Dalit activists raise hostel shortage issue
Mangaluru: Dalit activists on Saturday expressed concern over the shortage of hostels for SC/ST students, saying the lack of accommodation has been causing hardship to students from remote areas who come to the city to pursue higher education. At the monthly SC/ST grievances redressal meeting held at the city police commissioner’s office, Dalit activist SP Anand urged the authorities to complete the hostel admission process before schools and colleges reopen. In response to the issue, an official from the social welfare department said a proposal had been submitted to the govt seeking sanction for two separate hostels for boys and girls. Anand said that govt guidelines permit the department to operate hostels in rented buildings when there is a shortage of accommodation and urged the authorities to invoke the provision until permanent facilities are created. The meeting also discussed a range of traffic, civic and law-and-order issues. DCP (Law and Order) Mithun H.N. chaired the meeting. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Father-son duo held for torching Dalit family’s house in Pilibhit
Pilibhit: A father-son duo was arrested for allegedly setting the house of a Dalit family on fire in Piparia Mandan village under Barkhera police station limits early on Saturday. Pilibhit SP Sukirti Madhav told TOI that the accused suspected the family of abducting a 20-year-old woman from their household. The woman went missing under mysterious circumstances on Thursday evening, and police registered a missing person report the next day. Complainant Nanhe Lal (35) said he had gone to Etah district on June 26 to drop off a group of labourers when the incident took place. He alleged that Akash Pandey and his father, Bhannu Pandey, reached his house, hurled casteist slurs at his family, and set the thatched front portion of the house on fire. His wife and children escaped unhurt, but the grain and firewood stored in the house were allegedly reduced to ashes, while the main door of the pucca structure was damaged. “As locals gathered at the spot to help, the accused fled after threatening to kill the entire family,” Lal alleged. He added that the duo had accused him of abducting Bhannu Pandey’s daughter-in-law. SHO Satyandra Kumar said that a case was registered against both the accused under relevant sections of the BNS and the SC/ST Act. They were arrested and sent to jail. Additional police personnel have been deployed in the village to prevent any untoward incident. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
LoP alleges manual scavenging in Dalit Dy CM Parameshwara’s home dist
Bengaluru: Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka on Saturday alleged that Dalits continued to face “grave injustices” under the Congress government, citing an example of “manual scavenging” in Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara’s home district of Tumakuru. The BJP leader alleged that there was diversion of welfare funds meant for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and rising atrocities against them. Ashoka posted an undated video on his ‘X’ handle on Saturday where people in bare-minimum clothes were seen lifting and loading filth in a tractor on the Karnataka Electricity Board Engineers’ Association’s building premises. According to him, Dalits were still being forced into manual scavenging even in the home district of Parameshwara, a Dalit himself, and the government has failed to safeguard their rights. “In the very home district of Parameshwara, where slogans were once raised demanding a ‘Dalit Chief Minister’, the downtrodden communities are still being forced into the pitiable condition of manually carrying human excreta. Under the government led by Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, the rights of Dalits have absolutely no value,” he said. Alleging that four workers were made to manually clean a septic tank at the premises of the KEB Engineers’ Association, Ashoka claimed that the authorities had failed to act despite a similar incident involving a child labourer at the Koratagere bus stand. “Even after a child labourer was recently made to perform similar work at the Koratagere bus stand, neither the district administration nor the government has woken up to the issue,” he said. Ashoka further alleged that the Congress government had misused Rs 53,059.45 crore from the SCSP-TSP funds over the last three years for guarantee schemes. He also accused it of “reducing allocations” to corporations meant for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. He also alleged a rise in atrocities against SCs and STs, with 2,277 cases recorded in 2025, and referred to the reported discovery of maggots in food served at the Jai Bhim Hostel in Chikkaballapur as another example of the government’s failure. Accusing the ruling party of “betraying the interests of marginalised communities”, Ashoka said, “The Congress, which loudly claims to stand for the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, is in reality taking steps that undermine their interests.” He further charged that “the party has earned the ignominy of turning the state into a ‘model state’ for atrocities against Dalits,” and said Home Minister Priyank Kharge, who is also a Dalit, “has lost the moral authority to invoke the Constitution and the name of Babasaheb Ambedkar”. Courtesy : THI Note: This news is originally published on https:/thehansindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Clavicular’s controversial Paris visit takes stunning turn after viral kiss with Polish transgender model Adelaide Pali
