Kerala tragedy: marginalized bullied despite social‑justice legacy

[Kartik]

Source: https://youtube.com/shorts/XQdgJQDnKX4?si=EjGiXwuJePusraLn

This is one of the most tragic and disheartening news I have come across in recent months. What's happening here? Is this the same Kerala that famously fought to dismantle the "lunatic asylum" of casteism, now witnessing a tragedy where the marginalized are being bullied by those who themselves rose through the struggle for social justice? The irony is that the culprit's ancestors belonged to the Thiyya community—the very people who were once discriminated against. This is exactly what Dr. B. R. Ambedkar called graded inequality.

I also see another layer: they are weaponising the merit system, which is becoming dangerously common in professional colleges. Faculty members who benefited from reservation or social‑justice movements are turning around and using the language of Merit to harass Dalit students. In Nithin's case, he was reportedly a merit‑quota student who was brilliant, yet he was treated as if he didn't belong.

When OBC faculty use merit as a tool for harassment, they are essentially wielding the same weapon that was historically used against their own ancestors. I am OBC myself and feel guilty about this incident. We need a new social reform—like our guru taught—one God, one religion, unity. Without that, we risk a regressive society. The tragedy of Nithin Raj is not just a failure of law; it is a failure to remember the past, showing that those who were once marginalized forget the sting of discrimination the moment they hold the gavel or the grade‑book.