A 55-year-old Dalit woman who was raped allegedly by her neighbour at a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda on April 17 died late Saturday night during treatment at a hospital, police said.
Story continues below this ad
The victim had sustained injuries in the sexual assault and was in the government hospital since, they said.
The accused (28), a farm labourer, was arrested a day after the incident and is in judicial custody. “The victim sustained injuries on her face. The post-mortem on the body has been completed. The body will be handed over to the family for funeral rites. We are yet to receive the autopsy report,” the police said.
The victim is survived by her son and daughter-in-law. The police said they are investigating and gathering more evidence.
Bihar election: Eye on votes, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal takes part in Dalit Mahapanchayat
Top leaders of the Bihar BJP roundly attacked Congress party alleging that party ruled for 65 with the slogan of Garibi Hatao but poor people were never their priority
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and Bihar Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders attends the Dalit Mahapanchayat programme at Miller High School ground in Patna on Sunday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and Bihar Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State president Dilip Jaiswal along with Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary jointly attacked Congress party alleging that party did not do anything for the upliftment of the Dalits.
Advertisement
Advertisement
They all had gathered to address people during ‘Dalit Mahapanchayat’ organised by ‘Bihar Ravidas Vikas Sangh Parivar’ at Miller High School ground in Patna on Sunday (April 27, 2025) to honour Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar.
Mr. Meghwal said that the Constitution given by Baba Saheb Ambedkar gave equality, freedom and brotherhood. Referring to sandalwood, he said that no matter how you look at sandalwood, its fragrance remains the same.
“Man should also be like that and there should be no difference between man’s words and actions. Baba Saheb used to say that there is a difference between the words and actions of Congress leaders. He never used to like the Congress leaders,” Mr. Megwal said.
He also accused the Congress of conspiring against Baba Saheb. He said that “Baba Saheb is immortal”.
With an eye on Dalit votes, all the leaders, including Health Minister Mangal Pandey paid floral tribute to Baba Saheb’s picture and bowed in front of him.
Praising the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, Mr. Jaiswal said that it is continuously working for the upliftment of the Dalit community. He stressed that the Congress ruled the country for 65 years, but it kept the poor people poor only.
“Congress party did not try to take the poor forward despite coming to power with the slogan of Garibi Hatao (remove poverty). The poor people were never their priority,” Mr. Jaiswal alleged.
He also accused the Congress party for misleading the country. He alleged that Baba Saheb was never respected by Congress and the grand old party always humiliated him which the country has not forgotten.
“Everyone knows when Baba Saheb died, even two yards of land was not made available in Delhi for his last rites, not only this, fare was charged from his wife for carrying the body. Today the same Congress is shedding crocodile tears in his name,” Mr. Jaiswal said.
He claimed that Congress party did not even provide land for building Baba Saheb’s memorial, however when Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, Baba Saheb’s memorial was built in Delhi and the NDA government honoured him with Bharat Ratna.
Mr. Choudhary while addressing the Dalit Mahapanchayat echoed the same claiming only the NDA government is uplifting the Dalit society by following the footsteps of Baba Saheb.
“When the NDA government was formed in Bihar, then the work of giving reservation in the Gram Panchayat elections was done. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had written a letter to all the Chief Ministers protesting against the reservation. Whenever reservation was opposed, it was done by the Congress party,” Mr. Choudhary alleged.
He asserted that BJP led NDA talks about Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and India are moving forward under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Listing out the achievements of the State government, Mr. Choudhary said that the work is being done to change Bihar under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
“The central and state governments are working together for the welfare of Dalits. Schemes are being implemented continuously for the development of the poor in Bihar. People are getting direct benefits of these schemes,” Mr. Choudhary said.
The Deputy Chief Minister also stressed that following the footsteps of Baba Saheb, the double engine government of Mr. Modi and Mr. Kumar is implementing 22 types of schemes for the upliftment of Dalits and 80% of the families in Dalit settlements have got Ayushman cards.
Mr. Chaudhary said that in this year’s budget, the scholarship of Dalit students has been increased from ₹1000 to ₹2000 per month and a decision has been taken to build Savitribai Phule hostels in all 38 districts.
Raising questions on the BJP’s efforts to renegotiate with the ideologies of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Dalit rights activist Kancha Ilaiah said that the government’s perceived tacit support to the recent Central Board of Film Certification’s (CBFC) action against ‘Phule’ movie will hurt the OBCs, which the ruling party cannot afford.
