faq

faq (incomplete)

General

What is the history of Ambedkar Scholarships?

Ambedkar Scholarships was started in 2003 with just two scholarships. We distributed these scholarships in an inaugural function held in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh on Dec 14, 2003.

Is there any collective name for the beneficiaries of Ambedkar Scholarships?

Yes, we call them collectively as “Ambedkar Scholars” or simply “Scholars”.

How many scholarships were given so far?

The number of scholarships awarded each year staring from 2003 is as follows.

2003: 2

2004: 24

2005: 37

2006: approximately 70 scholarships are available for 2006.

Is Ambedkar Scholarships a registered organization? Does it have Tax exemption status?

No. Right now, Ambedkar Scholarships is neither registered nor has Tax exemption status either in India or in US. We are in dilemma of registering it as an individual entity or partner with an existing similar entity. We will take a decision at the earliest on this issue as it is very crucial for our ability to get funding.

Why Ambedkar Scholarships?

The objectives of starting Ambedkar Scholarships are many. A few of them are as follows:

To help bright but socially, educationally, and economically backward community students, especially Dalits, in India in education
To bring all Dalit intellectuals, bureaucrats, industrialists, journalists, writers, social activists, and NRIs on to a single platform to work for the good of the society in general and for the good of their own community in particular
To show the world that Dalits care for their own instead of asking for sops from Government and other entities every time there is a need in the community
To develop self respect among all Dalits with a slogan “DALIT IS DIGNITY”
To bring progressive non Dalits into the philosophy of Dr Ambedkar and work with Dalit intellectuals to erase the social evils that are plaguing India for centuries, especially the treatment of Dalits and other marginalized communities in their own land
To generate keen interest in the social evils of India and find solutions in the philosophy of Dr Ambedkar among youth and intellectuals of all sections of Indian society
To make the world aware of the condition of Dalits and invite them to come forward and help them in their efforts to break their chains
To develop a think-tank within Dalit community to find ways and means to develop their younger generation
To establish schools and colleges; sponsor children in good schools; give scholarships; help them to find right opportunities; give them social education; and to make them aware of their rights etc
To recognize Dalit activists, writers, journalists,academics,artits etc and encourage them to do more for the society

Who can help?

Well-to-do Dalits in all walks of life who come up in life with or without the help of reservations (affirmative action in India) realizing the responsibility of “Pay back to the society”
Any progressive non Dalit with no strings attached to their donations or assistance in cash or kind
Any organization or corporation in India or abroad with a desire to help these marginalized sections of India

Why Ambedkar Scholarships is named after Dr Ambedkar?

Ambedkar was an epitome of eruditeness, scholarship, courageousness, dedication, service, selflessness, sacrifice, maturity, statesmanship, and adroitness. He himself was a Dalit. He was a towering personality among not only Dalits but all Indians of his time. He rose to the zenith by overcoming all odds in life. The project itself is the outcome of his inspirational life. So, what better way to help children other than naming the project after one of the greatest and towering personalities of our time?

What does each scholarship consist of?

At present each scholarship consists of

A check for Rs.5,000
A copy of Dr Ambedkar’s biography
A certificate of Achievement

How Ambedkar Scholarships is different?

The following are some of the salient features of Ambedkar Scholarships.

We work among the most discriminated sections of Indian population.
We match the donor and the scholar on one-to-one basis and provide the donor with details of the scholar, if desired.
Donor can name the scholarship as desired.
We personalize the scholarship by giving it on donor’s name and naming it as desired by the donor.
We maintain 100% transparency. We post applications received, scholars selected etc on our website.
We post our donations received and expenses incurred on our website for everyone to see.
We give donor liberty to choose scholar(s) within certain parameters.
We try our best to minimize expenses.
We accept any reasonable and viable method in our project if resources permit.
We communicate regularly through out electronic email group with donors and apprise them of the progress of the project.

How much does each scholarship cost?

At present we charge USD 150 or Rs.5,500 for sponsoring one scholarship. This amount covers all the above mentioned gifts and expenses.

How many scholarships can I sponsor?

