Dalits

Political parties, leaders outdo each other to claim Ambedkar's legacy

PM Modi says Congress 'snatched' rights of SC/STs; Rahul cites Telangana survey to claim that most gig workers from disadvantaged sections

Mayawati announces return of Akash Anand to BSP minutes after he apologised

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati has extended an olive branch to her nephew Akash Anand, offering him another chance to serve the party just hours after he issued a heartfelt public apology

BSP churn likely to create vacuum in Uttar Pradesh's Dalit politics

Analysts predict bleak future unless the party reinvents itself and sheds its perceived BJP ties. Radhika Ramaseshan writes

Fight for worship continues in WB, 130 Dalit families denied temple entry

Threatened, ostracised and pushed to the edge, a group of about 130 Dalit families in West Bengal's Purba Bardhaman district are pinning their final hopes on police and district administration to end a caste-based discriminatory tradition of three centuries and receive their Constitutionally-guaranteed right to worship their God. The families at Daspara area of Gidhgram village, all having 'Das' surnames and belonging to the traditional community of cobblers and weavers, have allegedly been forced to stay away from the steps of Gidheswar Shiv temple, the only place of worship in the locality, by the shrine committee and other villagers on grounds that they belong to a "low caste", victims alleged. At their wits' end, victims at the receiving end of this discrimination now plan to take "the fight to the end" and even seek legal recourse if the state administration fails to resolve the crisis. The discriminatory practice almost unheard in modern Bengal and violative of Article 25 of t

BSP controlled by BJP, says Udit Raj, asks Akash Anand to join Congress

Slamming BSP supremo Mayawati after she expelled her nephew Akash Anand from the party, Congress leader Udit Raj on Thursday claimed that the move showed the BSP is being controlled by the BJP, and invited Anand to join the Congress. Mayawati would not have taken such a "suicidal step" without being under pressure, he said. Mayawati on Sunday removed her nephew Akash Anand from all party posts, appointing his father Anand Kumar and Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Gautam as national coordinators in his place, and said she would not name a successor in her lifetime. Kumar, however, turned down the offer. A day after Akash Anand's removal, Mayawati on Monday said she expelled him "in the interest of the party and the movement". Mayawati said that Akash's response to her action against him on Sunday was "selfish and arrogant". Addressing a press conference here, Congress leader Udit Raj said the rise of the BSP has been different from other parties as it started with a social movement and later

Amit Shah's remarks reflect BJP's old mentality, says Ambedkar's grandson

Babasaheb Ambedkar's grandson Prakash Ambedkar alleged on Wednesday that Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on the father of the Constitution reflected the BJP's "same old mentality". Several MPs of the INDIA bloc staged a protest in Parliament premises demanding Shah's apology for his remarks on B R Ambedkar which they claimed were an insult to B R Ambedkar. The Congress also demanded that Shah apologise publicly and in Parliament. "Before the BJP came into existence, its forerunners Jan Sangh and RSS had opposed Babasaheb while the Constitution was being adopted," Prakash Ambedkar, who heads Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, told reporters in Pune. He said Shah's statement has brought the same old mentality of BJP to the fore. "There is nothing new in the statement. They are not able to execute their old plans. Not because of Congress, but because of Babasaheb Ambedkar and they will continue to sulk," said Prakash Ambedkar. Congress general secretary-in-charge communications Jairam

How Dalit divides and political ties create a complex battle in Maharashtra

In wake of Supreme Court's sub-classification verdict, SHREYAS UBGADE analyses how ideological divides and political alignments of Dalit groups make this a complex electoral battle in Maharashtra

Saini-led Haryana govt implements sub classification of Scheduled Castes

The previous BJP government had argued that the benefits of the reservation in the state had accrued to Jatavs

Understanding Haryana's Dalit sub-castes and their political significance

Some analysts believe Dalits will support the Congress en bloc but others think that a major chunk of the community, especially some of the less dominant SC sub-caste groups, might vote for BJP

SC asks IIT to grant admission to youth who missed fee submission deadline

The Supreme Court on Monday came to the rescue of a Dalit youth, who had lost his seat in IIT Dhanbad after missing the deadline to deposit a fee, by asking the institute to admit him to the BTech course. We cannot allow such a young talented boy to go away. He cannot be left in lurch, a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said. The top court used its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution in asking the IIT Dhanbad to admit Atul Kumar into its Electrical Engineering BTech course. We are of the view that a talented student like the petitioner who belongs to a marginalised group who did all to secure admission should not be left out... we direct that candidate is granted admission to IIT Dhanbad and let him be in the same batch to which he would have been granted admission if the fees would have been paid, the bench said in the order. Article 142 of the Constitution empowers the top court to pass any order in th

AAP trying to take away Dalits' rights: Delhi BJP president on MCD polls

The MCD order said that the matter was again placed before the Lt Governor as directed by him

Congress anti-Dalit, 'insulted' Kumari Selja: Amit Shah at rally in Haryana

Union Minister Amit Shah on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Congress, calling it an "anti-Dalit" party and said it "insulted" Dalit leaders like Kumari Selja and Ashok Tanwar. Shah also lashed out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remarks on reservation and asserted that if there is anybody who can protect the quota, it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Shah was addressing a poll rally at Tohana for the October 5 Haryana Assembly elections. "The Congress party is an anti-Dalit party," alleged Shah in his address. "The Congress always insulted Dalit leaders, be it Ashok Tanwar or sister Kumari Selja. The Congress insulted everyone," he further alleged.