Clavicular, whose real name is Braden Eric Peters, has built a huge following online by promoting “looksmaxxing,” a trend that focuses on improving physical appearance through extreme methods. The 20-year-old Kick streamer and TikTok creator is known for giving controversial advice, including facial bonesmashing and heavy steroid use. But during a recent livestream in Paris, the attention shifted away from his online image after several uncomfortable public interactions left him facing criticism instead of praise. According to The Times and the New York Post, his trip quickly became a talking point across social media and French media. Clavicular’s Paris livestream shows French women unmoved by his online fame During his livestream, Clavicular approached several women at cafés, restaurants and on the streets while trying to start conversations. In one widely shared clip, he introduced himself and hinted that people could search his name online. A woman simply asked if he was famous before politely ending the conversation by saying, “Have a good time in Paris. I hope you enjoy it.” That moment reflected much of his visit. Most of the people he approached either showed little interest or walked away. At one point, he admitted on stream, “I am dropping game, but it is not hitting.” French media also picked up the story. Instead of focusing on his online popularity, many reports praised the women for politely rejecting his advances. According to The Times, many locals simply did not know who he was, while others were not interested in engaging with him. Clavicular later admits he needs better conversation skills after Paris backlash As the criticism grew, Clavicular reacted with frustration. He called French people “impolite s***bags” in a post on X and described the situation as much bigger than he expected. Videos from the trip also showed people throwing drinks and water at him while he walked through the city. Later, however, his tone changed. He admitted that approaching women has never been his strength and wrote on X, “I say all the time my game with women is god awful, but at least I have the nerve to practice approaching.” He also added, “I need to become more interesting so I can carry convos better.” The Paris trip ended up exposing the gap between Clavicular’s online confidence and his real-life interactions. While he remains one of the biggest names in the looksmaxxing community, the livestream sparked fresh debate about influencer culture, internet fame and whether a large online following always translates into real-world recognition. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
‘Wishing him strength and courage’: Tharoor congratulates Rahul on 2 years as LoP, days after praising PM Modi
NEW DELHI: After Congress MP Rahul Gandhi completed two years as leader of the opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, senior party MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday wished him “strength and courage” in his “fight for the future of India.” “All the best to Shri @RahulGandhi ji as he completes two years as Leader of the Opposition. Wishing him continued strength and courage as he fights for the future of India,” the Thiruvananthapuram MP posted on X. Tharoor’s remarks came days after he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for conveying India’s concerns to US President Donald Trump over the safety of civilian sailors in the Strait of Hormuz, a comment that drew criticism from the Congress. A day later, he said Jammu and Kashmir was making “encouraging progress towards normalcy”—the Union territory lost its statehood in August 2019 after the Modi government revoked Article 370 of the Constitution. Since then, the opposition, including the Congress, has been demanding restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir. Last year as well, Tharoor had drawn attention for a series of remarks praising PM Modi on various issues, sparking unease within the Congress. On Thursday, Rahul Gandhi completed two years as LoP, a post that had remained vacant since 2014 due to the BJP’s parliamentary majority with the NDA — the coalition it leads —providing additional numbers, leaving the Congress and the broader opposition short of the numbers required to stake a claim to the position. “Today marks two years since I became the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. Every single day of these two years has been dedicated to one task—to carry the voice of every Indian to the corridors of power,” the Raebareli MP wrote in a post a day later. Under parliamentary rules, a party must secure at least one-tenth of the total strength of the House (55 out of 543) to claim the Leader of Opposition position. The Congress crossed this threshold in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by winning 99 seats, up from 44 in 2014 and 52 in 2019. The BJP, meanwhile, fell to 240 seats, short of the 272-seat majority mark, and formed the government with the support of its allies in the NDA. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
The Importance of Being DK Shivakumar in Rahul Calculus
