“I am for representation; I am for equal opportunity!” says the second tribeswoman Vice Chancellor of India and an alumna of WCC, Dr Sonajharia Minz.
From the Oraon tribe in Gumla district, Jharkhand, Dr Sonajharia Minz is the second tribeswoman to be appointed Vice Chancellor in a University in Jharkhand, India. After completion of her undergraduate degree from Women’s Christian College and post graduation from Madras Christian College, Chennai, Minz did her Ph.D. in Computer Science from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). She worked as assistant professor at Barkatullah University, Bhopal, and Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai before joining JNU, where she strove to foster the principle of equality for justice to students of underprivileged communities. On May 27, 2020, Minz was appointed as the Vice Chancellor of Sido Kanhu Murmu University in Dumka by the Governor of Jharkhand, Mrs. Draupadi Murmu.
Coming from the Adivasi (tribal) community, Dr Minz didn’t have a smooth journey in life. Beginning from age 12, when her Sanskrit teacher questioned her, “Why did you score the highest in Sanskrit? It is the language of Aryans.” (as though an Adivasi shouldn’t or can’t!), she recollects her childhood experiences of injustice that adversely affected her from a tender age. But these were instrumental in stirring a sense of responsibility towards the society. “I scored full marks a few times in Maths in school, but my teacher challenged me not to take Math for my higher studies in college, I assume, because I was an Adivasi.” These instances indeed shaped Dr Minz from childhood and also enabled her to open her home to students from marginalised backgrounds for JNU Christian Fellowship and for Bible Study, providing a safe space for students who faced extreme difficulties in the name of caste or social background.
Dr Minz is a voice to the voiceless tribal communities of India. As caste implicitly influences every venture of the country, Minz states that many of these barriers are real while some are partly one’s own constructs. Concerning her own experience as the only woman in various all-men committees, she states, “If I expect special consideration or if I treat myself unequally because I’m the only woman, then I’m creating my own barrier.” Besides constructs, Dr Minz retaliates to the brutal patriarchal issues that prevail in society and as VC and active representative of the marginalised, she claims to “speak about, address and redress these issues one by one.” Growing up in a family with only girl children, Dr Minz never faced gender discrimination at home. As she stepped into school, the stereotypical norms of ‘ideal beauty’ struck her hard. With disarranged teeth and a dark complexion, Minz, still a kid, was forced to feel so insecure that she stopped smiling for nearly five years because of her inferiority.
“WCC was a significant building block in my life from 1981-84,” she says. Dr Minz expresses her gratitude to former Principal of WCC, Dr. Renuka Somashekar, who recommended WCC to Dr. Minz’s father, the then Principal of Gossner College, Ranchi. The institution’s dormitory system of accommodating the first year resident students along with second year students, according to her, was a ‘caring approach’ that helped one overcome homesickness, and settle down with those who knew the ‘city’, especially if the ‘junior’ came from a smaller town/village. She also recollects the social stigmas that were prominent in the 1980s as students introduced themselves with caste identifiers as ‘I’m an Iyer or I’m an Iyengar,’ and Dr Minz always wondered what the reaction to her self-introduction would be. Therefore, to escape the question of her background, and to discover her true potential, Dr Minz was actively engaged in extracurricular activities offered by the institution. She learned Karate, was a part of the college Choir and SCM (Student Christian Movement), and was a promising hockey player of the college. Hockey eventually became an identifier for Minz as the focus fell on her second identity as a hockey player rather than her caste which greatly helped her build confidence. Dr. Minz particularly emphasizes that WCC gave her a holistic education as it also reduced the gaps among students, thus creating an interesting, confident, and peaceful environment for her. This eventually helped her make good friends from diverse backgrounds.
As a VC and a social activist, Sonajharia Minz works against the odds in restoring social, gender, and natural justice to all, equally. In the contemporary world, there are increased talks, movements, and debates that establish the concerns and rights of Dalits and the underprivileged sections of society. But back in the 80s, belonging to a lower rung in the hierarchy of caste was almost perceived as a sin. Dr Minz calls this a dehumanising act against human dignity. “Who defines a job to be ‘small’ or ‘significant’? If tomorrow all the farmers of the country take up another livelihood, or if janitors don’t show up, what will the plight of our nation be? Who will clean the classrooms? Unless we actively engage in such discourses with insight, education and enlightenment, one might never overcome the term ‘backward’, thus leading the marginalised to forcibly look for a ‘second identity’ to navigate towards self-confidence and self-esteem,” she says.
“Inspirations are very essential to life,” says Dr Minz as she describes the best moments of her life that helped choose her path. Having struggled with the medium of instruction being a language different from the one spoken at home, Dr Minz, towards the end of her first year as a teacher, was able to engage the class confidently in grade 1. Her approach towards teaching, added with her teacher’s remark that “she’ll make a good teacher” paved the way for her successful teaching career. She talks of how her father insisted that God has given ‘Buddhi’ (intelligence) to everyone equally and showed her that inspirations are benchmarks that help people understand their path and internalize their extents in life. Her father’s comment, “There are no Adivasi Math teachers,” and the need for one to educate her tribes-people, served as a catalyst in pushing Dr Minz towards achieving her goal. The seed of inspiration sowed by her father grew in her life as she always encouraged her students with, “If I can become the Vice-Chancellor then any of you can too.”
As advice to young students who wish to achieve greatness in life irrespective of their cultural barriers, Dr Minz says, “Go for it.” Determination is the key to develop the core values and morals of a person. Goals need not be the highest from the start and “yes, obstacles come and these barriers only help one jump over them”. A goal and a vision is all it takes and just like Martin Luther King’s powerful speech, ‘I have a dream’, if you have a dream then why wait?
Go for it!
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