He also raised questions on India’s feminist movement for not taking a public stance against the objections taken about the portrayal of Savitribai Phule.
“Here is a woman leader, a woman social reformer who had no parallel in India. I’m still waiting for the entire feminist response to Savitribai’s portrayal. After the controversy over the film, I have not seen large feminist groups talk about it,” he said. He was speaking to The Hindu in an exclusive interview on the background of the recent release of ‘Phule’, the biopic on Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule.
File picture of Kancha Ilaiah. | Photo Credit: The Hindu
“Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule did not just work for the education of the Dalit and Brahmin women, contributing to the social reform movement, but they changed the socio-political and economic ideas of India,” he said, adding that the couple was revolutionary in many ways, in their personal as well as social lives; and that Mahatma Phule’s contribution was to start the discourse on labour, agriculture and farmers through his writings in 19th century India.
“Mahatma Phule started first Dalit school and dug a well where the Dalits were invited to draw water, which was a revolution at that time. Now, this is the man who actually started talking about the farmers and the labour and the agriculture. In India, there was a school called agriculturalism before the Vedic philosophy came in. It spoke of the relationship between the seed and land, seed and water, seed and crop and the human beings. This was a philosophical domain. And Buddha tried to negotiate with that philosophy. But later on, the different schools of thought that emerged, the Sankhya school, the Vedic and Vedantic schools, they completely removed the agrarian philosophical school from any engagement. He brought it back,” Mr Ilaiah said.
Speaking about the social situation in the 19th century, he said, “When Phule was born in the 19th century, there were no rights for the Shudras and Dalits, including the Patels in Gujarat, the Reddys, the Khammas in Telugu States, the Lingayats and Vokaligas in Karnataka. In fact, his own stature was higher in the society, but when he had gone for a friend’s marriage, he was thrown out and was told that Shudras cannot participate in a Brahmin marriage or walk in the procession. He was also beaten up.” He added that despite a higher social status at that time, Mahatma Phule lived in Dalit settlement and started a school for the Dalits.
Mr. Ilaiah said that after coming to power, the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have been trying to renegotiate with the ideologies of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. “I am in a way was surprised after the BJP came to power with Narendra Modi as an OBC Prime Minister, even the RSS, BJP started renegotiating with Phule and Ambedkar and Savitri Bai in certain ways. And because of that renegotiation, they started celebrating Ambedkar Jayanti, etc.” He also said that the ruling party cannot afford to upset the OBCs. “They want to use OBCs only for votes. And when it comes to their history, they have problems with it. Phule absolutely, 100%, represents the Marathas, all Shudra , Reddys, Khammas,” he said.
He also slammed the government for not having any OBC or Dalit representatives in CBFC, the film certification body.
Will SC Rights Be Upheld? — Here's Why AJAK Rajasthan Presses Justice Balakrishnan Commission to Block New Groups in Scheduled Caste List
The letter strongly opposes the inclusion of new groups, such as Dalit Christians or Muslims, in the SC list, arguing that it could harm existing SC communities' rights.
Image- Nepalnews
Jaipur-The Dr. Ambedkar Anusuchit Jati Adhikari-Karmchari Association (AJAK Rajasthan) has taken a significant step to safeguard the interests of Scheduled Caste (SC) communities by submitting a detailed letter to the Justice K.G. Balakrishnan Commission. The letter expresses serious concerns over potential changes to the Scheduled Caste list under Article 341 of the Constitution and strongly opposes the inclusion of new groups, such as Dalit Christians or Muslims, which the organization believes could jeopardize the rights and benefits of existing SC communities.
Representing SC employees’ communities, AJAK Rajasthan highlighted the daily struggles of caste-based discrimination and hardships faced by its members. The organization urged the Commission to protect the constitutional rights of existing SC communities and ensure that no amendments to the SC list are made for political reasons. The letter emphasizes preserving the sanctity of Article 341 and preventing religion-based restrictions on SC rights.
Key Points Raised in the Letter
1. The list of SC/ST citizens in India was prepared on the basis of historical facts of economic, educational and caste discrimination. The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. Public servants posted in the legislature, judiciary and constitutional institutions take an oath to work according to the Constitution of India. According to Article 51 (a) of the Constitution of India, it is the constitutional duty of every citizen to obey the Constitution of India and behave accordingly. Thus contempt/violation of the Constitution of India falls under the category of punishable offence under Section 2 of the National Dishonour Act 1971.
