Demand for caste census and reservation expansion raised on B.P. Mandal’s birth anniversary in Azamgarh
Demand for caste census, reservation expansion and ban on privatization in seminar on Mandal Commission’s birth anniversary Nizamabad (Azamgarh). A seminar was organized on Sunday in Dadra, Tahbarpur (Azamgarh) in memory of the birth anniversary of Mandal Commission Chairman and former Chief Minister B.P. Mandal. On this occasion, a serious discussion was held on caste census and SIR with the resolution to implement all the recommendations of the Mandal Commission. Farmer leader Rajiv Yadav said that implementing all the recommendations of the Mandal Commission would be a true tribute to B.P. Mandal. Describing it as a document of nation building, he said that through this, the society oppressed for centuries can get the rights from which they have been deprived till now. Rajiv Yadav stressed that caste census is the key to social justice. But when the demand for it intensified, the census was postponed for a long time. And when the caste census was announced, the voting rights given by Baba Saheb Ambedkar were attacked in the name of SIR. He said that without counting the backward classes, their rights cannot be ensured. He further said that social justice is incomplete in the presence of obstacles like 50 percent reservation limit and creamy layer. To fully implement social justice, it is necessary to eliminate creamy layer, sub-classification, quota within quota and 50 percent limit of reservation. Also, the speed at which the public sector is being privatized in the country is a blow to both employment and social justice. He demanded that reservation should be implemented in the private sector as well and the system of “quota within quota” should be ensured in women’s reservation. Rajiv Yadav said that after the implementation of two recommendations of the Mandal Commission, there was a revolutionary change in the country, but even today 27 percent reservation and reservation given to SC/ST have not been fully implemented. Reservation is the process that gave representation to the deprived society in independent India. He raised the question that those who oppose reservation should tell what alternative do they have to provide rights and entitlements to the large population which is a victim of caste and birth based discrimination. Apart from farmer leader Rajeev Yadav, Dinesh Yadav Master, Ram Sambhar Prajapati, Dr. Rajendra Yadav, Satyam Prajapati and Advocate Rajnath Yadav Kavi also addressed the seminar. A large number of people including Nandlal Yadav, Awadhesh Yadav, Vinod Yadav and Sahabdin were present in the meeting. Rajan Chaudhary Courtesy : Hindi News
Dalits’ resentment in Mangaluru, Karnataka: Allegations of negligence at DCRE station, police warned
Dalit activists question the functioning of DCRE stations, warn police, prepare for agitation Mangaluru: Despite the establishment of separate Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement (DCRE) stations in the district to investigate cases of atrocities on Scheduled Castes and Tribes, the victims are not getting justice. Dissatisfied with this situation, Dalit activists of Dakshina Kannada have expressed their resentment. Dalit activists put forth their grievances before police officials at a meeting held at the Mangaluru Police Commissioner’s Office on Sunday. The meeting focused on the grievances of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities and discussed the functioning of the Mangaluru City Police Commissionerate and Dakshina Kannada District Police. The meeting was chaired by DCP (Law and Order) Mithun HN and Additional Superintendent of Police Anil Kumar S. Bhoomaraddi. During the meeting, Jagdish Pandeshwar mentioned a case in which a Dalit woman was sent obscene calls and messages via WhatsApp by a man living abroad. The woman lodged a complaint, but no action was taken. The case was sent to the DCRE police station, but the accused was not arrested. It is alleged that the station in-charge also gave irresponsible answers. The activists warned that if no concrete action is taken on such cases till the next meeting, they will be forced to agitate. They also demanded to make public the complete record of cases of atrocities registered in the DCRE police station. On this, DCP Mithun said that since the DCRE does not come under the jurisdiction of the City Police Commissioner at present, a letter will be sent to the DG of DCRE regarding the complaints of the activists. Other demands of Dalit leaders In the meeting, Dalit leader SP Anand said that the government should restore the old process of selection of self-employment beneficiaries for the Scheduled Caste-Tribe community. Earlier this selection was done by a committee headed by the District Deputy Commissioner, but for the last 15 years this work is in the hands of local MLAs. Due to this, most of the benefits go to the influential class and people close to the MLAs, while the real needy are deprived. Rajan Chaudhary Courtesy : Hindi News
Brutal attack on Dalit youth in Junagadh, third casteist atrocity in 21 days
