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Jul 23, 2026 01:01 PM IST
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National Safai Karamchari Commission seeks report from Punjab over Barnala protest clash
- By : Babushahi Bureau
- First Published : Wednesday, Jul 22, 2026 08:40 PM
-1544438293003-178473300817.jpg "National Safai Karamchari Commission seeks report from Punjab over Barnala protest clash")
National Safai Karamchari Commission seeks report from Punjab over Barnala protest clash
Babushahi Bureau
Chandigarh, July 22, 2026: The National Safai Karamchari Commission (NSKC) has taken suo motu cognisance of media reports alleging police use of force during the ongoing sanitation workers' protest in Punjab's Barnala and has sought a detailed report from the Punjab government within seven days.
In a letter to Punjab Chief Secretary K.A.P. Sinha, NSKC Vice-Chairperson Hardeep Singh Gill directed the state to conduct an immediate, impartial and transparent inquiry into the incident and submit a fact-based report to the Commission.
The Commission said the allegations of police action against protesting sanitation workers are serious and stressed that safeguarding the rights and dignity of sanitation workers is a constitutional responsibility. It noted that sanitation workers are among the most vulnerable sections of society and their rights must be protected in accordance with Supreme Court directives.
The NSKC also said it would examine the role of the Barnala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and the district police within its jurisdiction. It asked the Chief Secretary to obtain a detailed report from the Director General of Police (DGP) on the alleged use of force and the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Gill also called for the protection of sanitation workers' rights, dignity and safety, and said strict action should be taken against any official found guilty after the inquiry. He further urged the Punjab government to initiate constructive dialogue with representatives of the protesting workers to ensure an early and peaceful resolution of the issue.
The Commission said it would continue to monitor the matter, if required, and reiterated that any compromise on the rights and dignity of sanitation workers would not be tolerated.
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‘Ready to fight it alone’: Chandrashekhar’s sit-in outside parliament is viral
Speaking to The Indian Express, Azad said he reached the Parliament complex around 11 pm after watching videos from Jantar Mantar and the protest march.
Images and videos of the MP's rain-soaked protest spread rapidly across social media, drawing huge scores of views and thousands of likes, shares and comments. (Photo: X/@BhimArmyChief)Beneath the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar inside the Parliament complex, Azad Samaj Party chief Chandrashekhar Azad – the Member of Parliament from Uttar Pradesh’s Nagina – spent two nights under a tarp, wrapped in a white raincoat from time to time, as heavy rain lashed the capital. Behind him, handwritten placards demanding education reforms and accountability over alleged paper leaks fluttered in the wind.
Images and videos of the MP’s rain-soaked protest spread rapidly across social media, drawing huge scores of views and thousands of likes, shares and comments as supporters hailed his overnight sit-in as a symbol of solidarity with protesting students.
As rain continued to pour over Delhi on Wednesday morning, Azad shared another video of him sitting in the rain, with a message on his X handle, writing: “Every drop of rain is acceptable, but injustice upon the innocent is not. No matter how powerful those who committed the injustice may be, no matter how great the force behind them, they must answer for it.” He added, “The thoughts of great souls are the strength of my struggle. Jai Bhim, Jai Bharat.”