2. According to the law made by the Ministry of DOPT of the Government of India, the caste of any citizen in India is inherited from his/her father on the basis of birth. The caste of the father is inherited by the son/daughter on the basis of birth. The children of a Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe father get the caste of their father i.e. Scheduled Caste. People belonging to Scheduled Caste are discriminated against on the basis of caste. Similarly, their children also face caste discrimination.
Even if the citizens of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe change their religion, then on the basis of the caste acquired on the basis of birth, they continue to face discrimination on the basis of social, economic, educational and caste in other religions as well. Citizens get their caste from their father, so their caste remains with them till their death and there is always discrimination against them. To solve the social, economic, educational and caste discrimination, the Constitution of India has given the Scheduled Caste / Scheduled Tribe citizens the right to constitutional representation on the basis of caste in Articles 14, 15, 16, 335, 330, 332, 243D and 243T and has tried to reduce their social, economic, educational and caste discrimination.
3. In India, representation in government services to SC/ST citizens in proportion to their population has been given by the Constitution of India on the basis of their social, economic and educational status. On the basis of Articles 15, 16 and 335 of the Constitution of India, the people of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have got the constitutional right of representation in educational institutions and government services in proportion to their population.
In Articles 15, 16 and 335, the constitutional right of representation has been given on the basis of caste. Neither in government services nor in politics, the constitutional right of representation has been given on the basis of religion. Therefore, the right to representation of Scheduled Castes cannot be restricted on the basis of religion. The Constitution of India does not impose any restriction on the citizens of SC/ST on the basis of religion even in Articles 15, 16 and 335. If the constitutional right of SC/ST citizens to government services and political representation is restricted on the basis of religion, then it would be a violation of Articles 14, 15, 16 and 335 of the Indian Constitution.
4. The Constitution of India provides the SC/ST citizens the constitutional right to representation in proportion to their population in Panchayats, Municipal Bodies, Legislative Assemblies and Lok Sabha. The Constitution of India, Article 243(d) provides the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe citizens the constitutional right to representation in proportion to their population in Gram Panchayats, 243T in Municipal Bodies, 332 in Legislative Assemblies and Article 330 in Lok Sabha. None of the articles providing the constitutional right to representation imposes any restriction on the basis of religion for giving representation in proportion to their population in Gram Panchayats, Municipal Bodies, Legislative Assemblies and Lok Sabha. The right to political representation has been given to socially, economically and educationally backward castes on the basis of caste and historical facts and evidence. Neither the right to representation has been given on the basis of religion nor can any restriction be imposed on it on the basis of religion.
5. On the basis of social, educational and economic and historical facts, the Government of India has made a law for the SC/ST citizens belonging to the castes listed in the Constitution of India that the caste of any citizen is determined by the caste of his father. The father of a citizen naturally determines his caste. The SC/ST citizens have got the constitutional right to representation in government services in proportion to their population under Articles 15, 16 and 335 of the Constitution of India.
They have got the constitutional right to representation on the basis of their caste in proportion to their population through Articles 2430, 243T, 330 and 332. There is no restriction on giving representation to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe citizens on the basis of religion in any of the above articles. The right to representation of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe has been given due to historical reasons of caste discrimination. There is no discrimination on the basis of religion. It is the people of Hindu religion who discriminate against some castes of Hindu religion. Therefore, there cannot be a restriction on the basis of religion for representation in Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
6. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in India were identified on the basis of social, economic and educational backwardness on the basis of caste census of 1931 in the year 1935 itself. After independence, after the list of Scheduled Castes and Tribes came in the Constitution of India in 1950, Scheduled Castes and Tribes were notified under the Constitution of India, the supreme law of India. From time to time, the State Government and the Central Government have been disrespecting and violating the Constitution of India for their political gains and have been changing the list of Scheduled Castes to serve their political interests.
According to Article 341 and 342 of the Constitution of India, the right to include or exclude any caste in the list of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes lies with the Parliament. The power to issue a decree for this lies with His Excellency the President. Violating Article 341 of the Constitution of India, the Chief Secretary of Social Welfare of Uttarakhand State included 38 castes in December 2013 and 10 general and backward class castes in 2014, declaring them as sub-castes/synonymous castes of artisans, in the list of Scheduled Castes. The Chief Secretary of Social Welfare has included 48 castes in the list of Scheduled Castes by deliberately violating his official responsibilities, duties, the Constitution of India, interfering with the powers of the Parliament and the President.
