[sustran] Schoolboys in India buy bicycle for classmate excluded from free scheme due to his caste

[Todd Edelman]

Schoolboys in India buy bicycle for classmate excluded from free scheme 
due to his caste

http://road.cc/content/news/48038-schoolboys-india-buy-bicycle-classmate-excluded-free-scheme-due-his-caste
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-19/bhubaneswar/30419204_1_class-x-students-cycle-happy-boy

A teenage schoolboy in India who began playing truant because he was the 
sole member of his class not to be given a bicycle under a 
state-sponsored scheme because he belongs to a lower caste is now 
happily pedalling to lessons after his fellow pupils clubbed together to 
buy him a bike.

The family of the youngster concerned, Sudam Bhoi, is officially 
classified as belonging to ‘Other Backward Classes,’ (OBC), grouping 
together some 3,000 castes which together make up between a third and a 
half of India’s population, with estimates of the actual number subject 
to wide variations.

His 41 year-ten classmates at the Indira Gandhi Anchalik High School 
near Sambalpur in the state of Orissa, however, come from families 
belonging to the higher Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) 
which combined make up around a quarter of the country’s inhabitants.

That meant they qualified for a scheme operated by the state government 
which provided each of them with a cheque for 2,600 Rupees to enable 
them to buy a bicycle, reports the Times of India.

"But Sudam was excluded from the scheme as it was meant for the students 
of SC/ST and women category,” explained Gopiranjan Nath, a teacher at 
his school. “We felt sorry for him but we could not do anything in the 
matter.”

Happily for Sudam, his classmates decided that they could do something 
for their fellow student, who had started missing school due to being 
left out of the scheme.

"Sudam remained absent from school because he was feeling isolated and 
unhappy,” said one, Suraj Mirdha. “So we decided to collect money from 
our share to purchase a cycle for him."

Suraj says that the class chipped in about 60 Rupees each to help buy a 
bike for their friend.

In Sterling, that equates to around 75 pence – the price of a bar of 
chocolate or can of soft drink for a British teenager, but around half 
of the minimum daily wage for a skilled worker in Orissa.

"We collected about Rs 2,400 from our share,” said another student, 
Banita Mallick. “We finally managed to purchase a cycle for our 
classmate with the help of a local cycle shop owner."

The Times of India reports that Sudam feels proud of his classmates’ 
gesture, which has also been appreciated by local villagers.

One, Rajaram Sarangi, told the newspaper: "This is really a classic 
example of brotherhood and friendship. Sudam is really a lucky boy to 
have such friends and classmates."

Mr Sarangi added that the state government’s scheme, which aims to 
provide bicycles to nearly 3 million boys and girls in the current 
financial year, should be based on the financial situation of a 
student’s family, and not the caste they belong to.

An American travel writer and photographer who specialises in cycling, 
Gregg Bleakney, has produced a stunning series of images called 
Portraits of India on Two Wheels, which you can view here.

The inspiration behind the pictures lay in him considering the question, 
"If cycling was NOT something I did by choice, but was designated by the 
caste I was born into, would I still love it the same?"

-- 
Todd Edelman
Green Idea Factory / SLOWFactory

Mobile: ++49(0)162 814 4081

edelman at greenidea.eu
www.greenidea.eu

Skype: toddedelman
https://www.facebook.com/Iamtoddedelman
http://twitter.com/toddedelman
http://de.linkedin.com/in/toddedelman

Urbanstr. 45
10967 Berlin
Germany