Brutal attack on Dalit youth in Junagadh, video goes viral; Third casteist violence in 21 days raises questions again. Ahmedabad: A Dalit youth was brutally beaten up, robbed and threatened with death in Junagadh, Gujarat. This incident has come to light as the third casteist atrocity against Dalits in the last 21 days. The viral video of the incident shows that even today, decades after Independence, casteism is deeply rooted in the society. What is the whole matter? The incident took place on the afternoon of August 16, when the victim had gone to meet a friend. Then a boy came to him and pleaded for help as his brother was being taken away. The victim and his friend followed the boy to the Swami Vivekanand School ground, where they understood that it was a trap. In the ground, three upper caste youths surrounded the youth and questioned him about his whereabouts. When the youth told them that he was from Kadiyawad, a youth named Hitesh and his two unidentified companions started insulting him with casteist slurs and beat him badly with belts and sticks, causing serious injuries on the youth’s body. The attackers also snatched the youth’s mobile phone and threatened to kill him if he complained to the police. The victim told people at the Junagadh Civil Hospital, “They hit me with belts and sticks, snatched my phone and threatened to kill me. Today it is my turn, tomorrow it could be someone else’s. I only want justice.” The police have registered a case under several sections of the Indian Penal Code at the Junagadh A Division police station. Separate teams have been formed to nab the accused. Deputy SP Hitesh Dhandaliya assured that “strict legal action will be taken as soon as possible.” This attack in Junagadh is not the only one. This is the third attack against Dalits in Gujarat in the last three weeks, which shows that casteism is still fuelling violence. Each incident is a crack in the promise of equality in society and a grim indication of the urgent need for justice and protection for vulnerable communities. Rajan Chaudhary Courtesy : Hindi News
Ballia: BJP worker arrested for assaulting Dalit engineer, Bhim Army chief says ‘It is not an attack on Jatav ji but on Baba Saheb’s dreams’
Police arrested a BJP worker for assaulting a Dalit engineer and using casteist slurs in Ballia district. Uttar Pradesh: Police arrested BJP worker Munna Bahadur Singh (40) for assaulting a Dalit engineer of the power department in Ballia district on Saturday. According to police, the incident took place in the engineer’s office when Munna Bahadur Singh had reached there with his colleagues. In a video that went viral on social media, the accused can be seen attacking the engineer with a shoe and abusing him. Police produced the accused in court on Sunday, from where he was sent to judicial custody. Ballia Superintendent of Police Omveer Singh said, “As soon as the incident was reported on Saturday afternoon, a police team reached the spot and started investigation.” The victim engineer Lal Singh told the police that about 20–25 people led by Munna Bahadur Singh barged into his office and made casteist remarks on him. Based on the complaint, the police have registered a case against the accused and other unknown people for assaulting a government employee, abusing and other sections. Along with this, sections of SC/ST Act have also been imposed. A day before this incident, National President of Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) and MP from Nagina Lok Sabha constituency Chandrashekhar Azad had posted a video related to the incident on social media platform X and reacted strongly to the atrocities being committed on Dalits under the BJP rule and demanded action in the matter. Rajan Chaudhary Courtesy : Hindi News
‘Kerala Congress MLA Messaged Me On Telegram, Asked For Sex’: Trans Woman
Speaking to NDTV, Ms Vishnu said she first met Rahul Mamkootathil during campaigning for the June 2022 Thrikkakara by-election that the ruling Left Democratic Front’s Uma Thomas won. Kerala transgender activist Avanthika Vishnu – who said Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil sexually harassed her and demanded she submit to his rape fantasy – told NDTV she was initially hesitant about coming forward with the allegations because of his political standing. She had earlier said she flagged her concerns to the Congress but no action was taken. She said she only stepped up after other women, including Malayalam actor Rini George made similar accusations. Ms George, however, did not name the Congress leader; she only said a ‘youth leader of a prominent political party’ had been sending her objectionable messages and invited her to a five-star hotel meet. Mr Mamkootathil has denied all allegations that Ms George was talking about him, but earlier today he stepped down as President of the Congress’ Kerala youth wing and demanded those accusing him – Ms George, Ms Vishnu, and others – make their case in a court of law. Speaking to NDTV, Ms Vishnu said she first met Rahul Mamkootathil during campaigning for the June 2022 Thrikkakara by-election that the ruling Left Democratic Front’s Uma Thomas won. “After the Kerala by-election he messaged me on Facebook to say ‘hi’ and we had a casual conversation. After that he messaged me on Telegram and asked for sex. He wanted to meet in Bengaluru or Hyderabad to play out rape fantasies,” she told NDTV. Asked about waiting for three years before speaking out, Avanthika Vishnu said some of her close friends knew of the harassment but she had hesitated to speak out because “he is a famous MLA in Kerala”. She also said that now that she had, she faces cyber harassment. Ms Vishnu said she had been encouraged to speak after other women also accused him. “I’m afraid he will use his power to destroy evidence… afraid it will come down to my word versus his and he is a famous politician,” she said, appealing for emotional and legal support, for her and for the trans community, from the government, police, and society at large. On Thursday Rini George made similar allegations. “I came in contact with the politician through social media. His inappropriate behaviour began three years ago, when I first received objectionable messages from him,” she said, claiming the political leader in question even offered to book a room at a five-star hotel for her ‘visit’. She accused senior leaders of the concerned party of ignoring her complaints and said the young leader continued to receive prominent positions within the party despite her warnings. Mr Mamkootathil, meanwhile, has denied all charges. He has not yet reacted to allegations from Avanthika Vishnu but, with regard to the earlier claim, said “I challenge the person who complained against me to prove the case in court. No concrete complaint has been filed.” “The actress is my friend, and I don’t believe the person she mentioned was me. She is my good friend and will remain so. I believe that I have not done anything against the law or the Constitution of the country until now,” he added. Asked about an audio clip released by a Malayalam news channel alleging he forced a third woman to terminate a pregnancy, he replied it is not difficult to create such clips today. Reported by:Vasudha Venugopal Courtesy : NDTV Note: This news is originally published on https:/ndtv.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights.
