Break the Age Barrier for Education: Justice for Michael Sam
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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.