Rohini Ghawri, a PhD student in Geneva, shot to limelight with her speech at the 52nd convention of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Ghawri is the daughter of a sanitation worker in Indore. She praised India on the international stage. She said that India's President comes from the tribal community; its Prime Minister comes from the OBC community. She said India's constitution is so robust that people from the backward castes can lead the country and study at universities like Harvard and Oxford. She informed the assembly that she received a scholarship of Rs 1 crore from the Government of India. As soon as ANI tweeted her remark, 1 Cr started trending on Twitter. Here's what happened.
Rohini said the environment in India is not as is shown in the west. "Some countries, NGOs and even the United Nations sometimes project the wrong image of India. In India, there are some caste-related issues but there are good things as well. As a Dalit, I am a prime example of this," she said.
Who is Rohini Ghawri? She calls herself an Ambedkarite. She is pursuing a PhD in Geneva. Her father is a sanitation worker in Indore.
Many social media users shared screenshots from her Twitter profile showing tweets that advocated burning Manusmriti. Some said instead of helping just one student with a whopping amount, the Centre could have helped many students.
"This dalit lady receives a scholarship of 1cr rs for higher education from GOI and still alleges that this government hates lower class people," a user wrote, tagging Ghawri's tweet in which she had written she hates BJP.
"1Cr can facilitate 20 engineering graduates (BPUT under Odisha Govt), approx. 40 kids from Class 1-12 in Govt School. This money could have facilitated education for orphans whose parents do not have legacy wealth to fund their children's education," wrote another.
What is the National Overseas Scholarship Scheme?
The Central government gives this scheme to students studying abroad. This is granted to SC/ST communities, farm labourers, traditional artisans etc. This is accorded to those pursuing their masters and PhD. For this, a person's family income should be less than Rs 8 lakh. 125 students get this scholarship. The government pays the tuition fee, VISA fee, tickets and emergency funds.
