While inaugurating Nalanda university’s new campus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 19 June 2024, made a statement regarding the importance of developing research-oriented higher education. On the same day, PhD students from various marginalised groups in Maharashtra were busy preparing for a long march to demand the release of their fellowship funds. The contrast between the tall statements of political leaders and ground reality is not new to us. However, it is imperative that the Maharashtra government pay attention to the demands of these young scholars.
The agitating PhD students, who have been awaiting the release of their fellowship funds for the last two years, recently came together to form the collective named ‘BARTI, SARTHI, MAHAJYOTI Kruti Samiti, Maharashtra State.’ The collective has organised an eight-day long march from Pune to Mumbai: the march began on Monday, June 24 from Phule Wada and will reach Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai on July 2. The PhD scholars have two main demands: (1) The immediate disbursal of funds to all eligible students registered in 2022; and (2) The withdrawal of the unjust Government Resolution (GR) passed on 30 October 2023.

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Research and Training Institute (BARTI), Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Research, Training and Human Development Institute (SARTHI), Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Research and Training Institute (MAHAJYOTI) and Tribal Research and Training Institute (TRTI) are independent and autonomous institutions established by Maharashtra government to support and uplift students from marginalised Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Other Backward Class and Maratha-Kunbi caste groups through training programmes, fellowships and scholarships. While TRTI and BARTI are older institutions founded in 1962 and 2008, SARTHI and MAHAJYOTI were established in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
I spoke with two of the coordinators from this collective to gain insights on the events and reasons that led to the students taking to the streets. One of the coordinators, Tukaram Shinde, a PhD student from the Savitribai Phule Pune University, said, “All these institutions were autonomous and had complete control over the implementation of their initiatives and utilisation of funds. Under the PhD fellowships, students receive ₹35,000 and HRA (House Rent Allowance) per month. Initially there was no cap on how many PhD students could receive the fellowships. However, citing budgetary constraints, Maharashtra government, in a GR passed on 30 October 2023, has decided to not only cap the number of PhD fellowships but also decided to merge all these institutions under one umbrella.”
“It essentially has put limits on their autonomous functioning, defeating the very purpose for which these institutions were founded,” Shinde reasoned.
He also told me that between these three-four institutions, there are currently around 3,200 PhD students whose fellowship stipends have been delayed. Some of them are at the risk of permanently dropping out of their PhD programmes, especially women who are at a higher risk.

“Many of us are first-generation learners, coming from rural areas. The representation of Bahujan and marginalised scholars is already abysmal in the higher education sector. These fellowships enable us to pursue PhDs, without which it would not be possible. This not only affects our lives but ultimately impacts society at large with a loss of huge intellectual and innovative potential,” he added.
Another student, Seema, who is doing her PhD in Economics from SNDT University, Pune, said, “I’m the first woman from my family who has ever reached this far, to pursue a PhD. I have a five-year-old daughter, so there are family responsibilities on me and without the funds from the fellowships it puts tremendous pressure on my research work. Now the government says that students apply for these fellowships because they get 30-35 thousand rupees which they utilise for personal use. This is a very insensitive attitude towards our work. We have to travel for fieldwork, conduct experiments, many of my colleagues from STEM disciplines require materials and chemicals, they need to send samples to different labs for analysis and then we have to publish our work, all of which costs a lot of money.”
She further stated, “This is not merely about our personal careers, but producing scholars from marginalised backgrounds is an essential part of nation building. Without properly supporting our research, all the talk about a developed nation is empty. Now we are at such a stage in our career that we are compelled to take this action, to put forth our demands for immediate disbursal of fellowship funds.”
While talking about the long march, Shinde shared, “The PhD scholars have been protesting for their demands for a long time. But we have been unsuccessful because we were doing it separately and at different places. As they say, there’s ‘strength in numbers.’ Since our issues and demands are the same, we started discussing and planning for a collective action in the last three months.”

Giving further details, Shinde told The Satyashodhak, “As soon as we declared this long march, we received messages from numerous well-wishers and social organisations asking us how they could offer their support. We were clear about not taking money from anyone, so we asked to contribute by making arrangements for our meals, accommodation, etc. Accordingly, organisations like Hamal Panchayat and Nalanda Buddha Vihar in Pune will be taking care of our food and accommodation on the first day of the march. After the launch and protest at Phule Wada on 24 June, we will walk the whole distance over the next eight days, travelling during the day and resting at various Buddha Viharas and educational institutes along the way. Many students from all across Maharashtra, will join us on the way.“
Both Shinde and Seema pressed upon the fact that PhD students from the SC, ST, OBC, Vimukta Jati Nomadic Tribe (VJNT) and Maratha communities consciously decided to join forces and put up a collective front.
“It sends a positive message that this is a collective fight and it can only be won by working together and not separately or against each other. This fight is not about caste identities, but about representation and educational upliftment of Bahujan students and scholars and we the educated youth know better than to fall prey to the divisive politics that is currently playing out in Maharashtra,” Seema and Shinde said in unison.
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