рдмाрд░िрд╢ рдХी рд╣рд░ рдмूँрдж рд╕्рд╡ीрдХाрд░ рд╣ै, рдордЧрд░ рдоाрд╕ूрдоों рдкрд░ рдЕрди्рдпाрдп рд╕्рд╡ीрдХाрд░ рдирд╣ीं, рдЬिрди्рд╣ोंрдиे рдЕрди्рдпाрдп рдХिрдпा рд╡ो рдХिрддрдиे рд╣ी рддाрдХрддрд╡рд░ рдХ्рдпों рдиा рд╣ो, рдЙрдирдХे рдкीрдЫे рдХिрддрдиी рдмрдб़ी рд╢рдХ्рддि рдХ्рдпों рдиा рд╣ो, рд▓ेрдХिрди рдЬрд╡ाрдм рджेрдиा рд╣ी рд╣ोрдЧा।
рдорд╣ाрдкुрд░ुрд╖ों рдХे рд╡िрдЪाрд░ рд╣ी рдоेрд░े рд╕ंрдШрд░्рд╖ рдХी рддाрдХ़рдд рд╣ैं। рдЬрдп рднीрдо, рдЬрдп рднाрд░рдд। pic.twitter.com/14uRLsh41v— Chandra Shekhar Aazad (@BhimArmyChief) July 22, 2026
Azad, who began the dharna late Monday night, told The Indian Express Tuesday that he was compelled to act after watching videos of police action against students during the Cockroach Janta Party’s Parliament march that saw thousands of protesters storming the Jantar Mantar and the roads close to the Parliament on July 20, the day when the Monsoon session of the Parliament also initiated. The march also saw scenes of violence, assault and lathi-charge being unleashed on the protesters in massive numbers.
In a post on X announcing the protest, Azad wrote, “Whenever oppression begins to cross its limits, that is precisely when the sun of change starts to rise. The brutal treatment meted out today to children and young girls at Jantar Mantar has shaken me to my core.”
“It is with this pain and a resolve to safeguard democratic values that, starting today, I am sitting on a dharna beneath the statue of the most revered Baba Saheb in the Parliament House complex”, he added.
рдЬ़ुрд▓्рдо рдЬрдм рднी рд╣рдж рд╕े рдЖрдЧे рдмрдв़рдиे рд▓рдЧрддा рд╣ै,
рд╡рд╣ीं рд╕े рдмрджрд▓ाрд╡ рдХा рд╕ूрд░рдЬ рдиिрдХрд▓рдиे рд▓рдЧрддा рд╣ै।рдЖрдЬ рдЬंрддрд░-рдоंрддрд░ рдкрд░ рдмрдЪ्рдЪों рдФрд░ рдмрдЪ्рдЪिрдпों рдХे рд╕ाрде рдЬिрд╕ рдк्рд░рдХाрд░ рдХा рдмрд░्рдмрд░рддाрдкूрд░्рдг рд╡्рдпрд╡рд╣ाрд░ рдХिрдпा рдЧрдпा, рдЙрд╕рдиे рдорди рдХो рдЧрд╣рд░ाрдИ рддрдХ рдЭрдХрдЭोрд░ рджिрдпा। рдоैंрдиे рдЬрд▓िрдпांрд╡ाрд▓ा рдмाрдЧ рдХा рд╡рд╣ рджौрд░ рдирд╣ीं рджेрдЦा, рд▓ेрдХिрди рдЖрдЬ рдЬो рджृрд╢्рдп рд╕ाрдордиे рдЖрдП, рдЙрди्рд╣ोंрдиे… pic.twitter.com/iaLOkDTv5c
— Chandra Shekhar Aazad (@BhimArmyChief) July 20, 2026
Another post early Tuesday morning read, “Where the oath of the Constitution was taken, today I sit at the very same place to save the honor of the Constitution. I am fulfilling my duty against the atrocities committed on the innocent.”
рдЬрд╣ाँ рд╕ंрд╡िрдзाрди рдХी рд╢рдкрде рд▓ी, рдЖрдЬ рд╡рд╣ीं рд╕ंрд╡िрдзाрди рдХा рд╕рдо्рдоाрди рдмрдЪाрдиे рдмैрдаा рд╣ूँ।
рдоाрд╕ूрдоों рдкрд░ рд╣ुрдП рдЕрдд्рдпाрдЪाрд░ рдХे рд╡िрд░ुрдж्рдз рдЕрдкрдиा рдХрд░्рддрд╡्рдп рдиिрднा рд░рд╣ा рд╣ूँ।
рдЬрдп рднीрдо, рдЬрдп рднाрд░рдд।#рд╕ंрд╕рдж_рдоाрд░्рдЪ #рдЬंрддрд░_рдоंрдд्рд░ pic.twitter.com/J2ENfzZdNP— Chandra Shekhar Aazad (@BhimArmyChief) July 21, 2026
Speaking to The Indian Express, Azad said he reached the Parliament complex around 11 pm after watching videos from Jantar Mantar and the protest march.