Shivakumar is yet to acquire national status, but definitely has national recall. He has emerged as a serious national trouble-shooter for his party. No thanks to Rahul, who detests mass leaders who will not kowtow to him It seems the Congress has a credible national face at last. A trouble shooter who has negotiated the complexities of Opposition politics, which it badly needs, especially after it couldn’t get its Rajya Sabha nominee in Jharkhand through. Last week, a masterclass in the difference between rhetoric and reality happened in Karnataka: the Congress won all five Legislative Council seats it contested—plus an additional seat by persuading cross voting by the BJP. It was the kind of outcome old Congress managers once considered routine, but which the Rahul Congress has no idea, or interest, on how to achieve. The architect of the win is DK Shivakumar; probably the reason Uddhav Thackeray—whose party rapidly imploded after six MPs crossed over to the Shinde-BJP camp—invited him to Mumbai to confabulate. Whether DKS, with all his political management skill, can pull off a miracle in Maharashtra to save an INDIA ally is questionable. It was left to him to soothe MK Stalin, whom Rahul treated churlishly in public during the Tamil Nadu elections and dumped unceremoniously. Shivakumar is yet to acquire national status, but definitely has national recall. He has emerged as a serious national trouble shooter for his party. No thanks to Rahul, who detests mass leaders who will not kowtow to him. Yet, political kinetics keeps pulling DKS’s name into the national conversation. But for today’s Congress, such interlocutors and enforcers are suspect. The party historically marginalises leaders of the DKS type. In the 1970s, Devaraj Urs built the most sophisticated social coalition the Congress had ever achieved in Karnataka by forging OBCs, Dalits, and minorities into an unprecedented electoral force. Discarded by Indira Gandhi, he died politically diminished. Sharad Pawar built Congress into a dominant force in Maharashtra, cultivating the cooperative sector and managing the competing interests of the Maratha peasantry, Mumbai’s working class, and Pune’s commercial communities. Expelled in 1999, he formed the NCP, and sank the Congress’s political future. Sachin Pilot resuscitated the Rajasthan Congress from its post-2013 coma, delivered in 2018, and was then subjected to deliberate humiliation, denied the chief ministership, and was pushed to the point of open rebellion in 2020 after he was denied the chief ministership like DKS initially was. The party has neither earned nor acknowledged such a restraint and loyalty. While Sachin has faded from the national radar, for now, DKS occupies the alternative position. In a party where giant leaders like Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kamal Nath, and Pranab Mukherjee could forge inter-party consensuses, apart from Bhupesh Baghel and Mukul Wasnik, now, the Rahul coterie comprises Kaushal Vidyarthee, Alankar Sawai, KB Byju, Praveen Chakravarty et al. Chakravarty who? Exactly. Kharge, in spite of all the respect he commands, cannot influence a single voter in UP. Rahul’s pernicious puppeteer KC Venugopal wouldn’t know the name of a single party worker in Bihar. CWC members like geriatric AK Antony, Anand Sharma, Deepa Dasmunsi, Channi, etc. can’t get 10 voters between them in Madhya Pradesh. Himanta Sarma humiliated Gaurav Gogoi. To call Jairam Ramesh a mass leader is like calling a Tiffin box a buffet—all are has-beens or will-never-beens. The Congress’s last bastion is the South. It has three Congress CMs, and is an alliance partner in Tamil Nadu. Hence, the national choice is limited. DKS speaks Hindi without the self-consciousness that afflicts many southern politicians, and English without the affectation of someone mimicking cosmopolitanism. He is a Vokkaliga from the dominant Karnataka community, but he has consistently reached beyond community arithmetic to keep his party afloat. In UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Haryana, the BJP has built a ruthless victory machine over decades of patient work. The Opposition’s only effective response will be to build a counter-machine with equal patience and seriousness. That requires someone who understands the construction of party infrastructure at the district and booth level, financial savvy seduction, soothing of local egos, and the management of factional disputes before they become the internal wars that cost the party winnable seats. The only Congress alternative to the BJP is DK Shivakumar; and it knows this, too. With such powerful adversaries like Modi and the RSS, it won’t be smooth sailing for him. The distinction between what Rahul and Karnataka’s DK Shivakumar offers is not what is better or worse. DKS commands a rare combination which cannot be earned with genetic entitlement: charisma and calculation. He understands not just how elections are won, but also how they are fought. In politics, ideological, cadre-driven machines defeat movements. The man who can build the Congress such a machine is waiting. Will his own party, and Rahul Gandhi, allow him to do that? Ravi Shankar Courtesy : TNIE Note: This news is originally published on https:/thenewindianexpress.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
‘Theft of youth’s future’: Congress slams Centre over Maharashtra TET 2026 paper leak