Due to this, the people of Scheduled Castes were deprived of the constitutional rights of representation in the state of Uttarakhand under Articles 15, 16, 332, 330, 335, 243 (g), 243 (t) of the Constitution of India. After the year 2013, except Haridwar district, the constitutional rights of representation in political and government services were availed by those citizens of general/backward class who do not fall in the category of scheduled caste. At present, out of 70 assembly constituencies of Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly, 13 are reserved for scheduled castes, out of which the caste certificates of 10 MLAs are illegal. They have obtained caste certificate as sub-caste of Shilpkar by violating Article 341 of the Constitution of India. Out of 4 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttarakhand state, Almora Lok Sabha constituency is reserved for scheduled castes. Even on that, a person from non-scheduled caste is elected. The situation of government services is even worse.
7. The Constitution of India provides the right of EWS to the citizens of backward class and economically weaker section, in which there is no restriction in the name of religion. If Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Parsis and Christians of all religions can get reservation in backward class and economically weaker section, then it is not justified to impose restrictions on the right to representation on the basis of religion in scheduled caste and scheduled tribe. There will be discrimination against citizens of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe on the basis of religion and their fundamental rights will be violated. The Constitution of India is a secular constitution.
8. The Constitution of India is the supreme law on the land of India. In India, the legislature, judiciary, executive and the public servants posted therein are the trustees of the Constitution of India. They have no right to spread anarchy in the country by making any changes in the Constitution of India. Spreading anarchy in the country is not in the interest of the king, subjects and citizens of any caste or religion. Pushing the country into anarchy will be harmful for everyone sooner or later.
9. On the basis of the above facts and circumstances, Dr. Ambedkar Anusuchit jati Adhikari Karmchari Association (AJAK Rajasthan) is of the opinion that even after 70 years of independence, it is not justified to include any new castes in the list of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes and to discriminate between the citizens of Scheduled Castes and Tribes on the basis of religion and to snatch their constitutional rights on the basis of religion or to impose restrictions on them is not appropriate.
Any SC/ST citizen, irrespective of any religion, faces discrimination on the basis of caste. At present, people of all religions discriminate against SC/ST citizens on the basis of caste. The caste of the father is passed on to the children by birth. Therefore, just like the father, SC/ST children also face caste discrimination. If SC/ST citizens are deprived of their constitutional rights on the basis of religion, it would be a violation of the Indian Constitution.
The letter highlights ongoing issues faced by SC communities, including caste-based atrocities, shrinking job opportunities due to privatization, and unfair rejections in government hiring labeled as “Not Found Suitable” (NFS). The Constitution provides specific protections in education, employment, and social, political, and economic spheres to address these historical injustices. The organization strongly opposes adding groups like Dalit Christians or Muslims to the SC list, which could dilute these protections.
AJAK Rajasthan urged the Justice Balakrishnan Commission to refrain from altering the SC list and to protect the constitutional rights of existing SC communities. The organization called for preventing religion-based discrimination and upholding Article 341 to safeguard the SC list.
The letter concludes by stating that protecting SC communities’ interests is not only a constitutional duty but also essential for upholding social justice and equality principles.
Bahujan Samaj Party activists burn a poster of Bollywood film "Aarakshan," or "Reservation," during a protest against the film in Thane, on the outskirts of Mumbai, India, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011. 3 Indian states have banned the movie, slated to be released Friday, following apprehensions that certain scenes and dialogues may trigger trouble, according to a news agency. (AP Photo) Bahujan Samaj Party activists burn a poster of Bollywood film "Aarakshan," or "Reservation," during a protest against the film in Thane, on the outskirts of Mumbai, India, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011. 3 Indian states have banned the movie, slated to be released Friday, following apprehensions that certain scenes and dialogues may trigger trouble, according to a news agency. (AP Photo)
Mumbai: A new Bollywood film tackling the thorny issue of caste quotas in Indian government jobs and education is set to be released this week in the face of vocal protests from minorities.
Politicians and interest groups championing low-caste Hindus and other marginalised groups that the system is designed to help have come out in force against Aarakshan (Reservation), despite it not hitting screens until Friday.
The head of India’s National Commission for Scheduled Castes has even said director Prakash Jha’s film was “anti-Dalit and anti-reservation”, referring to the community previously known as “untouchables”.
