According to the “All India Survey on Higher Education 2019-20”, the Gross Enrollment Ratio in Higher Education in India for Scheduled Tribes is 18.0 as compared to the national GER which is 27.1. About 79.5% of the students are enrolled in Undergraduate level program. 2,02,550 students are enrolled in PhD. which is about 0.5% of the total student enrollment. Scheduled Caste students constitute 14.7% and Scheduled Tribes students 5.6% of the total enrollment. 37% students belong to Other Backward Classes. 5.5% students belong to Muslim Minority and 2.3% from other Minority Communities. As the statistics indicate, the number of students from Scheduled Tribe pursuing Higher Education is paltry at best; and further the number of students from Scheduled Tribe pursuing M.Phil or PhD is even lesser. The current number of beneficiaries of National Fellowship for ST Students is 2552 according to the data of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. This limited number of beneficiaries makes it more difficult for them to make themselves heard, and their demands are sidelined. Their rights denied. 

As a prologue to the petition, it is essential to note that there are other Fellowships which are provided to the marginalized and oppressed sections of the society such as the National Fellowship for SC Students which was formerly clubbed with the ST fellowship. These fellowships have already received the benefits of the hike/revision that was mandated by the University Grants Commission (UGC) on the 3rd of June 2019 in a notification F.No. 11-5/2018(SA-1). The beneficiaries of these fellowships have also received the revised fellowship amount from the 1st of January 2019 as was notified by the UGC in the notification in the form of arrears. The erstwhile Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for SC/ST students, the Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for OBC, and Maulana Azad National Fellowship have never had any sort of disparity in the past regarding the amount of fellowship the beneficiaries receive. This disparity in the amount of fellowship and the lack of interest displayed by the authorities in this regard makes it harder for the hapless research scholars from the ST community to resort to appeal to the larger public and the government to assert their right of equal treatment. The scholars from the ST community particularly consists of scholars from rural and remote areas of the country. The hardships faced by the scholars when the pandemic hit the nation goes largely unnoticed due to the lack of numbers and social capital they possess. The lack of access to infrastructure, and the social pressure of discontinuing research at the doctorate level for scholars of the ST community is immense. The sheer fortitude and perseverance it requires to continue doctoral research for scholars from such backward communities is largely unappreciated and further discouraged by these discriminatory actions of the authority. This would be a testament for discouragement for the coming generations of scholars from such downtrodden communities. Therefore, it is of immense importance that this disparity in fellowship is addressed at the earliest.

In the interest of Social Equity in the sector of Education, particularly Higher Education, this petition seeks to draw attention to a larger audience regarding the plight of research scholars from the Scheduled Tribe Community which is comprised of 2552 scholars who are awarded the National Fellowship for ST Students according to the data provided by the Ministry of Tribal  (MoTA). The National Fellowship for ST Students which was formerly known as the Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for ST Students is awarded to 750 students annually. However, the MoTA has failed to regularly notify the call for applications for the fellowship During the aforementioned transitory period when the reigns of the fellowship was handed over the Ministry of Tribal Affairs from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, there was also a backlog of fellowship awarded which would be roughly 750 scholars who lost the chance to get a fellowship due to this hiatus and lapse of the ministry. The gravity of such lapses and mismanagement are, more often than not, recognized by the larger public or mainstream media due to the meager number of research scholars (PhD/M.Phil) from the largely marginal category of the Scheduled Tribe. There are numerous instances of such lapses and mismanagement by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs while handling the fellowship or dealing with research scholars who share their grievances with Ministry officials. This leads to the issue at hand, which is pressing now more than ever. The timing of this petition is at the crux of the moment in time where the aftermath of the pandemic can be felt the strongest by underprivileged and marginalized sections of the society most, both socially and financially.

