“The value of a man was reduced to his immediate identity and nearest possibility. To a vote. To a number. To a thing. Never was a man treated as a mind. As a glorious thing made up of stardust. In every field, in studies, in streets, in politics, and in dying and living.”— Dr Rohith Vemula
The Diploma in Anti-Caste Mental Health Practices is a 12 month in-person exploration in Bengaluru starting from June 2026 informed by the Phule-Ambedkarite, Feminist and Narrative practices.
It is a collaboration between The Blue Dawn and Narrative Practices India Collective.
Our work has been inspired by the cultural movement and protest cultures of the Ambedkarite movement, and the inception of this course is a result of so many such stories of resistance and love from the movement.
Although anti-oppressive mental health practices are gaining influence in India, discussions on how caste and collective meaning-making are fundamental to addressing structural issues have been overlooked in mainstream mental health practices and curriculums.
The wisdom of lived experiences, and the vocabulary of groups who are forced to the margins has been dismissed or is limited to community-level programs. Imagining this Diploma that explicitly focuses on anti-caste mental health care, as a practice in itself is a form of resistance against the mainstream ideas of mental health framework in India.
Our vision through this course is to bring in tools for transformative mental health practices where every community and individual is seen as a glorious thing made up of stardust.
We will be exploring maps to navigate through territories of life which are guided by these beliefs,Communities and people are experts of their own lives, who have know-hows and wisdom in responding to adversities which are stored in the stories of their lived experiences.
We are all making meaning of our experiences but this meaning making is influenced by the socio-cultural-historical-political intersections.
All the problems in this world are located in structural systems of oppression and not in communities and people’s bodies and identities.
We are all made of stories and stories is how we make sense of the world around us and ourselves. No story is fixed which means we can re-author them in our preferred ways.
Stories and identity construction is political because stories are advantaged and disadvantaged based on their gender, sexuality, skin color, caste, class, religion, region, ability, schooling, etc.
This exploration will happen through sharing and drawing on participants' and trainers’ lived experiences and emphasize on co-learning as peers and developing a community that co-travels together.
To complete the diploma participants will be expected to attend and participate in the training explorations and co-learning along with their assignment and the end of the diploma presentation sharing.To complete the diploma participants will be expected to attend and participate in the training explorations and co-learning along with their assignment and the end of the diploma presentation sharing.
Before finalising your participation, there will be a process of interview and review between 15 May to 30 May 2026. Post that, all applicants will receive an email about their participation by 11th May 2025.
Some positions are reserved for full scholarships which are available for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Castes (OBC), Nomadic Tribes (NT), Denotified Tribes (DNT) and Indigenous / Adivasi participants. If you would like to be considered for the scholarship, please email anticastemhpractices@gmail.com during the application process.
For any queries please email us at anticastemhpractices@gmail.com
Payment can be made in following instalments:
3 instalments in June 2026, August & October 2026
or
4 instalments in June 2026, August 2026, October 2026 & November 2026
It is non-refundable