Mayawati urges Dalit leaders to break ties with Cong ahead of Haryana polls

Ahead of the assembly elections in Haryana, BSP supremo Mayawati on Monday urged Dalit leaders to sever ties with the Congress and other "casteist parties" and follow the path laid down by Dr BR Ambedkar. The comments come amid attempts by the alliance of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) to position itself as a pro-Dalit alternative in Haryana. In a series of posts on X, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister accused the Congress and other "casteist parties" of using Dalit leaders only in times of trouble and later marginalising them. She said in Hindi, "The political developments in the country so far have proven that the Congress and other casteist parties only remember Dalits during their bad days and appoint them as chief ministers or to other key organisational positions temporarily." "But in their good days, these parties mostly sideline Dalits and replace them with casteist individuals, as is currently being witnessed in Haryana," she ...

SC issues notice to centre on RJD's plea against HC verdict on quota limit

The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from the Centre and the state government on a plea of Rashtriya Janata Dal against a Patna High Court order setting aside the amended reservation laws in Bihar that had led to raising of quotas for Dalits, tribals and backward classes from 50 per cent to 65 percent. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra took note of the submissions of senior advocate P Wilson, appearing for RJD, that the plea needed to be decided. "Issue notice and tag with the pending pleas," the CJI said. On July 29, the top court, while hearing other similar 10 pleas, had refused to stay the high court order that set aside the amended reservation laws in Bihar that enabled the Nitish Kumar government to raise quotas 50 per cent to 65 per cent. The bench, however, had agreed to hear the petitions of the Bihar government against the verdict. The state government has also moved the top court against the high cour

Tamil Nadu's Dalit mosaic: Big 4 sub-groups cover 85% of the picture

In the second of a three-part series, Business Standard looks at sizeable variations in education levels and employment within SC sub-categories in Tamil Nadu

No Dalit, Adivasi, or OBC in Miss India list, I checked, says Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said he checked the list of former Miss India but found no Dalit, tribal, or OBC among the winners. Gandhi made the remark during a 'Samvidhan Samman Sammelan' here, while pressing for a nationwide "caste census". The former Congress chief said that without the participation of "90 per cent" of its people, the country cannot operate. "I have checked the list of Miss India, which did not have any Dalit, Adivasi (tribal) or OBC women. Some will talk about cricket or Bollywood. No one will show the cobbler or plumber. Even top anchors in the media are not from the 90 per cent," he said. "They will say Modiji embraced someone and we have become superpower. How have we become superpower when 90 per cent people has no participation?" he asked, attacking the mainstream media of the country. The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha also alleged that the BJP might say that he was trying to divide the country with his demand of a caste census. "We want

Other side of the caste debate: When Dalits turn against their own

Recent SC order allowed states to implement sub-classification of reservations

Cauldron of Dalit politics boiling after Supreme Court's judgment

The ruling on sub-classification within SCs and STs has sparked sharp reactions from several political parties and activists alike

Award Bharat Ratna to Kanshi Ram or stop misleading Dalits: Mayawati to BJP

Mayawati on Friday hit out at the BJP over a party MP seeking the Bharat Ratna for Kanshi Ram, saying the saffron party, which is in power at the Centre, should either award the highest civilian honour to the BSP founder or stop "misleading" Dalits. BJP MP from Shahjahanpur, Arun Kumar Sagar, on Thursday demanded in the Lok Sabha that Kanshi Ram be conferred with the Bharat Ratna. Hailing Kanshi Ram as a 'Bahujan Nayak', Sagar said the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) founder was an ace politician and a social reformer who dedicated his entire life to the welfare of the downtrodden. BSP chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati, in a post in Hindi on X, said if the BJP-led central government confers the Bharat Ratna on Kanshi Ram, the party would welcome it wholeheartedly. "Instead of a Dalit MP of BJP from UP demanding Bharat Ratna for BSP founder Shri Kanshi Ram ji, (the BJP) should immediately get it done as its government is in power at the centre and the BSP will welcome

PM Modi has ended rule of law, says Rahul on Dalit woman's death in MP

Hitting out at the BJP over the death of a slain Dalit youth's sister in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ended the rule of law and asserted that "we will create a system where even the weakest person will be able to raise his voice strongly against oppression". The woman, who had lodged a case last August claiming her brother, a Dalit, was beaten to death by some persons pressuring her for a compromise in a harassment case, died on Sunday after she fell from an ambulance carrying her uncle's body in Sagar. Notably, her uncle Rajendra Ahirwar was beaten to death on Saturday night by some persons over an old enmity, police sources said. In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, "Narendra Modi has ended the 'rule of law'. My heart is filled with pain and anger just thinking about what the BJP leaders have done to this Dalit family in Madhya Pradesh." It is a matter of shame that under the BJP rule, the governmen