Priyanka Gandhi urged students to raise their voices against recurring exam irregularities, saying, “Until you raise your voice loud and clear, this terror with your future will continue unabated.” The Congress on Saturday slammed the BJP-led government over the postponement of the Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (TET)-2026 following allegations of a paper leak, accusing it of repeatedly failing the country’s youth. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi described the development as a betrayal of young aspirants. “Another paper leak. Another exam cancelled. This time, Maharashtra’s TET. “The country’s education and examination system has been turned into a system of extortion, leaving every youngster in the country insecure,” Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X. “This is not just a paper leak, this is the theft of the youth’s future,” he added. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also expressed concern, urging students to raise their voices against recurring examination irregularities. “Youth, wake up!!! Until you raise your voice loud and clear, this terror with your future will continue unabated. You’ve been deceived once again.” she said on X. Referring to a series of examination controversies, Priyanka Gandhi said, “NEET, CBSE, SSC, CUET and now TET. This chain will only stop when you launch a movement and demonstrate your strength. Until that happens, the BJP government and the Prime Minister will have no accountability toward you. They won’t put a curb on corruption in exams, nor will they take responsibility for your future.” Congress leader Pawan Khera alleged that exam paper leaks had become a recurring feature under the current government. “It seems determined to score a shameful century. It has already presided over nearly 90 exam paper leaks. Today, another has been reported — this time in Maharashtra, where tomorrow’s TET examination has been cancelled after the paper was leaked,” Khera said in a post on X. “The so-called double-engine sarkar runs on one fuel alone: scams,” he alleged. “For this government, paper leaks have become an industry that it profits from. But for India’s youth, they mean years of hard work, sacrifice and hope being destroyed in a matter of minutes,” he added. Khera further claimed that the government had repeatedly let down young people. “It has stolen their opportunities, toyed with their aspirations and repeatedly betrayed their trust. And perhaps it will be the youth of India who ultimately consign the BJP’s political career to the doldrums. That would be poetic justice,” he asserted. The Maharashtra State Council of Examination (MSCE) postponed the TET-2026, scheduled for Sunday, after a raid in Bhiwandi in Thane district uncovered individuals allegedly in possession of several questions purportedly matching those in the examination paper. Police have registered a case against three persons in connection with the matter. In a statement, the MSCE said it remained committed to conducting examinations with complete transparency. “Given the gravity of the situation and the necessity for an in-depth probe, the exam scheduled for June 28, 2026, has been postponed,” it said. According to the Thane district administration, the suspected breach came to light in the early hours of Saturday after police acted on intelligence inputs about individuals possessing unauthorised information related to the examination paper. Courtesy : TNIE Note: This news is originally published on https:/thenewindianexpress.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Ram temple graft: Wayanad MP Priyanka seeks probe
“Lord Ram resides in the sacred sentiments of millions. It is with this very reverence that people bow their heads and offer donations at the temple. KALPETTA: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday demanded a transparent investigation into the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ayodhya Ram Temple, saying those responsible had committed the “gravest sin” by betraying the faith of millions of devotees. Addressing reporters in Wayanad, Priyanka said the reported theft and misappropriation of temple offerings had shocked the country and amounted to a serious breach of public trust. “Lord Ram resides in the sacred sentiments of millions. It is with this very reverence that people bow their heads and offer donations at the temple. Those who committed theft at the Ram Temple have committed a grave sin by violating the very essence of faith and Dharma,” she said. Priyanka said the donations were not limited to contributions from large corporations but were collected from ordinary citizens across the country through a dedicated campaign. She stressed that safeguarding those funds was the responsibility of the temple administration. Courtesy : TNIE Note: This news is originally published on https:/thenewindianexpress.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
lawyer Surendra Gadling completed eight years in prison : Bhima Koregaon
On June 6, lawyer Surendra Gadling completed eight years in prison. Arrested on this day in 2018, he was sent to the Yerawada prison in Pune, and then, in February 2020, he and other prisoners, accused in what has come to be known as the Bhima Koregaon case, were transferred to Taloja jail following the handing over of the case to the NIA. Out of the 16 accused in this case, he is the sole one still to be released. Whilst he was given bail in the Bhima Koregaon case by the Bombay High Court, he is awaiting the outcome of the plea in the Supreme Court for what has come to be known as the Surajgarh arson case. इरोनिकाल्ली, he has been held under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA for almost a decade, considering that he is a foremost lawyer in it and other anti terror laws. He is someone whose expertise in this very field has helped secure the release of thousands of Dalits and Adivasis unfairly imprisoned as alleged Maoists. During his three decade long career before his arrest, he came to be viewed as a formidable figure in court with his ability to argue cases in