Sumeet Samos: Rapper’s Journey from Odisha to Oxford

Hard work is the key to success! If you genuinely desire for something and work hard for it, who says you can’t get it? No matter how big your goal is! This saying came true after the story of Sumeet Samos. Let’s get to know the story of Sumeet Samos, an anti-caste activist, a rapper by passion and an inspiration for the entire nation!

Meet Sumeet Samos

Sumeet Samos belongs to a Dalit Christian family. He has a passion for rapping. Through his raps, he confronts the world about the harsh reality of casteism in India.  He strongly believes that “conversion is a form of liberation from the caste system.”

Sumeet has been sharing his experience in Jeevan Jyoti, his boarding school in Odisha to getting selected in Oxford University and SOAS, University of London. 

Sumeet Samos is an activist and rapper. He also works at Radio Live, France, a channel created by various radio journalists and producers Aurélie Charon and Caroline Gillet, which unites the youths from various backgrounds to share their life experiences. Sumeet is also a writer for News Minute and Maktoob Media. 

Currently, Samos is staying in Tentulipadar, Odisha, at his home and is excited to spend his summer in the University of Oxford. 

Harsh Reality of Casteism in our Country

Sumeet, in a recent interview, shares his experience, “As a child, I was humiliated and insulted,” he says. The caste system in the country made his undergraduate life quite miserable. After the unfortunate death of Rohith Vemula, he realised that casteism is responsible for many of the cruel acts in society. 

“It was anger that made me resist. One day I went back to my hostel and vented my heart out on my Facebook page and slept. The next morning there were lots of views on the video and people started commenting that I was a Dalit rapper,”

Sumeet

He further talks about a certain incident that shook him,  “There is a mall behind our university and the watchman there did not allow me to enter the place. It wasn’t the first time this happened. I didn’t know if it was my looks or clothes. It was alarming and I had enough.”

“The presence of Dalits in public and private spheres is regulated by caste,” he says and the mall wasn’t the only space in which he was denied entry. Sumeet recalled several incidents from his early education where students from his community always sat behind in the classroom and how during Pujas, his classmates wouldn’t eat the food served by him.

“It was not just the students, the teachers would look at us with disgust, and would call us by names in the corridors. They will pass comments that the students from my community didn’t deserve to get educated,” he says. 

Sumeet’s Fight Back to the World

Sumeet Samos was strong enough to fight against the harassment. When he was a child, he used to go to the sunday market to buy the books on quiz. Regarding this , he says, “There used to be a box full of books in our school. I would take one home to read,” he says. “And in JNU I started with the works of G. Aloysius and began to read more literature written by Dalit scholars and writers, and also books on Christian experiences,” he adds.

Sumeet organises many Christian programs including songs and dances for their community.  “We gather for communion and sing and dance. Ours is a vibrant community,” he said.

He further conveys that his community members are very strong and very cohesive. The young rapper further adds, “There is no caste inside our Dalit Christian settlement but when I go out of it, I experience cognitive dissonance“.

Samos says that being born in a Christian family is an asset for him. His strengtheness relies on his faith. He quoted, Du Bois, that is “Double consciousness”, and says that “ I have Dalit consciousness against caste and a Christian consciousness in life.”

Sumeet agrees that the faith in his religion has given him freedom. Although he has faced discrimination and untouchability, he respects his religion like no one else. 

Sumeet Samos’s Work in French Radio 

He also talks about his days in JNU, he says that his journalist friend Dhrubo Jyoti referred to him to be a part of French Radio Live. 

He also got opportunities to visit France, at least two to three times a year for his work in the radio. And also he participates in festivals, concerts, and live performances, at least 3 to 4 times per week. Sumeet also shares his personal life and revelations in the interview.

Rapping is His Passion!

As a rapper, he released quite a number of albums in India itself, starting with Ladai Seekh le and Jaati. Yes the opportunities were not easy at the beginning, but his work replicated his lifelong hard work. Right after his education, the rapper started looking for jobs, so as to give support to his family. Relating to his job searching, he says, “I was exhausted one day and took a train to Delhi, while I was working in a hotel there, the owner of the hotel advised me to apply in JNU.”

Sumeet has 4.13k subscribers in his Youtube channel where he uploads his raps!

Samos’ Way to Oxford University

“Again in recent times, it was my friend Ritu who called me and told me why I didn’t apply for Oxford and I saw no reason why I shouldn’t,” he said. “I believe in signs. Earlier it was the hotel owner and now it was my friend, so I thought it must be some sort of cosmic indulgence,” he laughs and says!

The turning point in his life came when he got acceptance letters from both the universities he applied to- the University of Oxford and SOAS. His wants to study, “Caste, Central University spaces and Dalit Student politics in Contemporary India tracing the formation of Ambedkar Student’s Association in Hyderabad Central University to Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students Association in JNU.”

Apart from the strong reservation system in India, students like Sumeet suffer a lot in their professional as well as their personal lives. However it was his utmost hardwork and dedication and faith in his work which made him go to Oxford University. 

“A dream does not become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.” 

There is an essence of Sumeet’s in his own lyrics, “We build houses, we till your lands, we produce your food, we the artisans, it is our sweat and blood, so here you stand, don’t teach us merit, you good for nothing clans”. People like Sumeet Samos give us the motivation to work really hard until we get the best of what we deserve. 

We hope you liked the story of Sumeet Samos, of course, it is something to cherish! So this was the story of Sumeet Samos who inspires us to work hard till we are satisfied fully! Hope you got inspired by his struggle and how he got into Oxford University. Keep following Leverage Edu for more content updates. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn!