[THREAD] As somebody who studies at NIFT, I would to like to point out that design in our country is going in a downward direction at the speed of light. My college (like all colleges) requires students to submit a final thesis, where our college director asked us to "capitalise"

on the current pandemic to add as am afterthought in our thesis. He asked us to capitalise on a pandemic where people are dying. This is not as a means to bring out products/ services / ideas that will help people in the pandemic. It's just to extend the word count on a thesis.

The students, on the other hand, are trying to create services and apps on mental health. Which is a great thought, except that none of them have referred to a practicing mental health professional about the illnesses they want to work on.

These are illnesses that people take very casually - like depression and OCD - which we know that people substitute for "sadness" and "cleanliness". They have a sample of self diagnosed students and no actual data from therapists/ psychologists.

Additionally, most of the students who take up the course design for society, have no concept or understanding of caste; as in they don't even know who Dalits are. I've had people genuinely ask me what it means.

I don't know how privileged students and faculty who don't understand the problems that Dalits (Adivasis are an alien concept to them), people with mental illnesses and the daily wage workers face everyday can create or teach inclusive design.

This is a vicious cycle that is propagated by one of the best design colleges in India (and the world) so you can assume the kind of designs that will come out of these people. And this is not isolated to NIFT itself. It's all design colleges.

Also, NIFT roll numbers are the ranks that you get initially when you give the entrance exam. This systematic form of casteism is very casually accepted in all the colleges. These roll numbers appear in your exams, your jury groups and your ID cards making it very easy to target

Anyone who has come to the college through reservation. The bitterness that UC people hold against those of us who are from the oppressed casters "because we stole their precious seats", especially when they choose to pass snide comments about it, in front of faculty

Who also don't care for these things really opens our eyes to what direct and hateful oppression and absolute disregard for the dignity and respect of oppressed castes feels like. It really drills it in. I'm not surprised at the lack of self confidence it leaves us with.