No limit. We encourage each donor to sponsor at least two scholarships – one for a boy and another for a girl. Still, we accept whatever you donate with genuine heart and spirit.

Can I donate money without sponsoring a scholarship?

Yes. You can donate any amount - nothing is small for us. But, a scholarship is named as you wish only when you donate either Rs.5500 or $150 to cover all the costs of one scholarship. If the amount is less, we may use it for other expenses.

Can I donate in kind?

Yes. But we accept only books and study material that is useful in scholars intellectual development and social awareness. We accept books on Dr Ambedkar and his philosophy; social issues especially dealing with Dalits; English improvement – vocabulary builders, dictionaries, thesauruses etc; personality development; reasoning; and other such educationally useful books. You can also donate subscriptions to useful magazines, periodicals, and newspapers.

Do I know who got my scholarship?

Yes. The relationship between the donor and the scholar is one-to-one. Each donor is matched with one or more scholars depending on the number of scholarships a donor sponsors. We provide the complete details of the scholar(s) to the respective donor upon request. The donor can verify or act as a mentor to his/her scholar to help him/her in his/her further education.

Why do Ambedkar Scholarships consider marks in the qualifying exam (merit) for selection?

We, at Ambedkar Scholarships, are aware that the marks obtained in any qualifying examination are not the best way to measure the suitability of a student for aid. We do not believe in the word “merit”, per se. We are aware that a child’s merit depends on the socio-economic and family situation. We also believe that encouragement is required to the educationally backward students but not merit students.

Still, we consider merit for selection due to the following reasons:

Lack of a better methodology and resources at present to identify such students
We cannot afford to waste our scarce resources without knowing the interest in education of a student who do not perform well academically before.
We believe that a student performed well in the qualifying examination will have more chances of performing better in future.

But, if someone is ready to take the responsibility of identifying such students (non performing for whatever reasons, but intelligent and sincere in pursuing education), we are glad to work with him/her to help such a child or a group of children. We invite people to involve rather than criticize and discredit whatever we are trying to do though in a small way. We always welcome constructive but not meaningless and impracticable criticism. If you have something to improve the project, please come with solid proposal and resources needed for such a proposal. Ambedkar Scholarships exists with a sincere aim to help the children in need. Come and help us to make the project better.

Is there any preference to girls?

Yes, in deed! 50% of the scholarships available are earmarked for girls wherever students are available.

Do I have an opportunity to name scholarships I sponsor after my loved ones – for example parents, grandparents etc?

Yes. We name the scholarships after a person or an organization of donor’s choice. We print the name of the donor along with the name of the scholarship on the Certificate of Achievement (CofA) to personalize the scholarship. Please check our website for CofAs of yester years. In order to name a scholarship, the entire scholarship cost should be born by the donor.

Can corporations and NGOs sponsor scholarships?

Yes. In this case, we award scholarships in their name. We are in fact looking for corporate donors to help us to make this project durable and sustainable instead of depending on individual donations every year.

Do I have any say in awarding scholarship sponsored by me?

Yes. If the donor wants, he/she can choose one or more scholars from our selection list or identify one or more suitable students who deserve our help. We will examine the case and allow the donor to choose the student(s) as his/her beneficiary. The donor can choose a beneficiary from a particular school, district, region, and/or from a particular sex.

But, the restrictions are that we do not entertain choosing a beneficiary based on a particular caste or sub-caste. We also do not allow the donor to choose a relative as his/her beneficiary.

Why do only students form Andhra Pradesh eligible?

Due to resource constraints, both human and financial, we are concentrating currently in Andhra Pradesh only. If proper funding is available to run the project in other states, we will expand it to other states. Moreover, we are looking for reliable volunteers who are willing to work per our guidelines. Therefore, this project is currently restricted to Andhra Pradesh only due to resource constraints, not for any reason.

Why is it open only to Dalit students?

Dalits are the most marginalized people in the world. They are deprived of social, educational, economical, religious rights for thousands of years due to practice of a unique social system that exists in south Asian countries (especially in India) called “CASTE SYSTEM”. So, we believe that helping these children is helping the lowest of lowest in the entire world.

