Home of Dalit brothers who cracked IIT entrance gets pelted with stones

Two brothers from Pratapgarh, Brijesh (19) and Raju Saroj (18) cracked the IIT entrance exams. However, instead of getting felicitated, their house was pelted with stones. What was their fault? Brijesh and Saroj came from an underprivileged Dalit background.The boys ranked among the top 500. However, many in their village were far from impressed.The duo returned from a felicitation programme organised by chief minister Akhikesh Yadav on Sunday only to find that their house was being pelted with stone, reports NDTV.[caption id="attachment_2308180" align="alignleft" width="380"] The Saroj brothers. IBNLive[/caption]Following this attack, they were provided with protection and a group of policemen were briefly stationed outside their house in Allahabad's Pratapgarh area, the report adds.The identity of the attackers in not known as of now. "We don't know who threw the stones. It was very dark," Raju told NDTV. The Times of India quoted Raju as saying "There were five or six stones thrown at our home. We informed the police."The Saroj brothers are sons of a Pratapgarh-based Dalit daily wage labourer and have cracked the prestigious IIT entrance test. Raju secured 167th rank while Brijesh stood 410th in the IIT entrance exam, but were unable to secure admission due to lack of funds.However, the road has not always been easy for them, owing to the deep-rooted casteism in society. The villagers would mock the Saroj brothers when they dared to study. They were told that as Dalits, they need not study any further as they have no future. Even their drainage line was cut off a few weeks ago, says a report by The Times of India.However, support poured in for the brothers from many quarters. Sanitation NGO Sulabh International assured them that they will take care of all their financial expenses. Their achievement was lauded by politicians and film stars alike with Rahul Gandhi and Aamir Khan calling to congratulate them.While Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav announced that his government will bear the expenses of their admission, HRD Minister Smriti Irani said that their IIT admission fees will be waived. Yadav also gave the brothers a cheque worth Rs 1 lakh cheque and a laptop.One hopes that their IIT achievement will bring about a change in people's perception about the lower catses and they get more opportunity to make a difference.(With agency inputs)