The petition seeks to address an extremely basic issue which is the hike of the fellowship for Research Scholars from the ST community who are recipients of the National Fellowship for ST Students. The aggrieved scholars seek equity in the amount of fellowship they receive and demand to not be treated differently or discriminated. The University Grants Commission on the 3rd of June 2019 in a “Public Notice” (F.No. 11-5/2018(SA-1)) notified that the Junior Research Fellowships (JRF) and Senior Research Fellowships (SRF) in Science, Humanities, & Social Sciences be revised from the existing Rs. 25,000/- per month to Rs. 31,0000/- per month for JRFs; and from Rs. 28,000/- per month to Rs. 35,000/- per month for SRFs. Additionally, the notification stated that “the revised rates of Fellowship are applicable w.e.f 01.01.2019.” The HRA rates were revised as well at the rates of 8%, 16% and 24% as per Govt. of India norms applicable in the city/location where the research fellows are working. After a few months this notification was followed by another notification F.No. 21-1/2010 (SA-III) dated 7th November 2019. This notification was regarding the revision of fellowship of the National Fellowship for OBCs (NFOBC), Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF), and National Fellowship for SCs (NFSC) (this fellowship was formerly under the ambit of RGNF which both the ST and SC fellows received) to be at par with the UGC’s revisions for fellowship. It may be noted that these fellowships are managed by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment and Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. These developments filled the recipients of NFST with hope since the fellowship had been treated equally with the other fellowship in the past when the Fellowship was in the ambit of Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment. This lead the scholars to send in queries and grievances regarding the unequal treatment of the fellowship with the others (like NFSC, NFOBC, & MANF). For the most part, whenever the officials of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) were questioned regarding the hike/revision of the fellowship, the response would be for us to be patient as the paperwork is underway, and in some cases quite rudely the scholars would be told to apply for the NET-JRF fellowship if they are interested in receiving the fellowship amount equivalent to the other fellowships. However, there have been students who qualified for the JRF-NET fellowship funded by the UGC and were advised by the ministry officials at the time to continue with the NFST fellowship since it was in parity with the other fellowships. Moreover, this sort of response detracts the research scholars from their research work since preparation for the UGC NET examination is impractical and time consuming at this stage of their research. This kind of crass and rude behavior towards the scholars from the ST community is nothing new since the temperament of the MoTA officials in the past have reflected the same. In another incident when a scholar enquired about a delay in the disbursement of fellowship, the reply was “If you received earlier, please keep with you for your studies”. The unbelievably unprofessional behavior of the MoTA is nothing less than a reflection of a psyche that tends to downplay the hurt and sorrows of a marginalized community that has a modest amount of representatives at a political or social level. Moreover to add to the hurt and agony of the NFST recipients, the MoTA put out a “Notice” (F.No. 19012/01/2019Sch) after the NFST scholars demanded their right to be treated equally and receive the same amount of fellowship. The notice by the MoTA mentions that “In NFST guidelines there is no requirement of clearance of UGC examination. Therefore, demand of parity with UGC is not mandated in NFST guidelines.” This statement is highly misleading to anyone aware of the specifics of the Fellowships such as NFSC, NFOBC, or MANF. None of these fellowships required the recipients to have cleared the UGC examination (NTA-NET) until the past few years. This line of reasoning is highly flawed since it simply creates a red herring, and does nothing to address the actual grievances of the aggrieved scholars. If MoTA does not adhere to the guidelines of the University Grants Commission in matters regarding Higher Education in India, is there a dedicated body for matters regarding Higher Education that is distinct for MoTA? The question of responsibility for this lapse and disparity is a pertinent one as well. Is MoTA restricted by the Government of India from revising (hiking) the fellowship for NFST due to lack of fundings? If so, why is the Government of India slacking when it comes to the welfare of the ST community?

The demands of the aggrieved scholars receiving the National Fellowship for ST Students is simply to be treated with dignity and equality. The demand is so fundamental that having to write a petition for it itself seems to be farcical for anyone who has not experienced the same. The demand for a revision/hike and to be treated as equals of their own peers reflects quite poorly on the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Indian society at large for having been ignorant of such inequities faced by the ST scholars who are denied of their rights. The issue is not simply financial or economical, it is social. Wherever social justice is denied, we must stand united to make the the society a little more equitable than it was yesterday.

The recipients of the NFST fellowship appeal to the Government, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, and the people of India to be endowed with the benefits of the UGC notification F.No. 11-5/2018(SA-1) dated 3rd June 2019 which is,

1)     To receive the Fellowship Revision of JRF and SRF fellowships to Rs. 31,000 per month and Rs. 35,0000 per month respectively.

2)     To receive the benefits of the revised rates as applicable w.e.f 01.01.2019.

3)     To be treated equally with other fellowships such as the National Fellowship for SC (NFSC), National Fellowship for OBC (NFOBC), and Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF).