SC certificate for minor based on father’s non-SC, mother’s Dalit caste: Supreme Court’s latest order prioritizes education, learn about the full story
According to Presidential notifications of 1964 and 2002 and Home Ministry directives, caste certificates are primarily based on the father’s caste and residence in the state. Previous Supreme Court decisions also considered the father’s caste to be decisive. New Delhi: The Supreme Court has delivered a significant ruling to facilitate the education of a minor girl. Where the father belongs to a non-SC community, the child can be granted an SC caste certificate based on the mother’s ‘Adi Dravida’ caste. This decision could set a new precedent in the changing social landscape, although the court has left major legal questions open. This case involves a minor girl from Puducherry. The Madras High Court had previously ordered the issuance of a SC certificate, which was challenged in the Supreme Court. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Jyomlya Bagchi rejected the challenge, stating that the certificate should be issued so that the girl’s education is not affected. The bench clarified that the legal debate is being kept open for further discussion. The Chief Justice made an important observation that could spark debate. He said, “In changing times, why not issue a caste certificate based on the mother’s caste?” This raises the question: if the mother belongs to the SC community and the father belongs to the general caste, should the child receive SC benefits? Especially if the child is growing up in the mother’s family. In this case, the mother of the minor girl stated that her husband has been living with her in her parents’ home since marriage, and that their ancestors belong to the Hindu Adi Dravidian community. The mother had sought certificates for all three children—two daughters and a son. Supreme Court’s stance in previous decisions In previous cases, the Supreme Court had clearly stated that according to Hindu custom, a child’s caste is determined by the father. In the 2003 case of Punit Rai vs. Dinesh Chaudhary, the Supreme Court stated that the primary basis for determining caste is the father’s caste. In the absence of a law, a child inherits caste from the father, not the mother. In the 2012 case of Rameshbhai Dabhai Naika vs. Gujarat, a two-judge bench stated that the presumption of the father’s caste is strong in inter-caste marriages, especially if the father belongs to a higher caste. However, this presumption is not final. The child can provide evidence that they grew up in the mother’s SC/ST community. If they faced difficulties typical of that community, the mother’s caste may be considered. If the child has always been considered a member of the mother’s community, they may receive a certificate. Senior IRS officer Netra Pal wrote in his post regarding this matter, “Last year, I wrote regarding Rohith Vemula’s claim for a Scheduled Caste certificate, stating that even if the mother belongs to a Scheduled Caste and the father belongs to an Other Backward Class, the son can still claim a Scheduled Caste certificate based on the DoPT circular. Now, the Supreme Court has also upheld this. There appears to be no error in the decision, as it follows the DoPT circular.” Geetha Sunil Pillai Courtesy: Hindi News
Caste-based oppression against a Dalit music student in Tamil Nadu: “If you want a government job, forget music and do what your caste requires…”
FIR No. 407/2025 was registered at the Thirupparankundram police station on August 2nd, following the student’s complaint, but was closed just a month and a half later, on September 30th, citing a “factual error.” Madurai – Caste discrimination has become so deeply ingrained in Tamil Nadu that its dark shadow looms even over the temples of learning. A sensational case has emerged from the Tamil Nadu Government Music College in Pasumalai, Madurai, where a Dalit female student not only endured severe caste-based insults, but also had her education and employment threatened through institutional conspiracies. The student filed a complaint with the police alleging caste discrimination, but the police, acting unilaterally, closed the case and, on the other hand, filed a charge sheet against the woman based on the college administration’s complaint. The student has now appealed to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) for justice. Challenging the police’s biased investigation, she has demanded a fresh investigation. The victim, a Bharatanatyam alumnus, was also working as a part-time evening class teacher at the college. Living with her husband and mother, she explained that she was pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (Bharatanatyam) degree while also working as a temporary teacher, but caste prejudices made her life hell. In her petition, the student has leveled serious allegations against Principal Sampoornam and Chitra, a Bharatanatyam teacher. She claims that these two officials orchestrated a long-standing system of caste-based violence, abusive behavior, and institutionalized harassment. The harassment began in small ways and gradually escalated into a deadly one. The principal and teacher prevented her from using common toilets, made her sit in a separate room during exams, and denied her basic freedoms, such as standing with other teachers or wearing an ID card. Chitra allegedly made an openly casteist remark, “If you want a government job, do the traditional work of your caste—cleaning.” This remark was not only derogatory but also demeaning to the entire community. The harassment reached its peak when the victim was awarded the prestigious Kalaichudar Mani Award. Principal Sampoornam allegedly questioned, “How did a Dalit woman achieve such heights?” Following this award, the two accused staff members hatched a conspiracy. They collected