Dalit Youth Defies IIT Professor, Forges Path into US National Lab System https://en.themooknayak.com/dalit-news/dalit-youth-defies-iit-professor-forges-path-into-us-national-lab-system Hailing from the Mahar community in Maharashtra's Nagpur and growing up in a colony near a slum area. He has witnessed first hand the challenges that can come with lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Amogh's peers at IIT-Bombay used to mock his low scores, with upper-caste batchmates casually suggesting, "Don't worry, if you don't secure a good job, we can employ you as a safai karamchari (cleaning staff) in our companies.
Amogh points out that caste discrimination persists even in the US. Recounting a personal incident, he shares that he experienced a form of untouchability, which he had never encountered in India. He describes how his roommate refused to drink the water he brought to the room and restricted him from storing edible items in the common refrigerator.