Page 2 - Dalits

Dalit leader Gaddam Prasad Kumar set to be Telangana Assembly speaker

The Congress has decided to make a Dalit leader the speaker of the Telangana Assembly to reiterate its commitment to the empowerment of the weaker sections of the state

At press meet, Rahul asks reporters to raise hands if they are Dalit, OBC

Rahul Gandhi added that this is why "Congress is asking what the share of Dalits, tribals, and other backward classes (OBCs) is in the country's assets, institutions, and population"

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad meets T'gana CM to discuss dalit issues

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad called on Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and discussed issues related to Dalits, including attacks on the community. Hailing the programmes, including the flagship financial assistance 'Dalit Bandhu' scheme, which have been implemented in Telangana for the uplifitment of the Dalits, Azad said they have become a role model for the country, an official release said on Friday. Azad and Rao discussed Dalit issues, division of people in the name of caste, social discrimination and attacks on Dalit communities in the country, it said. The Bhim Army chief expressed hope that the development activities of Dalits in Telangana will pave the way for solving the problems of the community in the country in future. Azad praised the installation of the 125 feet statue of B R Ambedkar in Hyderabad by the BRS government and naming the new Telangana Secretariat complex after Ambedkar, it added. He invited the CM to be the chief guest at the Bhim Arm

26 Oppn parties demand caste census, vow to fight crimes against minorities

A group of 26 opposition parties on Tuesday demanded the implementation of the caste census while asserting that they have come together to defeat the "hatred and violence being manufactured against minorities" as well as "rising crimes against women, Dalits, tribals and Kashmiri Pandits". The opposition alliance that will take on the ruling NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be called Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and an 11-member committee will be set up for coordination, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced after a meeting of the parties here. In their 'Samuhik Sankalp (joint resolution)' released after the meeting, the parties expressed their steadfast resolve to safeguard the idea of India as enshrined in the Constitution. "The character of our republic is being severely assaulted in a systematic manner by the BJP. We are at a most crucial juncture in our nation's history. The foundational pillars of the Indian Constitution secular .

AP govt approves building 47,000 houses for poor, graveyards for Dalits

The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet on Wednesday announced decisions including conferring full rights to assigned land-owners and sanction for construction of graveyards for dalits in 1,966 villages among others. The state Cabinet meet presided over by Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy sanctioned full rights on assigned lands (lands given to SCs) amounting to 63,192 acres for 66,111 persons. "In case of death of original beneficiaries, their legal heirs would get the full rights," the state government said in a press note shared on Wednesday. The Cabinet also approved the welfare calendar for July, including laying the foundation for 47,000 houses for the poor in 1,366 acres of land in the R5 zone of Capital Region Development Authority area (CRDA). Similarly, the Cabinet has permitted constructing burial grounds for scheduled castes in 1,966 villages. Talking to reporters, Information and Public Relations Minister Chelluboyina Srinivasa Krishna said 1,051 acres of land had been sancti

Anti-national powers against good education sent Sisodia to jail: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said some "anti-national" people in the country sent Manish Sisodia to jail because they do not want quality education for Dalit and underprivileged children. Kejriwal also said he holds B R Ambedkar in higher regard than Mahatma Gandhi because of his unshakable resolve in the face of adversities in pursuit of education. Addressing an event to mark Ambedkar Jayanti here, Kejriwal said Ambedkar dreamt of quality education for all in government schools, but "these people ruined government schools in the last 75 years and private schools mushroomed in the country". "God sent a man named Manish Sisodia to correct this wrong. He would go on a round of Delhi schools starting at 6 am. He turned things around within five years. We can say Amdekar's dream is being realized in Delhi. "But some anti-national powers don't want the country to progress. Who are these people who do not want Dalit students to get good education. All these people toget

Chirag Paswan raises issue of 'rising' crimes against Dalits in Bihar in LS

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan on Friday raised in Lok Sabha the issue of alleged rise in crimes, especially against Dalits, in Bihar and said Parliament can't be mum when the state government is maintaining "silence". The Jamui MP noted that a woman and her five-year-old daughter were burnt alive in Arwal after their house was set ablaze by people accused by the mother of trying to sexually assault her. Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Paswan said the culprits were angry with her, a member of the Paswan community, for complaining to police and alleged that the local administration was hand in glove with them. He said a Paswan woman was gang-raped and killed in Begusarai as he hit out at the state government for its "silence". While acknowledging that law and order is a state subject, he said the Centre should act on its own and order a CBI probe as the people of Bihar are angry at the JD(U)-RJD-Congress government's alleged lack of action. The Lok Sabh