“I returned home around 8:30 or 9 pm, but there was no network. Around 10 pm, I started watching videos. When I saw videos of young women students screaming and the way the police had treated them, I could not remain silent,” he said.
Describing the night-long protest, Azad said heavy rain prevented him from sleeping. “I came here at 11 pm last night. It rained heavily all night. I had to battle nature too. I couldn’t sleep because of the rain, which continued until around 9 or 10 this morning.”
Authorities used ‘excessive force’ on students
“Female students were beaten. Their arms and legs were broken, their heads were injured. Pellet guns and rubber bullets were used. Tear gas was fired. Lathis were used. They were kicked. Their clothes were torn,” Azad alleged, adding that videos showed “even when someone stood before the police with folded hands, ten people were beating him.”
The MP argued that the confrontation could have been avoided had the government engaged with protesters earlier.
“The protest has been going on for 30 days. Sonam has been on a hunger strike for over 20 days… Why didn’t the government talk to them then? Why only yesterday, after students had reached Parliament?” he asked.
Pradhan should resign on ‘moral’ grounds
While students have demanded Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, Azad said the issue went beyond one individual.
“Dharmendra Pradhan should resign on moral grounds because, in my view, 22 students lost their lives because of these failures. But even after his resignation, if the system isn’t fixed, things will only worsen. I want systemic reform,” he said.
Azad also questioned the government’s decision to deploy Air Force aircraft for transporting examination papers. “We are now having to use Air Force aircraft to transport examination papers. That means all the agencies below have failed. This indicates a collapse of the system. The government must explain why that has happened,” he said.
‘Fighting from within’
Azad said his protest inside Parliament was meant to represent students who could not enter the high-security complex.
“If they are fighting outside, then I will fight for them inside Parliament. Students cannot enter Parliament due to security restrictions. But I can fight for them from within. No one can stop me. I am ready to fight it alone. I will do whatever it takes. ”
Rejecting suggestions that the agitation was politically motivated, he said the issue was deeply personal. “I am not afraid of storms, rain, bullets or lathis because the youth for whom I am fighting are the backbone of this country. I do not want the nation’s backbone to weaken. I do not want their future to be destroyed.”
Throughout Tuesday, Azad continued posting updates on X. Sharing a video purportedly showing police action on protesters, he wrote that Delhi Police’s motto of “Shanti, Seva, Nyaya” had become “an irony” after the alleged assault on women students. Quoting poet Dushyant Kumar in another post, he added, “My aim is not just to create an uproar, my effort is that this state of affairs should change.”
рджिрд▓्рд▓ी рдкुрд▓िрд╕ рдХा рдЖрджрд░्рд╢ рд╡ाрдХ्рдп ‘рд╢ांрддि, рд╕ेрд╡ा, рди्рдпाрдп’ рд╣ै, рд▓ेрдХिрди рдХрд▓ рдЬंрддрд░-рдоंрддрд░ рдкрд░ рд╡рд░्рджीрдзाрд░ी рдж्рд╡ाрд░ा рдоाрд╕ूрдо рдмेрдЯिрдпों рдХी рдЕрд╕्рдоिрддा рдкрд░ рдХिрдпा рдЧрдпा рд╣рдорд▓ा рдЗрд╕ рдЖрджрд░्рд╢ рд╡ाрдХ्рдп рдХो рд╡िрдбंрдмрдиा рдмрдиा рджेрддा рд╣ै। pic.twitter.com/URB30veGkU
— Chandra Shekhar Aazad (@BhimArmyChief) July 21, 2026
Rashtriya Loktantrik Party chief Hanuman Beniwal also visited Azad’s protest site and said the government “will have to account to the country for every single lathi that was swung on the youth,” adding that “dictatorship is not acceptable in a democracy.”