the examination fees but prevented her from taking the second-year exams. Furthermore, her part-time teaching job was abruptly terminated without prior notice, further crippling her financial situation and causing her to suffer a mental breakdown. In January 2025, after an investigation by the State Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Commission, the victim was reinstated for her third-year studies, but the accused, using police pressure, threatened her and forced her to apologize. July 23rd was the most humiliating day of her life, when the principal made her stand outside the classroom for over four hours and incited other students to socially boycott her. This incident not only violated her dignity but also poisoned the college environment. FIR No. 407/2025 was registered at the Thirupparankundram police station on August 2nd, based on the student’s complaint, under the Scheduled Castes/Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, but was closed just a month and a half later, on September 30th, citing “factual error.” According to the victim, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) adopted a biased attitude, relying on the accused’s false and one-sided statements. Moreover, she was not informed of the closure of the case, causing her severe mental trauma. Furthermore, immediately after her original complaint was closed, action was taken on Principal Sampoornam’s complaint, in which the victim was immediately arrested, remanded, and later released on bail. She alleged that the police, under the influence of the accused party, did not take any concrete action on her complaint, instead expediting action against her. In her petition to the NCSC, the victim has clearly requested that a new and impartial DSP be appointed to investigate her FIR, who will conduct the investigation with complete honesty and in accordance with the provisions of the Act. She has demanded strict legal action against the accused staff members, Principal Sampoornam and teacher Chitra. Furthermore, she has appealed for a guarantee of her personal safety, the right to continue her studies without any hindrance, and reinstatement in her part-time government job. Geetha Sunil Pillai Courtesy: Hindi News
Five transgender people from the district will witness the Republic Day parade.
Basti News – The Government of India is striving to bring the transgender community into the mainstream. On the upcoming Republic Day, 100 transgender people have been invited as special guests, including five from Basti. These transgender people, selected by the Indira Charitable Society, will participate in the Republic Day parade. Basti, Hindustan Team. The Government of India is striving to integrate the transgender community into the mainstream and ensure their equal rights. As part of this initiative, 100 transgender people from across the country will be invited as special guests to the parade to be held on the Kartavya Path in Delhi on the upcoming Republic Day. These include five transgender people from Basti. Their list has been finalized by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The list of transgender people was requested from the Indira Charitable Society, a Basti-based organization working for transgender people. Based on the proposal sent by the organization, five transgender people from Basti have been selected to be invited to the Republic Day parade. The Ministry has also formally notified the selected individuals. The list of 100 selected transgenders includes personalities like Riya Madvi, a police officer from Chhattisgarh, Akanksha from Chhattisgarh, a computer operator at Valco Company, Meeta Pandiya from Bhubaneswar, and Kalki Subhamaniam, a member of the Transgender National Council from Coimbatore. Ajay Pandey, CEO of Indira Charitable Society, said that it is a matter of pride that five transgenders from Basti have been included among the 100 transgenders. Among them, Sania, Kajal, Kashish, Sangeeta, and Tanya Kinnar will have the honor of attending the Republic Day parade as special guests. Courtesy: Hindi News
‘Under pressure, hands trembling’: Rahul Gandhi takes a dig at Amit Shah over Lok Sabha speech
NEW DELHI: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Thursday repeated his claim that Amit Shah appeared ‘nervous’ and used ‘foul language’ during the Union home minister’s Lok Sabha speech the previous day. “He (Shah) used foul language. His hands were trembling. Mentally, he is under pressure, and it was seen in Parliament. Whatever I had asked, he gave no replies and provided no proof. I challenged him openly to discuss over my press conferences, but nothing happened. Everyone now understands the reality,” Gandhi told reporters. Hitting back, BJP MP Jagdambika Pal asked why Gandhi and the opposition INDIA bloc “ran away” when the home minister was speaking. “Then why did he leave? People who flee, abandoning the field, the country watches them. During the two-day discussion, he (Shah) held a mirror against all the questions raised on electoral reforms and SIR… When people went to the Supreme Court against SIR, the Supreme Court also said there is no reason to stop SIR… So how long will they keep blaming the Election Commission, voter list, EVM for their defeat?” Pal said. Amit Shah vs Rahul Gandhi During his address on electoral reforms, Shah clashed with Gandhi over the Congress leader’s repeated claims of vote chori’ (theft)” by the Election Commission and the ruling BJP. The Lok Sabha leader of opposition, who has held three press conferences on the issue, challenged the home minister to a debate based on those briefings. In response, Shah remarked that the “House will not function according to his (Gandhi’s) wishes.” The heated exchange erupted when Gandhi interjected during Shah’s address in the Lok Sabha on electoral reforms. Criticising the opposition over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the senior BJP leader argued that he had responses to all their accusations, including those raised in Gandhi’s three press conferences. “In his press conference, the LoP claimed the voter list is flawed and needs correction. That is exactly what SIR is — a process to clean up the rolls. Yet he opposes it. Your defeat is certain; the voter list has nothing to do with it. Double standards won’t work in a democracy. When you win, the EC is great; when you lose, the EC is biased. I have answers to all these allegations — those three press conferences included,” Shah remarked. Gandhi then interrupted and challenged him to a debate. “Yesterday, I asked why Election Commissioners were given full immunity. We want to understand the reasoning behind it. He (Amit Shah) mentioned Haryana, but there are many other examples — including 19 lakh fake voters. Let’s debate my press conferences. Amit Shah ji, I challenge you to a debate on all three,” the Rae Bareli MP asserted. Shah responded that Gandhi could not dictate the order of his speech and should remain patient. “You cannot run Parliament through obstinacy. I will decide the order of my address. The House won’t function like this. He should be patient. I will respond to every point,” he countered. Opposition MPs walked out of the Lok Sabha during Shah’s reply to the discussion on electoral reforms. 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
Defamation case: Court seeks Rahul Gandhi’s reply to 2 new pen drives submitted by Satyaki Savarkar as evidence
Pune: A special MP/MLA court in the city on Thursday sought Rahul Gandhi’s written response to an application by Satyaki Savarkar, who presented a couple of pen drives containing the Congress politician’s alleged defamatory speech against Hindutva icon Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, seeking that they be played in open court. Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer, Milind Pawar, orally objected to the application when the matter came up for hearing before special judge Amol Shinde as part of the case filed by Satyaki Savarkar, the grandnephew of the Hindutva icon, regarding Gandhi’s speech in London in March 2023. The case is at the stage of the complainant (Satyaki) leading his evidence as part of the examination in chief. Pawar, who raised an objection to the procedure and admissibility of the new evidence, told TOI: “The matter on this specific issue was adjourned. It will be taken up for hearing on Dec 16. We will be filing our reply as submission of two new pen drives at this stage is against the procedure.” Satyaki’s lawyer Sangram Kolhatkar told TOI: “Through the two pen drives we filed, we reproduced the electronic evidence which was lost. We also submitted a certificate prescribed under section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act. We sought permission to play the video, but the opposing counsel objected, stating that they wanted to file a reply.” Satyaki had earlier submitted a CD along with a 65B (verification) certificate under the Indian Evidence Act, but it could not be played in court due to some unknown technical reasons. His plea to play another CD was rejected by the court after Gandhi’s lawyer objected on the grounds that it was not accompanied by a 65B certificate During the last hearing on Dec 5, the court allowed an application by Satyaki’s lawyer seeking an adjournment for a limited period. The adjournment sought was to enable the complainant to make proper technical arrangements and reconstruction so that a CD of the speech could be played. 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
5 of 8 names listed were from disadvantaged sections: Govt
NEW DELHI: Government on Thursday issued a strong refutation of leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi’s reported “dissent”, asserting that the Congress neta’s claim that there was absence of names from marginalised communities in the list discussed for filling vacancies of Central Information Commission (CIC) and information commissioners, has fallen flat. The three-member panel including PM Narendra Modi, HM Amit Shah and Gandhi held a meeting on Wednesday and finalised the names. A notification was awaited till late on Thursday evening. Regarding the eight vacancies considered on Wednesday for appointment as information commissioners, as per sources, Centre recommended one SC, one ST, one OBC, one minority representative and one woman. “Overall, five out of the eight recommended names were from disadvantaged sections. In light of these facts, Gandhi’s claims do not hold up,” govt sources said, claiming that the reports based on sources close to the Congress leadership were false and another attempt to misguide people. TOI also carried the report based on the information given by sources close to Congress leadership. “Gandhi’s claims have fallen flat as CIC appointments tell a different story. As per reports in media, at the meeting to select information commissioners, Gandhi recorded his dissent, alleging that the shortlists did not include names from SC, ST, OBC, EBC communities. He is reported to have claimed there was a ‘systematic pattern’ of excluding SC, ST, OBC, EBC and minority communities from appointments to constitutional and autonomous institutions,” the sources said. But facts present a different picture, sources added. Govt said the CIC was established in 2005, and from 2005 to 2014, during the UPA govt’s tenure, not a single person from the SC/ST community was appointed as either a member or the chairperson of the commission. It was the NDA govt in 2018 that appointed Suresh Chandra, a member of the ST community, to the commission, they said. “In 2020, Heeralal Samariya was appointed information commissioner, and in 2023, he became the CIC – the first-ever CIC from the SC community,” a govt official said. The three-member panel met on Wednesday to appoint the CIC, eight information commissioners (ICs) and a vigilance commissioner. However, Gandhi is learnt to have registered his dissent and strongly objected to the near absence of names from SC, ST and OBC communities, which has been rebutted by govt. Congress sources claimed the issue is likely to be a key talking point in the upcoming mega rally against “vote chori” being organised by the opposition party on Dec 14. 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