In Mumbai, publicity material was vandalised and more than a dozen activists arrested for protesting outside Jha’s office, prompting police to give him and the film’s leading actors extra security.
Elsewhere, the government of Uttar Pradesh state banned any promotion of the film on security grounds, protests have been held in Rajasthan and Punjab and a court case has been brought against a decision to pass the film uncut.
Jha, whose previous films have tackled social issues such as corruption and power politics, denies taking a position on the issue.
“Aarakshan is not anti-reservation and/or anti-Dalit,” the 59-year-old told reporters last week.
“In India there are people who benefit from this policy and there are those who have missed an opportunity because of the policy. Reservation and the quota system are a hard-hitting reality.
“It is almost an India versus India situation and by showing this in my movie, I am trying to bridge the gap.
“I am just trying to show how reservation has created two Indias.”
Reservation refers to the policy of guaranteeing jobs for socially disadvantaged groups, officially referred to as “scheduled tribes, scheduled castes and other backward classes”.
The affirmative action aims to provide equal opportunities for the poorest and most marginalised in India’s complex and deeply entrenched social hierarchy.
India’s 160 million Dalits, many of whom live in rural areas, face prejudice despite anti-discrimination laws, while harsh retribution is often meted out for flouting caste and sub-caste lines. – Sapa-AFP
ЁЯНнЁЯНнЁЯНнЁЯНнЁЯНнЁЯНнЁЯНнЁЯНнЁЯНнЁЯНн *BENEFITS OF MEDITATION* ЁЯМ│ЁЯШЗЁЯМЕ ЁЯФ╡ *Why to meditate?* ЁЯФ╡ *What is power of meditation?* ЁЯФ╡ *Why to do group sadhana?* ЁЯСЗЁЯП╗ЁЯСЗЁЯП╗ЁЯСЗЁЯП╗ЁЯСЗЁЯП╗ЁЯСЗЁЯП╗ЁЯСЗЁЯП╗ ЁЯШЗЁЯШЗЁЯШЗ *When 100 people do meditation together then its vibrations spread to a region of 5 kilometers around it and the negativity in this area is destroyed.* *ЁЯНА:^:^:ЁЯМ╣:^:^:ЁЯНА* ЁЯШЗЁЯШЗЁЯШЗ *Eienstien had scientifically explained how if we break 1 atom , it breaks all other atoms around it- called an atomic explosion.* *ЁЯНА:^:^:ЁЯМ╣:^:^:ЁЯНА* ЁЯШЗЁЯШЗЁЯШЗ *Our Rishis and Munis had said the same thing thousands of years ago – that is even 4% of the people on this planet do meditation that the rest 96% will also automatically come in bliss.* *ЁЯНА:^:^:ЁЯМ╣:^:^:ЁЯНА* ЁЯШЗЁЯШЗЁЯШЗ *You can also observe a tremendous change in ...
Sivaji.UT news.Chief,kadapa.AP. In India There are 143 reserved MPs and 62 SC.STs won in general seats.143(reserved seats)+62(general seats)=205..sc.st out of 543..Lok Sabha MPs.38%.Dr Ambedkar is winning slowly in Dr Ambedkar India....good. GOOD NEWS. The facts from EC.website.SC.ST.. 20%(19.7) are elected in General Seats merritoriously. Dalit,SC.ST candidates in general seats rarely win. ЁЯРЬЁЯРЬЁЯРЬЁЯРЬЁЯРЬЁЯРЬЁЯРЬЁЯРЬЁЯРЬЁЯРЬЁЯРЬЁЯРЬЁЯРЬЁЯРШЁЯРШЁЯРШЁЯРШЁЯРШЁЯРШЁЯРШЁЯРШЁЯРШЁЯРШЁЯРШЁЯРШЁЯРШЁЯРШ ALL INDIA LEVEL ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ In all India level Overall, since 2004, 5,953 SC/ST candidates have contested from (general seats ) unreserved seats in Lok Sabha elections, with 62 (or just over 1%) of them winning. In state Assembly elections, the number is almost similar, at 20,644 such candidates, and 246 recorded wins (1.19%). Lok Sabha elections Since 2004, the highest number of SC/ST winners in general seats were seen in 2024 last year’s Lok Sabha elections, at 22 (two of them women) – though, their number h...
Comments
Post a Comment