caste students rarely attended their events, reinforcing the notion that caste discrimination persists even in elite foreign universities.
Similar patterns emerge across the diaspora. In the U.K., Dalit students like Rema and Vedika report subtle exclusion in shared living spaces and WhatsApp groups that prioritize caste identity. In the U.S., Aatika Singh of Stanford highlights mental‑health struggles stemming from caste marginalization and the influence of Brahmin‑dominated Indian American lobby groups on university policies. Australian scholar Upalee Labhane describes academic isolation, where revealing caste can lead to exclusion from collaborative work and lower grades. These accounts underscore a global, transnational hierarchy that extends beyond national borders.
Not all scholars agree that caste should dominate diaspora narratives. A dominant‑caste fellow at Oxford argues for a unified national identity over rigid caste lines, while the Hindu American Foundation claims insufficient data to support caste‑based discrimination claims and opposes legal protection for caste. Despite such opposition, institutions like the University of California, Davis have added caste to their anti‑discrimination policy, allowing formal grievances. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s own reflections on being denied accommodation in Baroda illustrate the enduring reach of caste. The emerging consensus among Dalit scholars is that caste discrimination is not a relic of India alone but a global issue demanding recognition and structural change.