TADA, POTA, UAPA, the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. His legal acumen helped in the acquittal of those held under these laws. He also took up cases of fake encounters, dowry deaths and was involved in securing justice for those who protested against the barbaric Khairlanji caste murders in 2006. Among the high profile cases he had taken up, before his own arrest, were those of Dr G N Saibaba, the wheelchair bound professor, who spent about seven years in jail before acquittal. Tragically and cruelly Saibaba died just a few months after his release. Hem Mishra , the student activist, who was also arrested along with Saibaba, recalled in a social media post how Gadling is not just his lawyer but a true People’s Lawyer. He has been a tireless champion for political prisoners taking up the cases that very few dare to do so. Growing up in the humble Dalit neighbourhood of Indora in Nagpur, Gadling became influenced by the radical politics of the seventies during his college years, recalls Sudhir Dhawale, his fellow student and also co accused in the case. Both of them played an important role in the Namantar or movement to rename the Marathwada University after Bababasaheb Ambedkar and were also witness to the huge atrocities inflicted on Dalits. They drew heavily on the cultural activism fostered by the folk forms of Maharashtra where street plays and ballads have been intertwined with resistance and revolution. It is perhaps this element of performative tactics in the courtroom that made Gadling a much admired and popular lawyer. People and juniors flock to the court whenever he argues a case. I was witness to some of his passionate and humorous arguments whilst pleading for various issues related to his own case during the proceedings. But whether it was for the right to a chair, or access to medical care, Gadling’s purpose has been clear. It is to shine a light on the conditions in jail and urgent need for reform. In Pune, in the early days of the arrests, a bunch of lawyers from Punjab turned up in court to show solidarity with him. Similar shows of solidarity have come from lawyers from Delhi, Telangana, Kerala and Kolkata. When the court in Bombay did not allow visitors because of the pandemic, it was a moving sight to see a group of lawyers standing outside the building in support of their mentor. His feisty spirit and ability to deploy the cultural forms of protest that has been an intrinsic part of his journey of resistance, was demonstrated when he was released on temporary bail in 2021. The court allowed him to conduct rituals for the first anniversary of his mother’s death. He had been denied permission by the NIA Special court to attend the funeral in 2020. Donning his lawyers’s suit he headed for the Nagpur sessions court and outside he sang a song written by co accused Ramesh Gaichor, an activist of the Kabir Kala Manch. The song ingeniously weaves in the privation in prisons and denial of basic amenities. Ek duree chhe by doh seh … the area allotted to each prisoner becomes the space for satire with the comment that this is the “aish” or comforts that prisoners enjoy in popular imagination. One of the significant features of life in Taloja jail, as narrated by the Bhima Koregaon prisoners is the way they collectively demonstrated cultural activism through poetry and special song sessions at night. The various members housed in various floors of the building would take up songs and sing in unison. A poignant illustration of how though caged the spirit sings. …. A brilliant lawyer and human rights defender has spent almost a decade in jail. The trial has not even begun. The Supreme Court must act speedily to release him as urged by hundreds of civilians, legal bodies and international human rights defenders.
A Dalit family in Balrampur has been holding the Tazia for 35 years: Three generations have carried on the tradition, a unique example of communal harmony.
A unique example of communal harmony was witnessed during Muharram in Majra Chahtwa, Gumdi Gram Panchayat, Shriduttganj Block, Balrampur. A Dalit Hindu family has been holding the Tazia with complete faith and respect for the past 35 years. This tradition has been carried on by three generations of the family: Asharam, his son Shiv Prasad, and grandson Kamal Kanaujia. This year too, the family held the Tazia with great devotion, attracting a large number of people from the village and surrounding areas. Kamal Kanaujia explained that the family began holding the Tazia after a vow of his ancestors was fulfilled. His grandfather Asharam carried on the tradition, followed by his father Shiv Prasad, and now he himself is carrying on the responsibility. According to Asharam, the family believes that keeping the Tazia (Tajiya) maintains God’s blessings, removes troubles, and brings happiness and prosperity. Shiv Prasad also said that this tradition brings prosperity to agriculture, business progress, and family well-being. Villagers say that this tradition in Chahatwa is not merely a matter of religious faith, but a living example of social harmony, mutual trust, and Hindu-Muslim brotherhood. During Muharram, people from both communities actively participate in each other’s events, further strengthening the Ganga-Jamuni culture in the village. At a time when news of divisions in society emerges, this Dalit Hindu family in Chahatwa has been sending an important message of humanity, mutual respect, and social harmony by keeping the Tazia for three generations. Aamir Hasan Siddiqui | Shriduttganj (Balrampur), Balrampur Courtesy: Hindi News