Three individuals, including two minor boys and a 19-year-old youth, have been arrested for the brutal assault of a 17-year-old Dalit school student in Tamil Nadu. The assault, which resulted in the victim suffering severe injuries including severed fingers, is alleged to have stemmed from a dispute over a kabaddi match or a love proposal. Police are investigating the incident and have invoked provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against the accused.
'So my question was, 'What is it that you are proud of? What have you achieved? What is your contribution?' 'He had no answer.'
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge alleges that Form 7 was misused under the previous BJP government to delete voters 'en masse' ahead of the May 2023 Assembly polls. He claims a large-scale voter deletion attempt was made in the Aland constituency, targeting Congress supporters, especially Dalit and minority voters.
Her claims of being detained overnight at the police station without food or sleep and being asked to drink toilet water by police personnel have sparked widespread outrage.
'We share and support the ideology of the NDA and will not work against the NDA.'
'The Congress has faded and fighting for survival.'
In the slot of rural poor, there are those who struggle to pull themselves out of crumbling hovels, and there are the Jamtara-like bunch who turn to crime. Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound is about the former, whose quest for respect and dignity is thwarted because they are underprivileged, notes Deepa Gahlot.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accuses the BJP-led government of stealing votes with the help of the Election Commission during a rally in Siwan, Bihar.
The BJP is hopeful of improving its performance in Dalit-dominated constituencies in Delhi ahead of the February 5 assembly polls, following a sustained outreach campaign. The party failed to win any of the 12 SC reserved constituencies in the 2015 and 2020 elections. The party has been out of power in the city since 1998.
In a significant move, 130 Dalit families in West Bengal were finally allowed to enter the Gidheshwar Shiv Temple after being barred for nearly three centuries due to caste discrimination. The families, who are primarily cobblers and weavers, had faced social and economic exclusion for their attempts to worship at the temple. Local authorities intervened after multiple rounds of discussions with village elders, temple servants, and political leaders, leading to a resolution of the long-standing dispute.
Activist Manoj Jarange warns of political consequences if the Maratha community is 'betrayed' on quota promises, asserting that all Marathas will be included in the OBC category. He also addresses concerns from OBC leaders and the ongoing agitation.
'If the BJP had its way, it would sideline him in favour of someone else. But that's not feasible. There is no vote catcher in Bihar for the BJP.'
In the run-up to the assembly elections in Delhi, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal announced an Ambedkar scholarship for free foreign education of the city's Dalit students. The scholarship is a response to the BJP's "insult" of Ambedkar, Kejriwal said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah "insulted and made fun of Babasaheb Dr Ambedkar in Parliament. Crores of people who love Ambedkar were deeply pained," the former Delhi chief minister said. Kejriwal added that the scholarship is a response to the insult meted out by the BJP to the chief architect of the Indian Constitution. Under the scheme, any Dalit student from Delhi will be able to receive education in foreign universities. If they get admission in any such university, the Delhi government will bear the entire cost of their education, travel and accommodation. Children of government employees will also be eligible for the scheme.
The Bombay High Court has upheld the suspension of a Dalit PhD student from the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS) for allegedly participating in a politically motivated protest against the central government's policies. The court found that the student's participation in the protest, under the banner of TISS' student organization, brought disrepute to the institute.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has called for Aligarh to be renamed 'Harigarh', drawing parallels with the renaming of Ayodhya and Prayagraj. He also paid tribute to former CM Kalyan Singh and criticized the Samajwadi Party.
Maharashtra Minister Chhagan Bhujbal opposes including Marathas in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota, citing limited reservation available for existing OBC communities and warning of potential protests if their share is reduced.
'No political party can antagonise Ambedkarite voters, particularly the neo-Buddhists.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of protecting individuals involved in voter deletion and election rigging, citing data from Karnataka and Maharashtra.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman criticizes the DMK government in Tamil Nadu, alleging corruption, caste-based crimes, and a rise in drug abuse. She dismisses the DMK's claims about language and Dravidian identity as a distraction from their governance failures.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has reached out to the SCs and the poor with the accelerated implementation of various schemes, especially the B R Ambedkar housing scheme.
After a long time, here's a film that does justice to the people whose stories are never heard or written about, notes Divya Nair.
Some of the issues Vivek Agnihotri raises in The Bengal Files are valid, but today, the need of the hour is to find ways of negotiating peace not pouring oil over troubled waters, asserts Deepa Gahlot.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of halting military conflict with Pakistan within five hours of being asked by then US President Donald Trump. He made the allegations during a rally in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, also criticizing the media and the deletion of names from electoral rolls.
The upper caste people, mostly Vokkaligas, allegedly took away the 'Utsava Murthy', the metallic festival idol of the deity for performing rituals outside the temple in Hanakere village.
'No one can ignore PK's prediction about Nitish Kumar's party.'
Opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy appeals to MPs to vote with conscience in the upcoming vice presidential polls, urging them to prioritize the spirit of India and parliamentary traditions over party loyalty.
'Arundhati Roy is like a ballerina performing on a high wire, cool, supremely at ease but conscious of all the adoring eyes on her,' notes P Vijaya Kumar.
The move, a first in the country after the Supreme Court order, is intended to consolidate the BJP's Dalit outreach in Haryana.
'And then the people who call themselves great nationalists, I can bet you that 99 per cent of them are dodging taxes, have sent their kids to America, or are doing everything to make sure that what goes on in this country doesn't affect their personal wealth or their whatever bull*&$%.'
A Dalit groom's wedding procession was held under heavy police protection in Rajasthan's Ajmer district after the bride's family expressed concerns about potential opposition from upper castes. Around 200 police personnel ensured the safety of the traditional 'Bindoli' ceremony, where the groom Vijay Regar rode a mare to his bride Aruna Khorwal's village. The bride's family had approached the authorities after anticipating possible resistance from locals. The police presence prevented any incidents and ensured the wedding procession took place peacefully.
'The quality of justice is directly linked to the quality of judges -- if that suffers, justice delivery suffers.'
According to the police, the survivor played a crucial role in exposing her alleged abusers by saving their phone numbers and documenting their details, all vital evidence in the case.
A group of around 130 Dalit families in West Bengal's Purba Bardhaman district have been facing discrimination for centuries, being denied access to a local temple. The families, belonging to the traditional community of cobblers and weavers, have been ostracized and face economic hardship due to this caste-based practice. Despite recent attempts by the administration to resolve the issue, the situation remains tense and the families are left with few options.
This divergence is likely to intensify political dynamics both within the party and across the state, particularly as the opposition Mahagathbandhan -- comprising the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress, and Left parties -- has been aggressively protesting the SIR and demanding its immediate scrapping.
As many as 101 people were sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Koppal district, Karnataka, for setting on fire the hutments of the Dalit community.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has launched a 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar to advocate for fair elections and protect voting rights, alleging irregularities in electoral rolls and accusing the BJP of attempting to disenfranchise voters.
'Handling or mitigating a rebellion is not a corporate plan with quarterly, half-yearly and annual goals and results but an aggregation of the effort of several years.'
Sixteen people of a village in Medak district of Telangana were arrested for allegedly enforcing a social boycott on members of a Dalit family after they refused to play 'Dappu' (percussion instrument) during village ceremonies, police said on Tuesday.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagging the 'deplorable' conditions in residential hostels for Dalit, ST, EBC, OBC and minority students and the delay in post-matric scholarships for those from marginalised communities.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which pulled off a hat-trick of wins in Haryana by bucking anti-incumbency, managed to make significant inroads into the Dalit seats and Jat strongholds.
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