But, we are planning to expand it to other discriminated communities in India as we grow in terms of financial resources.

Who are available for these scholarships?

This project is designed to help bright and economically poor Dalit children. Currently we are concentrating on children who complete their secondary school education, again due to lack of resources. We wish to expand it to all levels of education in future.

Why Ambedkar Scholarships is encouraging caste by giving scholarships only to Dalit students instead of all economically backward students?

Caste is a reality in India. Even after more than a half a century of Independence, Caste is very much alive and kicking and influencing every aspect of life in India directly or indirectly. Though it is fashion to say that caste disappeared in India, in reality it is not so. More over if we go by economic criteria, no Dalit student who needs it most will get the benefit due to their socio-economic condition that prevents them to fare equally or better than their counterparts from other castes.

What types of scholarships available under this project?

Currently, we have two types of scholarships.

Regular scholarships: At present, these scholarships are available to students who were successful in SSC (10^th grade) in the year in which the scholarships are available. We wish to introduce them at all other levels of education in future.

Scholarships for children from scavenging families: These are special type of scholarships introduced in 2006. They are available only to children from scavenging families. Scavengers are Dalits among Dalits and are the most discriminated section of all Dalits due to their occupation of cleaning toilets, garbage, drains etc. These scholarships are available at all levels of education. We take the help of people and institutions working among them to identify them. In 2006, we took the help of Safai Karamchari Andolan (SKA) to identify children from Andhra Pradesh and Educated Chamber to identify a few students from Tamilnadu.

Are there any other activities where Ambedkar Scholarships is involved in?

Yes. We are involved in a few non-educational activities in 2006. Though the primary reason for our existence is helping Dalit children in education, we sometimes perplexed by the atrocities committed on them just because they are born as Dalits. Reading newspaper articles on some of the worst atrocities committed on them, we have asked for donations to help in the following cases.

Help to Mr Bant Singh, landless laborer with self-respect, who lost both of his hands and a leg in an attack by land-lords when asked for justice. We collected little more than Rs: 200,000 to help him and his family. Due to reasons beyond our control, we are yet to deliver this aid to Mr Bant Singh. We hope to finish it at the earliest.
Help to a 5 year old Dalit girl raped: This appeal generated some support from the donors and the aid is yet to be delivered to her.

What are the different ways of contributing to the scholarship fund?

There are a number of ways to contribute to our project.

By establishing endowment scholarships: The donor may deposit a certain amount in a bank as CD (Certificate of Deposit). The interest generated from this investment will be used to give scholarships every year in the donor’s name.
By contributing to yearly scholarships: The donor may contribute for a number of scholarships every year. We give these scholarships under the donor’s name.
By contribution small amounts: Any amount is not small for us and we accept it with gratitude- both in cash or in kind. Such amount will be used for expenses such as postage, stationary, function etc.
By contributing towards the purchase of copies of Dr Ambedkar’s biography: The donor can donate money for buying copies of Dr Ambedkar biographies. We will donate these books to the scholars with the donor’s name stamped on all the books donated by him/her.
By contributing towards the purchase of other relevant books: Donors can also donate for buying books of educational, Dr Ambedkar, and/or Dalit relevance. We will donate these books to the scholars with the donor’s name stamped on all the books donated by him/her.
By contributing towards the purchase of subscriptions to magazines, newspapers etc: Donors can donate for buying subscriptions to magazines, newspapers, study materials etc.
By contributing in kind: Instead of donating money to buy books, magazines, and/or newspapers; donors can also buy them and donate to the scholars.

How can I be a part of this project?

You can be a part of this project in a number of ways.

By becoming a donor: The best way you can help is by becoming a donor as we need financial support to run this project. You can sponsor one or more scholarships, a bunch of good books and magazines, donate money for our expenses. We appreciate any help you can render to us.
By advertising: Word of mouth or a small appreciative writing may do more good than a simple donation. So, please advertise our project among your friends, relatives, colleagues, electronic groups, blogs etc. If you need any clarification on anything related to the project, please write to us at ambedkarscholarship@yahoo.com and we will be glad to clarify the things or modify one or more of them if we feel they are viable, logical, philosophically in tome with the project, and within our scope of resources.
By finding a corporate partner: Please help us to find a corporate partner as our hands are tied due to resource crunch. Due to the nature of donations we receive, it is difficult for us to think of anything in advance as we do not know how much funding we may be able to generate in that year till the last moment. If we have a sustainable and guaranteed funding for a year, we can do lots more things better. We can think of the monitoring process as well.
By advising: You are welcome to advice us in any aspect of the project. We examine your advice minutely and implement it if it is feasible within our limits. If we reject any of you advice, we will give logical reasons for it. But never shy away from advising us. Please read our FAQ before commenting on anything.
By taking responsibility: Currently the project is running as a one or two man show. But we want genuine interested individuals to take up some responsibility. What we see in an individual is a desire to help other selflessly, able to be a model to other by contribution financially and intellectually, sustainable interest in the work we do. We have seen many come to us with excitement at first and disappear immediately when asked to shoulder a responsibility, deliver something in the right way. We need people to act as volunteers in many areas.
By acting as a mentor: We are looking for professionals – teachers, professors, doctors, engineers, lawyers, techies from all walks of life willing to act as mentors to our scholars. As all of them come from very impoverished families, there are no role models for them in life. So, if you are interested, we may take your help chart out a mentoring program for the benefit our scholars.
By becoming a volunteer: We need volunteers both within and outside India. We need sincere and dedicated and committed volunteers in India to implement our project in all over India. Please contact us at ambedkarscholarship@yahoo.com if you are interested.

What is the selection process?

Currently, the selection process is of three stages.

Advertisement: We send advertisement along with a copy of application form to Head masters of all Government and social welfare schools in Andhra Pradesh in June or July soon after the announcement of 10^th grade results. We ask them to inform the students who successfully completed their SSC in that year. We also advertise among Dalit and Dalit sympathetic egroups and known circles. We invite applications in a specified format along with all relevant documents. We also ask them to write small essays on the following three topics.

The essays are included to give them a chance to think before applying and to generate curiosity among the students on the life and work of Dr Ambedkar. We expect them to find a book and read about Dr Ambedkar before even thinking of applying to these scholarships.

Scrutiny: We tabulate all the applications received and prepare computer statement with all details. We reject incomplete and invalid applications.
Selection: We select students based on the marks obtained in 10^th grade. But we only consider applications with essays as a general rule, unless we see a exception in any case where there is no essay.

Why is it a one time scholarship rather than continuous scholarship?

Though we are not comfortable to handover Rs.5,000 at a time to the beneficiary fearing of misuse, lack of resources prevent us to do anything better than this at present. Our intention is to reimburse the costs for taking extra coaching; to buy books and other study materials needed for education. But it is not an easy task as we need financial resources for a full time employee and other incidental expenses which we do not have right now. So, we are satisfying with one time scholarship for now. We believe, doing something is better than doing nothing.

But still, we are confident that the scholarship money is being used in the best way possible by the scholars. This is due to the fact that all our scholars are bright and toppers among their creed and they know the value of education. They use the prize money only for furthering their educational goals.

Do Ambedkar Scholarships has any monitoring process in place once the scholarship is awarded?

Starting from 2006, we started sending a questionnaire (available on our website) to access our scholars’ progress in education once they received our aid. Results are encouraging. We will develop more meaningful and useful methodology to access the success as we go along.

How do you measure the success of a scholar in the project?

One way to measure the success is through a questionnaire we designed to get their feedback. We are thinking of other methods in order to measure progress more efficiently. Some of the methods in mind are – giving the aid in installments only after measuring the progress in the previous year, assigning each scholar a mentor to guide them and advice them in educational matters etc. But all these methodologies require funding and we venture into them slowly as we become financially sound. But we continue to think of better measuring tools as our goal is to help our scholars to the best way possible.

Why Ambedkar Scholarships is used as a singular noun?

As an organization, “Ambedkar Scholarships”, though it has a plural noun in it, is considered to be a singular noun rather than plural.

What improvements can I expect in Ambedkar Scholarships?