INDIA
With scholarships difficult to come by, Indian Dalit and Muslim students admitted to foreign institutions are finding financial support online, writes Akanksha Mishra for Scroll.in.
When 25-year-old Harshali Nagrale received an admission offer from the Royal Holloway College in London in January, she was both excited and worried. While being admitted to a masters degree programme in a reputed university was a feat to be proud of, the high fees for the two-year course were a cause for concern. Nagrale is a first-generation learner from a Dalit community in Maharashtra. The cost of studying abroad – around Rs40 lakh (US$54,000) – was something she could not afford even with her two jobs.
After being unable to secure scholarships from the government of India and international organisations such as the Felix Scholarship, she turned to crowdfunding. Nagrale experienced an overwhelming response on social media, especially from people in the Dalit community. Activists from the Bahujan and Adivasi communities also helped spread the word about her fundraiser by sharing it on various social media platforms. With around two weeks left for her fundraiser to end, Nagrale has already managed to raise 65% of her total target of Rs36 lakh.
]Full report on the Scroll.in site