Ambedkar in his labyrinth

In Ambedkar: A Life, a comparatively short biography of the leader, Shashi Tharoor nails the pretentious nature of Ambedkar's appropriation by many

Rahul says only Cong can protect Constitution, attacks Centre on note-ban

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday claimed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) keeps attacking the Constitution everyday as it does not want to accept that Dalits, tribals and the poor should get rights, and hit out at Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar for "working" for the British. Gandhi, whose Bharat Jodo Yatra entered its 69th day and reached Washim district in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra from Hingoli on Tuesday, said it is only the Congress that can protect the Constitution, give education to tribals and safeguard their land and rights. The Lok Sabha MP from Kerala addressed two rallies during the day and stepped up his attack on the BJP over a range of issues - from the Constitution, to 2016 note-ban, to Goods and Service Tax (GST) to farm loans. The first public meeting, addressed by him in the afternoon, was organised on the occasion of tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda's birth anniversary, which is also celebrated as the Janjatiya Gaurav Divas or Tribal Pride Day. T

Congress making Dalits 'scapegoats': Mayawati after Kharge's election

A day after Mallikarjun Kharge was elected the Congress president, BSP chief Mayawati on Thursday accused the 137-year-old party of remembering Dalits only in its bad times and making them "scapegoats". Kharge (80), a Dalit leader from Karnataka, trounced his 66-year-old rival Shashi Tharoor in a historic election held four days ago to become the first non-Gandhi to head the Congress in 24 years. In a series of tweets, Mayawati said, "The history of the Congress is a witness that it has always neglected/disdained the messiah of the downtrodden Param Pujya Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar and his society. This party does not remember the safety and honour of Dalits in its good days, but makes them a scapegoat in bad days." "The Congress party remembers mostly non-Dalits in the long run of good days and puts Dalits in front in their bad days as in the current times. Is this not deceit and pseudo politics? People ask, 'Is this the real love of the Congress towards Dalits'?" she said in .

Congress, communist parties did nothing for Dalit communities: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday attacked the Congress and the Communist parties by saying they never worked for the welfare of the Scheduled Tribes and treated the Dalit communities only as a votebank. The senior BJP leader, while speaking at a Scheduled Caste conference organised by the saffron party, said the Congress was disappearing while the Communist party was on the verge of extinction. "Congress is disappearing from India while the Communist party is on the verge of extinction from the world. In Kerala, only the BJP has a future. The Congress party and the Communists never worked for the welfare of the Scheduled Tribes. They treated them as mere votebanks," Shah said. He asked whether the Congress party ever had a single Minister from the SC/ST community. He said when BJP had majority in Parliament to elect the Rashtrapathi, they selected a person from the Dalit community - Ram Nath Kovind. "On our second chance, we selected an ST community leader Draupadi Murmu,"

Caste system remains greatest enemy, says Meira Kumar on Rajasthan incident

After a Dalit boy was beaten to death in a Rajasthan school over water, former Speaker Meira Kumar said a century ago her father was subjected to the same treatment but his life was saved

Assam court rejects Jignesh Mevani's bail petition; sent to 10-day custody

In the controversial tweet, Mevani had reportedly requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure communal harmony during his recent visit to Gujarat

Modi govt doing everything against what Ambedkar stood for: Congress

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate claimed that in 2020 alone, as many as 50,291 incidents of crime were committed against Dalits as against 33,000 in 2011

Uttar Pradesh Assembly election: Where does Dalit politics go from here?

BSP won just one of the 403 seats and secured a vote per cent of 12.8, down from 17 seats and a vote share of 22.2 per cent in 2017

Why the Dalits are disillusioned with the BJP regime in Uttar Pradesh

But not all Dalits plan the same. Many accuse Opposition parties, especially the BSP, of indulging in vote bank politics

Singhu border: One more arrested in connection with lynching, says police

A second arrest was made on Saturday in connection with the lynching of a Dalit man at a farmers' protest site at the Singhu border, police said

15 Dalit outfits meet NCSC chairman, seek action in Singhu killing case

Fifteen organizations of Dalit community met Vijay Sampla, Chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Castes, and handed over complaints demanding strict action over murder near Singhu border

Congress made Channi Punjab CM for few months to grab Dalit votes: BJP

The BJP alleged on Monday that the Congress has made Charanjit Singh Channi Punjab chief minister for a few months merely to grab Dalit votes as part of its conspiracy

Charanjit Singh Channi: Third-time MLA to play the Dalit card in Punjab

Over the next six months, Channi has to prove not just that he has the support of Punjab's scheduled castes but also of the state's caste aristocracy