Privilege Check: NUJS releases report to map extent of diversity, pluralism and exclusion among students

The National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) recently released the NUJS Diversity Report, 2019 as a privilege check effort to increase privilege-consciousness among its students and start a discourse on such issues..The report maps various diversity indicators based on 544 responses received from five batches of students. .The report is divided into three parts: Demographics, Performance at NUJS; and Life at NUJS .The study examines the intersectional nature of social and economic factors that influence the life and the performance of students at NUJS. .Under Demographics, focus is placed on the diversity of the student body at NUJS. The chapter invites attention to the deep inequalities that had already shaped the lives of the students at the time when they entered the University. Among other conclusions, the following has been found..Gender identity: Notable findings under the Demographics chapter include that only one student among the 544 respondents identified their self as Transgender. 214 persons (39.3%) of the respondents identified as Female and 329 (60.5%) identified as Male..Caste: In terms of caste, the majority of the student population came from an upper caste background, with 26.7% from the Brahmin caste and 31.9% from other upper castes (cumulatively 58.6%). 15.2% of the respondents did not come from any specified caste background. The remaining (26.2%) students are stated to have come from Other Backward Classes, Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or from other religions (7.9%). .Religion: Most of the students belonged to the Hindu religion (76%). It is interesting to note that the second-most dominant group were atheists, at 10.6%, followed by other religions. .Sexual orientation: Majority of the respondents (over 89%) identified as heterosexuals, following by 6.8% who identified as bisexual, 2.4% who identified as asexual, and 0.5% who identified as gay. 1 person (0.2%) identified as pansexual..Regional representation: States in North East India, Jammu & Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are very scarcely represented in NUJS..This chapter also studied the familial background as well as the financial and educational background of the students. A study on diversity in Admission categories has also been undertaken..The chapter on Performance at NUJS presents data on the academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular performance of students while at the University..The report found that females performed better than males in academics. A higher proportion of females (41.1%) than males (30%) wished to pursue a foreign LLM. Further, more female respondents were found to have had published research papers, although similar proportions from both genders were found to have conducted paper presentations..It was found that 67% respondents felt that Academics were "Highly/Very Highly" important. A direct correlation was also found between the CGPA of a respondent and their decision to pursue a foreign LLM. .Academic performance across castes was also studied. Among other findings, the report stated, "Only 1 student each from 15 OBCs, and 56 SCs, has a CGPA above 6. Nobody from the ST group has a CGPA above 5. A higher proportion of respondents have CGPA above 4 in all Caste Groups except these three, with Brahmins having the highest such proportion. Similarly, a higher proportion of STs (51.7%) and SCs (33.9%) have CGPA below 3 than any other caste group. This figure is lowest among Brahmins (7.5%).".The chapter on Life at NUJS discusses peer-to-peer support and maps the peer pressure in activities faced by the students. It takes a look at such topics as peer behaviour, ragging, discrimination and sexual harassment..Ragging: Nearly 60% respondents said that they had been ragged by their seniors. In spite of that, except for a slight increase in ragging from the 2015 to 2016 batch, there seemed to be a continuous decline in ragging on campus..Sexual harassment: Nearly 1 out of every 5 females, and 1 out of every 10 males has experienced sexual harassment while at NUJS, the report has found..Discrimination: About 58% said gender-based discrimination was Low/Very Low, while about 22% chose the High/Very High options. A higher proportion of females (30%) chose these options than males (17%). About 56% of respondents opined that exists there exists High/Very High discrimination based on Sexual Orientation. About 70% of the students felt that there was low/very low caste discrimination, although these were mostly persons from upper caste backgrounds, other religions, or those who do not know their caste background. .The report also covers peer influence and peer support when it comes to participation in various activities such as moot courts, ADR competitions, debates etc., as well as whether the University is differently-abled friendly and whether the students had opted for professional help for mental health. .It was found that out of the 80 sexual harassment survivors at NUJS, 38 respondents have said they have taken professional help. One fifth of all respondents who have experienced ragging said they have sought professional help..The highest proportions of those who have taken professional help are seen amongst respondents in the SC group (23%), followed by Other Upper Castes (21%)..[Read the Report here]