Landmark burial raises hope for India's Dalit Christians
A file image of a Christian cemetery in Kerala, India. Rights activists are hopeful caste-based discrimination against Dalit Christians will gradually decline after a landmark burial in the southern state of Tamil Nadu ended a decades-long struggle for equal rights. (UCA News file photo)
Church leaders and Dalit rights activists in India say they are hopeful caste-based discrimination against Dalit Christians will gradually decline after a landmark burial in the southern state of Tamil Nadu ended a decades-long struggle for equal rights.
The optimism follows the burial of a Dalit Christian man in a common Catholic cemetery that had effectively been closed to Dalit Christians for more than 20 years.
A. Raju, a retired government schoolteacher from Kottapalayam in Tiruchy district and the father of a Catholic priest serving in Italy, died on July 17 from age-related illnesses.
What should have been a peaceful farewell became a painful reminder of the caste divisions that continue to affect many Christian communities in India.
When Raju's family sought to bury him in the common cemetery attached to St. Mary Magdalene Church, they were stopped by members of the dominant caste, who insisted Dalit Christians continue using a separate cemetery belonging to St. Sebastian's Church.
The family had already spent years fighting the issue in court. In 2014, Raju and four other Dalit Christians filed a civil suit seeking equal access to the common cemetery. A court ruled in their favor in 2024, declaring the cemetery must remain open to all Catholics regardless of caste.
Despite the ruling, opposition from some local residents forced Raju's family to keep his body at home for three days while officials tried to resolve the standoff.
After nearly nine hours of negotiations involving government officials, police, Church representatives and community leaders, a peace agreement was reached. Under heavy police protection, Raju was buried in the common cemetery on July 20.
For many Dalit Christians, the burial marked a small but significant victory in their long struggle for dignity and equal treatment within the Church.
Father Zacharias Devasagaya Raj, secretary of the Office for Dalits and Backward Classes of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), said the Catholic Church has long opposed caste discrimination, even though the practice persists in some places.
Speaking to UCA News on July 21, Raj said the Tamil Nadu Bishops' Council adopted a 10-point Dalit empowerment program in 1990 banning discrimination in churches and cemeteries. The CBCI reaffirmed that commitment in its national Dalit empowerment policy in 2016.
"Officially, the Catholic Church does not encourage caste discrimination. But in reality, it still exists in some places in the name of tradition," he said.
"It is unfortunate that even though he was the father of a priest serving in Italy, the family still had to struggle to bury him in the common cemetery," Raj said.
He said younger generations must reject caste discrimination.
"The world is moving toward digital technology and artificial intelligence, but some people continue to cling to the caste system, which should have no place among practicing Christians," he said.
Dalit rights activist Mariasusai Mary John, based in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, said the incident reflects a broader reality faced by Dalit Christians across India.
"Dalit Christians frequently face caste discrimination even after death," he told UCA News on July 21.
"In many villages, upper-caste Christians prevent Dalits from burying their loved ones in common cemeteries, forcing them to use separate burial grounds," he said.
John said discrimination extends beyond burial rights.
"Dalit Christians also face discrimination within the Church. Priests and nuns from Dalit communities are often overlooked for leadership and decision-making positions because of their caste background," he said.
He believes Raju's burial offers hope that change is possible.
"This incident gives us hope that one day caste discrimination will disappear. But for that to happen, Church authorities must take stronger initiatives and ensure that equality is practiced, not just preached," he said.
The word "Dalit," meaning "trampled upon" in Sanskrit, refers to communities historically treated as "untouchable" and placed outside the traditional caste hierarchy.
According to government data, about 201 million Indians belong to Scheduled Castes. Nearly 60% of India's estimated 25 million Christians come from Dalit and tribal communities.
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