India’s first Transgender Ventriloquist: Rebelled against father and left home… earned money by applying mehndi… became a girl from a boy after undergoing surgery… now got this honor
At the age of 16, Jaanu decided to choose the path of her dreams. She shifted to Bangalore with the 4,000 rupees given by her elder sister. Jaanu, a resident of Raichur, Karnataka, has become the country’s first transgender ventriloquist artist. She was honored for this achievement in the Influencer Book of World Records-2025 program organized at RIC, Jaipur. Journey from struggle to success Jaanu was born as Abdul Qaddus in a Muslim family. Since childhood, she loved to do makeup, wear saree and admire herself in the mirror. But her family, especially her father, used to be angry with her gestures and way of speaking. Father wanted him to become an electrician, but girlish feelings were growing in Jaanu’s mind. At the age of 16, Jaanu decided to choose the path of her dreams. She shifted to Bangalore with the 4,000 rupees given by her elder sister. There she started working as a professional mehndi artist and spent about 9 lakh rupees from her earnings to get gender reassignment surgery done. The story of becoming Jaanu from Abdul Jaanu told Dainik Bhaskar, “Things of religion, caste and community always suffocated me. That is why I changed my name to ‘Jaanu’. This name is the identity of love and equality, which is above every gender and community.” Jaanu had to face many difficulties in the initial days after changing her gender. Many times she had to ask for money from people wearing suit-salwar. Despite the taunts of the society and being called a transgender, she did not give up. Steps towards Ventriloquism Jaanu was always interested in painting, drawing, Warli art, hairstyling and modelling. One day she saw an artist performing with a puppet on TV and got inspired to learn Ventriloquism. Ventriloquists are those artists who are adept in the art of producing sounds without moving their lips. Such artists often perform on stage with a puppet. There are very few artists of this art in India, especially both men and women. Janu learned this art by doing an online course from Kolkata. She also learned Kannada, Hindi and English, so that she could connect better with the audience during the performance. New identity, new dream Jaanu is currently a BA first year student and is presenting her puppet shows across the country. She has proved that with courage, hard work and passion, anyone can create their own identity. Courtesy: Hindi News
UP: BJP worker arrested for thrashing Dalit engineer with shoe in Ballia
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker has been taken into custody in Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia district for allegedly attacking a Dalit engineer inside his office by striking him with a shoe, PTI reported. The incident, which occurred on Saturday, was captured on video and quickly spread across social media. The footage shows a tense verbal altercation between Lal Singh, a superintending engineer in the electricity department, and several men, after which Singh is visibly assaulted with a shoe. Superintendent of Police Omveer Singh stated that in his complaint, Lal Singh alleged that a man identified as Munna Bahadur, along with a few unidentified persons, barged into his office without permission. Bahadur, according to district BJP president Sanjay Mishra, is both a party member and a former office-bearer. The complaint further mentions that Bahadur and his associates used casteist insults before physically assaulting Singh with kicks, punches, and a shoe. They also allegedly vandalised office documents and threatened to kill Singh and his family if he chose to pursue legal action. Police have booked Bahadur and the others involved under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita as well as the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The superintendent confirmed that Bahadur has been arrested and further investigation is in progress. Prior to his arrest, Bahadur told reporters that he had gone to the engineer’s office to submit a memorandum regarding power-related grievances from his locality. He claimed, however, that the official used abusive language against him. Bahadur further alleged that he himself was attacked and sustained injuries. The incident has drawn sharp political reactions. The Congress party condemned the assault, saying, “BJP goons in Ballia had turned the law into a ‘farce’.” The party added on X, “In [Chief Minister] Yogi Adityanath’s government, there is no rule of law; instead, BJP leaders’ whims and anarchy reign supreme. The administration has bowed down before these political goons. If this unrestrained thuggery is not reined in in time, they will plunge the entire society into the fire of anarchy.” The Trinamool Congress also lashed out at the ruling party, asserting that BJP leaders were “emboldened” to “unleash savagery on Dalits in broad daylight” with the assurance that neither the police nor the system would act against them. “This is a party that hides behind empty slogans of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ while trampling Dalits with boots and fists,” the party said on X. TMC further remarked, “Until BJP is uprooted, Dalits will remain under assault, democracy will remain hostage, and India will remain shackled to caste tyranny.” Courtesy : Maktoob Media Note: This news is originally published on https:/maktoobmedia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights.
