HYDERABAD: Expressing anguish at the loss of lives of first-generation students who made it to top institutions like the IITs and national law universities after centuries of suppress ion of their communities, CJI DY Chandrachud, speaking at the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research, said: “My heart goes out to the family members of these students. But I also have been wondering where our institutions are going wrong. ”
“Sukhadeo Thorat, one of the senior-most educationalists in the country, said if almost all those who have diedby suicide in particular situations are Dalits and Adivasis, then it shows a pattern which we must question,” he said. “When students leave their homes, it becomes the responsibility of educational institutions to establish a bond of institutional friendship with them. Excellence cannot go without empathy,” he stressed.
CJI Chandrachud further said that there is too much focus on creating “institutions of eminence”, adding, “We need institutions of empathy. I think the issue of discrimination is directly linked with lack of empathy in institutions. Judges cannot shy away from social realities. ”
‘Judges must have dialogue with society, seek change’:
The CJI also said judges in India have a crucial role in having a dialogue with society — inside and outside the courtrooms — to push for social change. “When the Black Lives Matter movement became strong in the US after the murder of George Floyd, all nine judges of the Washington Supreme Court issued a joint statement addressed to the judiciary and legal community on the degradation and devaluation of black lives in the US. In similar ways, as chief justice, apart from my core judicial work and administrative duties, my effort is also to throw light on structural issues affecting our society,” he said.
“Sukhadeo Thorat, one of the senior-most educationalists in the country, said if almost all those who have diedby suicide in particular situations are Dalits and Adivasis, then it shows a pattern which we must question,” he said. “When students leave their homes, it becomes the responsibility of educational institutions to establish a bond of institutional friendship with them. Excellence cannot go without empathy,” he stressed.
CJI Chandrachud further said that there is too much focus on creating “institutions of eminence”, adding, “We need institutions of empathy. I think the issue of discrimination is directly linked with lack of empathy in institutions. Judges cannot shy away from social realities. ”
‘Judges must have dialogue with society, seek change’:
The CJI also said judges in India have a crucial role in having a dialogue with society — inside and outside the courtrooms — to push for social change. “When the Black Lives Matter movement became strong in the US after the murder of George Floyd, all nine judges of the Washington Supreme Court issued a joint statement addressed to the judiciary and legal community on the degradation and devaluation of black lives in the US. In similar ways, as chief justice, apart from my core judicial work and administrative duties, my effort is also to throw light on structural issues affecting our society,” he said.
