Founder, Dhisha and a Graduate student of Sociology
As a young boy, Dinu read the extraordinary story Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. The story centers around a school in Tokyo during the Second World War. The school, run by Master Kobayashi, values freedom of expression and encourages students to embrace diversity and celebrate differences. This story had a significant impact on a young Dinu who believed that he would find this kind of environment for himself once he left the rigid discipline of the school and entered the higher education space.
However, upon arriving at college, Dinu was disappointed to find that the institution had rules and norms steeped in misogyny that bordered on moral policing – all in the name of ‘protecting’ their students. Women were barred from sitting in parts of the campus grounds. Mobile phone curfews were imposed in the evening hours. Bathing in the evenings was not permitted, lest silhouettes of bodies are visible through glass panes. Dinu found this unacceptable.
He was himself at the center of controversy and collision with the college administration in 2015 as a first-year student when he challenged the college rule that demarcated separate sections of the class for women and men. He was suspended from the college for violating rules, refusing to ask his parents to come, and allegedly bringing disrepute to the institution.
Undeterred by character assassinations within the institution and threats of physical harm by those outsides, Dinu fought for his dignity through legal means – lodging a complaint with the police when he was threatened, challenging the unjust decisions of the authorities in the Kerala High Court, and testifying before the Kerala State Youth Commission. Ultimately, he won against prejudice and injustice. He also brought his peers together to create a network that opposed misogynistic practices at their own college and other campuses. He then started an organization called Dhisha to work towards gender justice and democratic rights on educational campuses.
Today, Dinu is the popularly elected President of the Students Union on his campus, has focused his campaign on gender justice and equality. He continues to assist students who fight for equality by helping them draft petitions and facilitating legal, social, and counseling support. He also runs awareness campaigns across campuses and assists young people to overcome economic hardship and gain access to education.
Dinu.K is a student activist and has recently completed his Masters from Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady. He started an organization of socially committed youngsters, Dhisha that focuses on Gender Rights. He has completed BA in Sociology from Farook College, Kozhikode.
He has been awarded the Karma award for best social activist, initiated by MKR Foundation, chaired by Padma Shree MT Vasudhevan and K.V. Anoop Awardfor best campus social activist. He has also been awarded Dr. Ambedkar National Merit award for his academic performance. He has been writing essays, articles and poems in various weeklies of Kerala including Mathrubhumi, Madhyamam and Ezhuthu.