Living voters declared dead, names deleted, claims Tejashwi
PATNA: RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday alleged that EC’s credibility had been largely eroded due to controversies surrounding the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar. “At each booth, the names of at least 50 living electors have been deleted on grounds that they are dead. We have proof,” Tejashwi told reporters in Araria during INDIA bloc’s press conference and ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ led by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi. Terming NDA as “Nahin Denge Adhikar,” Tejashwi accused BJP of indulging in stealing votes of the poor and deprived. “At his Gaya rally, the PM said EC is working to drive away infiltrators from the country, but in its affidavit before SC, EC has not mentioned this issue,” Tejashwi claimed, adding that Bihar, as a land of democracy, would not let it be destroyed. Dipankar Bhattacharya, CPI(M-L) general secretary, said EC failed in its job of preparing “accurate poll rolls.” He added, “BJP has largest number of BLAs, but they haven’t filed any complaint related to the SIR. Does this mean names of BJP voters haven’t been deleted from electoral rolls?” On a question on Chirag Paswan’s jibe that he had become a “pichhlaggu” (follower) of Congress and Rahul, Tejashwi said, “I won’t comment on his remark, but I would like him to get married soon…” Rahul joined in, saying the advice “also applies to me”, sparking laughter from those present. Meanwhile, police have filed an FIR against Tejashwi in Gadchiroli following a complaint by BJP MLA Milind Narote, who accused him of posting objectionable and defamatory content against PM Modi on X ahead of PM’s Bihar visit. Tejashwi is charged with creating a rift and disturbing public tranquillity. – Manoj Chaurasia & Soumitra Bose 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.
Thackerays back Rahul’s claim, ask workers to be alert
MUMBAI: In a build-up to municipal polls in Maharashtra, the Thackeray cousins are now invoking ‘vote chori’, backing Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s charges of irregularities in polling and voter enumeration. A day after MNS chief Raj Thackeray raised this issue in Pune, Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday asked party workers to be alert to voter lists and ensure it did not include bogus voters. While addressing a meeting of party workers in Dahisar, Uddhav said, “Keep your eyes peeled open and check the voter’s list to ensure that there are no bogus voters and people are not voting 2-3 times.” “How did the number of voters in the state increase by 40-42 lakh? Find out who are these people who have inflated the voter’s list and don’t let them vote,” he said, adding, “If elections are conducted in a genuine manner, it will not be possible for the governing parties to win. Especially in Maharashtra.” Sena UBT’s Sanjay Raut said, “This issue was raised by Raj Thackeray earlier as well. PM Modi has come to office by stealing votes. This is how the army in Pakistan comes to power.” Raj on Saturday had said, “I have been saying this for years. I met opposition members including NCP SP’s Sharad Pawar and TMC’s Mamata Banerjee and said that we should boycott Lok Sabha polls for this reason. Our votes are not coming to us. They are being stolen. Those in office have stolen votes.” Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis hit back at Raj and Uddhav, saying they needed to analyse why public has lost faith in them. “Until they accept the truth, they will remain in this state,” he said. 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.
