Break the Age Barrier for Education: ­Justice for Michael Sam

Support Sam in his Fight to Break Barriers and Become a Lawyer!

Isn’t age just a number? So asks Michael Sam, an orphan who has struggled really hard in life. And now finds that his dreams of becoming a lawyer have been shattered. All thanks to a highly unjust rule by the Bar Council of India (BCI) that stipulates that students above the age of 20 cannot write the law entrance exam!

But Michael will not go down without a fight. And has taken his grievance all the way to the Supreme Court where the matter is now being heard.

Join us in supporting Michael Sam’s fight for justice and equality. To ensure that education is accessible for all, particularly the underprivileged who often find themselves on the wrong side of the age bar. Michael struggled to educate himself all these years, doing odd jobs in canteens and the like.

In any case, there is no rational connection between age and the study of law. In countries such as the US, even 90 year old grandmothers have been admitted to law colleges and have gone on to make classroom discussions infinitely more interesting and diverse. India boasts more diversity and we need to get these voices into our classrooms!

Michael’s pain and sadness shine through in his poetic appeal to the Supreme court, reproduced below. Join him in this fight for justice!

Coming of Age

Is age a mere number,

Or something of a stumbler? 

How would I know?

When I’ve got nothing to show

No laughter, no light,

No parent in sight.

But a soul so kind

On a road did (me) find

Picked up and led,

To an orphanage that fed.

Stayed for some years

But soon there were tears

For I had to make way,

for another child to stay.

On the streets I found

Much fury and sound

Did odd jobs and all,

to find food and stall.

But loved to read and think

And make many a link

Discovered one day

The law and its way

Through an IDIA that came,

with a more inclusive game.

Access, Diversity and all

Elite bastions to fall

Charging me with hope

About the law and its stroke

To fight injustice we see,

and be the best we can be.

But alas,

CLAT said no!

Too old for school you know.

With sadness I find

The law is unkind

Age is a ceiling

For those without feeling.

The name’s Michael Sam

But who gives a damn!

Born without a date

Then left to my fate

Orphaned by parents,

And now by the state.

~ Michael Sam (Feelings my own; expressed through a friend. For when the heart is heavy, words are but few)

For more information on IDIA Charitable Trust, visit idialaw.com.

Image - Michael Sam in front of the Preamble of the Constitution of India that guarantees "Equality" and "Justice" for all.