Conversations You Hear When People and ‘Friends’ Find Out You’re SC

‘If my brother was SC,
he would be in IIT.’
‘If my brother was SC,
he would surely be a government employee.’
‘If my brother was SC,
he would drive an Audi and enter the campus.’
‘If my brother was SC,
he would become rich through scholarships.’

My OBC friend told me
if his brother was SC, he needn’t work hard.
My Muslim friend told me
SCs have all the benefits.
A rich batchmate told me,
‘If it wasn’t for reservation, I would be in a better medical college’.
A Brahmin I met online told me
reservation should be on an economic basis.
An OBC friend who couldn’t avail his category benefits told me
there shouldn’t be reservation in education.

Users on Quora who couldn’t get a medical seat said
this system is so unfair to the general category.
Apparently, someone died by suicide
people are sympathising because he
ranked a double digit in JEE-advanced.
An SC died by suicide
and they told me
‘It’s because he couldn’t cope up’.
People told me, ‘It’s so easy because you are SC’.

To all this I say,
Yes, it’s easy when you are SC
to internalise all the hate you receive.
Yes, it’s easy when you are SC
to laugh when your close friends diss your identity.
Yes, it’s easy when you are SC
to doubt your own self worth and competence.
Yes, it’s easy when you are SC
to feel vulnerable when you do something silly.
Yes, it’s easy when you are SC
to be accused of looking at caste in everything.
Yes, it’s easy when you are SC
to be blamed for not looking at others ‘suffering’.
Yes, it’s easy when you are SC
to not tell your parents any bad memory.
Yes, it’s easy when you are SC
to be told you are in the wrong when you aren’t.
Yes, it’s easy when you are SC
to feel you don’t belong.
Yes, it’s easy when you are SC
to question your history.
It’s easy when you are SC
To smile and ignore when your friend say
‘If my brother was SC, he would be in IIT’.

Dishant is a first year medical student. You can reach him on Instagram @cynicalcare.

Featured image credit: Illustration: LiveWire/Photo: Pixabay