‘Lokniti’ against the nation
The political circle fell into complete silence when the Central Election Commission issued a notice to Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, for his allegations pertaining to Maharashtra assembly elections. The commission through this notice asked Rahul Gandhi to file an affidavit regarding these allegations or apologize to the country. When the Commission sent such a notice to Rahul Gandhi, who doubts a constitutional institute like Election Commission and the honesty of all government employees without giving any solid evidence, it naturally caused a stir among people from various sections, who vehemently oppose BJP and Narendra Modi. Rahul Gandhi has been continuously accusing the Election Commission over Maharashtra assembly polls for the last 6-7 months. He accused the Election Commission of ‘vote theft’ by holding a press conference in Delhi recently. He alleged that 1 crore voters have increased in Maharashtra within 6 months from the Lok Sabha elections. The actual number of voters increased is only 40 lakh. Rahul Gandhi alleged that voters from other states were registered in Maharashtra by BJP in collaboration with the Election Commission and they went on to win the assembly elections with the help of this increased number of voters. In case a person not belonging to the constituency objects to changes in the voter list, it is mandatory for him to file an affidavit before the Election Commission. Based on this rule itself the Election commission demanded Rahul Gandhi to either file an affidavit or apologize to the entire country for the false allegations. It’s been 5 days since the Election Commission sent this notice. Rahul Gandhi had not filed an affidavit nor had he apologized till the time of writing this article. Meanwhile, Sanjay Kumar, co-founder of CSDS-Lokniti, a research organization that predicts election results, retracted his tweet regarding the Maharashtra elections and apologized to the Election Commission. It is extremely important to understand the connection between this apology and the notice sent to Rahul Gandhi. Understanding this connection can help reveal the conspiracy behind these rampant allegations against the Election Commission and Bharatiya Janata Party. A lot of organizations have come up in the country in the last 35 – 40 years which are in the business of predicting the election results. Psephology is a method of finding out trends in voting by interacting with the voters and predicting the likely winner based on that. This methodology is now well developed not only in the country but in the entire world. 1 to 2 percent of the total voters are interviewed during this survey. This is called a sample survey. Based on this, predictions are made about which party will win the majority in the election. In the last few years, post poll surveys are also being carried out along with the pre poll surveys. Predictions of these Exit Polls are based on the interactions held with selected voters after they cast their votes. CSDS-Lokniti is an organization that predicts such results. Few days back, Sanjay Kumar had claimed that compared to the Lok Sabha elections the number of voters in Ramtek and Deolali assembly constituencies had decreased by 38.45 percent and 36.82 percent respectively. “We drew the wrong conclusions from the Election Commission’s data, I sincerely apologize for this mistake,” tweeted Sanjay Kumar. It was on the basis of this analysis of voting figures done by Sanjay Kumar, that Congress leaders like Pawan Khera were accusing the Election Commission of vote theft. The Prince in his press conference in Delhi had said that he was presenting the statistics of the Election Commission itself on a big screen using modern technology. When Sanjay Kumar tweeted about the decrease in voters in Ramtek and Deolali, Congress immediately hurled accusations against the Election Commission once again. Sanjay Kumar, who retracted his tweet and issued an apology, was asked in a television interview about the allegations being made by the Congress based on his information. Sanjay Kumar while answering this said that our conclusions were wrong and therefore we are apologizing. If Congress is accusing the Election Commission based on our findings, then Congress should also apologize. It is not a mere coincidence that Sanjay Kumar apologized after Election Commission’s final ultimatum to Rahul Gandhi to prove his allegations or apologize to the country. Even Congress won’t believe Sanjay Kumar, when he says that he is not aware that the accusations made by Congress are based on his information. Now the question remains, what exactly do people like Rahul Gandhi and Sanjay Kumar want to achieve? Rahul Gandhi’s language and overall body language clearly shows that his aim is to create distrust in a constitutional institution like the Election Commission. The Election Commission has deleted the names of around 65 lakh voters after verifying their identity proofs in Bihar. The Election Commission has made it clear time and again that deleting the name of infiltrators in the voting list is the purpose of this verification. Rahul Gandhi has taken out a march in Bihar along with Tejashwi Yadav against the verification of voter lists. Rahul Gandhi is raising the issue of voter lists in Maharashtra during this march as well. It is justifiable to question the Election Commission for errors in the voter lists. However, Rahul Gandhi’s real intention is to create distrust towards constitutional institutions, government machinery and government employees in the minds of people by accusing an institution like the Election Commission of vote theft based on these errors. Creating anarchy through this is Rahul Gandhi’s hidden agenda. This is a conspiracy to deliberately destabilize the country while vehemently opposing the government. Keshav Upadhye 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.