Dalits

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

LS polls: Dalit colonies of western UP want basic necessities, dignity

In the rural expanse of western Uttar Pradesh's Hathras and Firozabad, where the pastoral beauty belies deep-seated challenges, those living in Dalit colonies want basic necessities and dignity and freedom from filth and sewage. Several villages this PTI reporter visited had a Dalit colony separately and these villages had debilitating homes and sanitation issues. In these villages, the realities of sanitation and poverty shape the narratives of women like Aarti Devi and Maya, whose voices echo the aspirations and frustrations of their communities. In Hathras's Pilakhana, the air is heavy with the stench of stagnant water that surrounds modest homes, many of which are precariously perched in disrepair. For Aarti Devi, a Dalit woman whose days are consumed by cleaning the households of so-called upper caste people, her own living conditions are in stark contrast with the cleanliness she strives to achieve elsewhere. "Our houses are swallowed by filth and sewage. We clean the homes

Modi govt wants country without dalits, backward communities: WB CM Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the Narendra Modi government of attempting to marginalise the SCs, STs, and OBCs. Speaking at a rally in support of TMC candidate Mahua Moitra at Tehatta in Nadia district, Banerjee criticised the BJP government's 'falsehoods' about citizenship benefits for marginalised communities, warning that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) could jeopardise the rights of SCs, STs, and OBCs. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi is lying about the benefits of UCC that it will help everybody. Instead, if UCC is implemented, it will put at stake the existence of SCs, STs and OBCs. BJP will destroy the constitution. But rest assured, we will not let it happen," Banerjee said. The TMC chief said for the past 10 years, the BJP has been spreading lies about Matuas and other backward castes getting citizenship through the CAA, which is a ploy to take away one's already existing bona fide citizenship rights and deport them to concentration camps. The ..

Modi is 'Ambassador' of small farmers and small entrepreneurs: PM

"When I nudge people to buy Khadi and wear Khadi, then I connect the women, Dalits and backwards communities associated with Khadi to the markets," Modi noted

Dalits, OBCs, tribals biggest beneficiaries of pro-poor schemes: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that Dalits, OBCs and tribals are the biggest beneficiaries of his government's pro-poor schemes, asserting that its greatest achievement in the past ten years is to pull 25 crore people out of poverty. Speaking after inaugurating and laying the foundation stones of 1.3 lakh houses under the Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY), via video conference, Modi said that for any poor person having his own house is a guarantee of his better future. See the figure of 1.3 lakh houses. Even when I attended a national-level programme for giving houses under PMAY, I did not see such a huge figure. I congratulate the Gujarat government. For any poor person, having his own house is a guarantee of his better future, Modi said. The biggest beneficiaries of our government's pro-poor scheme are Dalits, OBCs (other backward castes) and tribals, Modi said, responding to the opposition's allegations that his government is ignoring SCs, STs and OBCs. Modi said

Tribals, Dalits will be eligible for pension on reaching 50 years: CM Soren

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday announced that tribals and Dalits in the state will be eligible for pension benefits on reaching the age of 50 years. Soren made the announcement while addressing a function on Ranchi's Morabadi ground organised to mark the completion of four years of the JMM-led government in the state. "The government has decided to provide pension benefits to tribals and Dalits on reaching the age of 50 years. The death rate among them is high and they do not get jobs after 60 years," he reasoned. Soren claimed that only 16 lakh people had received pension benefits in the 20 years after the formation of Jharkhand in 2000 but his government has provided pension to 36 lakh people, mostly those aged above 60 years. "In four years of our government, we have given pension benefits to 36 lakh people above 60 years of age, widows above 18 years of age and also physically challenged persons..." he said. Soren asserted that his government was relentlessly