The Act provides for quotas in teaching positions in central institutions for persons from Scheduled Castes/Tribes, socially and educationally backward classes, and those from economically weaker sections.
Rehana Fathima, a woman's right activist, was facing charges under various provisions of the POCSO, Juvenile Justice and the Information Technology (IT) Acts for circulating a video in which she was seen posing semi-nude for her minor children, allowing them to paint on her body.
Radhika Vemula, Rohith's mother, who was accompanied by the 'dadis' and former JNU student Umar Khalid unfurled the national flag. They sang the national anthem along with thousands of people, including women and children who had gathered at Shaheen Bagh to celebrate the occasion.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the removal of reference to the Sikkimese-Nepalese as "people of foreign origin" from its January 13 verdict on tax exemption in Sikkim, following a plea by the Centre and others for modification.
Uniform Civil Code is aimed at replacing personal laws based on religions, customs, and traditions with one common law for everyone irrespective of religion, caste, creed, sexual orientation, and gender. Personal laws and laws related to inheritance, adoption and succession are likely to be covered by a common code.
In its reply, the state government said reservation solely on the basis of religion is also contrary to the principles of social justice and the concept of social justice aims to protect those who are deprived and discriminated against within the society.
Introducing UCC is a challenging task for any government. The complexities are real and difficult to negotiate as it deals with sensitive religious and cultural sentiments. How can it strike an easy balance between individual rights and community interests?, asks Ramesh Menon.
Dealing with the misuse of provisions of SC/ST Act and lodging of false cases, the bench said it was not due to the caste system but due to human failure. The directions passed on provision of arrest and conducting a preliminary probe before any case is lodged is uncalled for and the court should not have exercised its plenary powers, said the bench.
Although there is a lot of talk on social justice, Dalits in Tamil Nadu face atrocities of some kind every other day, Governor R N Ravi has said, apparently targeting the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam after a gap of about a month.
Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union leader Kanhaiya Kumar on Wednesday alleged the government flared up the issue of JNU to divert people's attention from the Rohit Vemula's suicide issue and subsequent developments.
A private member resolution seeking that the government implement the recommendations of the Sachar Committee report and other reports that have discussed the educational and social backwardness of Muslims and enact a legislation for the prevention of atrocities against minorities was moved in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.
While the BJP says it is confident Dalits will vote for it in the state assembly polls due this year-end, the Congress says it is paying attention to seats with 10 per cent or more Dalit population.
The future challenger to Narendra Modi would be somebody who can bring the Hindus and Muslims together again. The Hindus as Hindus, not broken caste groups, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Speaking at a function in Varanasi on the occasion of Ravidas Jayanti, she urged the audience to take the teachings of the saint to the masses. "He (Sant Ravidas) had dreamt of a society, where there is no discrimination and where every person is respected. You all should take forward his teachings to the masses, especially at a time, when there is so much violence and hatred in the society. His teachings are need of the hour," Priyanka Gandhi said.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shazia Ilmi on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking direction to the Centre to formulate a standardised uniform common code (UCC) for grant of alimony and maintenance to obviate hindrances caused by diverse set of personal laws prescribed by different religions.
Thenmozhi Soundararajan works to break the shackles of caste for Dalits.
As the posters suddenly sprang up in Kumbakonam, the VCK members staged an agitation demanding stringent action on the Indu Makkal Katchi for their affront on Ambedkar.
The concept of 'fairness by rulers' is deeply ingrained in Indians and any weakening of this dents the legitimacy of the ruler, warns military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The Supreme Court of India, by a majority view of 3:2, on Monday upheld the validity of the 103rd Constitution amendment providing 10 per cent reservation to people belonging to the economically weaker sections (EWS) in admissions and government jobs.
"The consequence of the demand to declare Hijab as an essential religious practice is huge because there is an element of compulsion or else you will be expelled from the community," Navadgi told the court.
The movement for reservations for Patels of Gujarat is full of contradictions and paradoxes, says Urvish Kothari.
A bill to modify the list of scheduled castes in Tamil Nadu by grouping of seven castes which presently exist as separate castes, was passed by the Lok Sabha on Friday.
The Cabinet held a detailed discussion regarding the five guarantees and its implementation, and has arrived at decisions, Siddaramaiah who headed the meeting told reporters.
Congress leaders say that controversies like the one triggered by Janardhan Dwivedi could be damaging for the party in the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha election.
The Houston-based Halliburton, one of the world's largest providers of products and services to the energy industry with over 55,000 employees, has agreed to pay the amount and furnish significant relief to settle a national origin and religious discrimination lawsuit brought by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
'Both the BJP and SP have workers and cadres across the state, and now it will boil down to which party manages booths smartly and gets its voters to come out.'
India's tweaking of IT rules allow formation of Centre-appointed panels, that will settle often-ignored user grievances against content decision of social media companies, Minister of State for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, adding that this was necessitated due to the "casual" and "tokenism" approach of digital platforms towards user complaints so far.
Economic criteria to ensure that the benefits of government policies reach the target group is not "proscribed" and a "recognised" basis of classification, the Supreme Court orally observed Wednesday while hearing pleas challenging the Centre's decision to grant a 10 per cent quota for the EWS category in admissions and jobs.
'Khaitan's film will continue to invite comparisons with Manjule's, but the fact that it is out there for viewers to see is perhaps a greater tribute to the original than is conveyed by the cautious desire to remake it,' says Vikram Johri.
'If you look at the entire protest on April 2, you will find it was not only about the Atrocities Act dilution, but the accumulated anger of the Dalit community against the BJP over the last four years.'
It is critical to think seriously about how to provide opportunities for children to not only learn but also imagine, dream, ponder and create, notes Chintan Girish Modi.
The BJP had attacked him and the AAP after a video went viral showing him attending the event on October 5 where hundreds took a pledge to convert to Buddhism and not consider Hindu deities as gods.
Supreme Court judge Justice DY Chandrachud has said that the decriminalisation of Section 377 of IPC by the apex court has enabled queer people to emerge as legally empowered citizens.
"Religious festivals seem to have become occasions to intimidate and bully others -- a far cry from when they were occasions for joy and celebration. Instead, there is intimidation and discrimination only on account of their religion, food, caste, gender or language," Gandhi said.
Women will have a decisive say as chairpersons in seven of Jammu and Kashmir's 20 districts.
Ambassador of India to the UAE Pavan Kapoor quoted a tweet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who said that COVID-19 does not see race, religion, colour, caste, creed, language or borders before striking.
'The police will give weightage to the socially strong.' 'The dominant caste is usually a powerful person, while the scheduled caste is normally powerless.' 'That is why FIRs are not registered.' 'Most of these complaints are by very poor people against very rich powerful people.'
Or has the world seen things like this before, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
In his condolence message, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "The untimely demise of noted actor Vivekh has left many saddened. His comic timing and intelligent dialogues entertained people." "Both in his films and his life, his concern for the environment and society shone through. Condolences to his family, friends and admirers. Om Shanti," the prime minister tweeted.
In the prevailing difficult circumstances, the Congress is the only party that can provide capable and decisive leadership to the country, Kharge asserted.
