Upaksham Ramteke
Chief Executive Editor
Pune : The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has taken serious cognizance of the fact that the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Research and Training Institute (BARTI), Pune, has not yet published the advertisement for the 2023 fellowships for PhD researchers. Exercising the powers vested in it under Article 338 of the Constitution of India, the Commission has issued a notice to the Director General of BARTI, directing them to submit a detailed explanation within 30 days.
While other autonomous institutions—such as SARTHI and MAHJYOTI—have already sanctioned fellowships for students registered in 2023, BARTI has, however, deprived Scheduled Caste students of this benefit by erroneously citing its ‘Uniform Criteria’ policy dated October 30, 2023. A complaint was lodged with the Commission alleging that this constitutes a blatant violation of Article 14 (Right to Equality) of the Constitution and is causing significant educational and financial detriment to the students.
This petition was filed before the Commission under the guidance of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi leader Adv. Prakash Ambedkar and through the initiative of research student Rishikesh Ashok Kamble. BARTI’s deliberate withholding of the fellowship advertisement had created an atmosphere of outrage among the students—a matter that has now garnered attention at the national level.
In a letter signed by the Commission’s Director, Dr. G. Sunil Kumar Babu, it has been explicitly stated that if a satisfactory response is not received within 30 days, the Commission will exercise the powers of a Civil Court vested in it by the Constitution to issue a personal summons to the Director General, ordering them to appear in person.
Key Demands of the Students…
1. BARTI must immediately publish the advertisement for the 2023 fellowships.
2. The fellowship must be applied universally to all (100%) eligible students.
3. The injustice faced by students from older batches must be rectified during the implementation of the ‘Uniform Criteria’ policy.
As a result of this notice, significant pressure has now mounted on the State Government and the BARTI administration to pave the way for the fellowships of the 2023 batch students.