Social Workers in Bulandshahr Arrange Marriage of Dalit Girl: Setting an Example of Humanity in Sunpeda Village of Kakod, Many People Present
In Sunpeda village of Kakod police station area in Bulandshahr, social workers have set an example of social unity by arranging the marriage of a Dalit girl according to Hindu rituals. According to the information, the girl belongs to a Dalit family. Her father, the late Indrapal Jatav, passed away several years ago. Her mother supports the family by working as a laborer, due to which the family’s financial condition was weak. Bearing the expenses of their daughter’s marriage was a major challenge for the family. When village social worker Sheel Pradhan learned of this situation, he immediately took the initiative. He organized his associates, including Rinku Bhati, Krishna Sharma, Krishna Mistry, Yogesh God, Jitendra, Shekhar Dabar, Kalua Bhati, and Sarjeet, to arrange the marriage. All the social workers together assured the family, saying, “She is not just your daughter, she is our daughter too. Her marriage will be celebrated with great pomp and show.” They then took full responsibility for the wedding and conducted the marriage according to Hindu rituals. This noble act is being widely appreciated in the area. Villagers say that the social workers not only supported a family but also gave a message of unity, humanity, and mutual cooperation to society. There is an atmosphere of joy in the village because of this initiative, and people are praising the social workers. Mohit Bhati Courtesy: Hindi News
Untouchable Goa by Dadu Mandrekar (1997) – A Review by Sampurna Dutta
Dadu Mandrekar’s Untouchable Goa (published in Marathi in 1997), rendered into English through Nikhil Baisane’s (published by Panther’s Paw Publication in 2025) layered and attentive translation, is a powerful sociological archive that exposes caste in a region often reduced to the postcard image of beaches and heritage-rich towns. Across eighteen essays that traverse the maharwadas of Goa’s villages, Mandrekar—writer, journalist, and Ambedkarite activist—constructs a counter-map of the state, highlighting some of its most invisibilised spaces. I approach Untouchable Goa through three interlinked pillars: the maharwadas as infrastructures of caste, death as a mechanism of Brahminical control, and superstition as a material and moral economy. Mandrekar maps the state’s maharwadas—Dalit settlements pushed to the village outskirts, often bordering forests or water bodies that swell dangerously during the monsoon, and typically beyond the reach of the state’s infrastructural gaze. He renders each dwelling an index of economic neglect and a site of endurance. Government housing schemes surface as 1,200–2,000-rupee grants intended to fund entire homes in contexts where installing a functional toilet alone might cost 10,000. In a rare instance, they appear as a failed experiment in socialist “uniformity”. Units are childishly conceived to erase caste boundaries. They are crumbling and ill-maintained, yet statistically “complete.” A passage from this chapter describes a tap installed in a tattered village; a lone functioning emblem of “development”- capturing this paradox with devastating precision. These homes, like their inhabitants, are barely built to survive, let alone live. Subsidies exist largely as bureaucratic data points, disbursed without provisions for repair or maintenance. The Dalits who inhabit maharwadas do not own the land it stands on, nor the land where they will one day be buried—an unbroken circle of dispossession that renders their bodies “owned” by Brahminism in living labour and in death. In the chapter “365 Devchaar”, Mandrekar visits a maharwada in Dhargal, where an old man narrates what begins as ancestral history but gradually reveals itself as myth. He speaks of devchaars, betaals, and a god who, aided by a man, banishes Vetal from his throne. When the protagonist, Pavne, receives water from a Mahar, he loses his caste. Pavne is rewarded with land for banishing Vetal, which, according to local lore, explains why some Mahars in Dhargal still nominally possess land. Mandrekar reads these mythic residues not as distortions of history but as evidence of how ownership itself is shaped by caste memory. He situates the story within a reality where, even when bahujans legally own land, they must still seek permission from the original Brahmin proprietors to build on it—a spiritual and social contract that lays bare the feudal motivations of Brahminism. If home marks the beginning of Mandrekar’s sociological map, death forms its moral and material core. In the second chapter, “Desecrating the Dead,” he examines a grotesque ritual of exhumation in which lower-caste men are bound to dig up graves and participate as drum-beaters in the procession. These bodies are then dismembered and paraded through the night before being discarded. Mandrekar analyses this hideous practice not as a cultural aberration, but as violence enforced through faith. The Brahminical logic of untouchability, Mandrekar observes, seeps even into mahar households. Among Dalits themselves, contact with a menstruating woman demands purification through gomutra, tulsi water, bathing, and changing clothes—rituals that are unmistakably Brahminical in form. The burden of humiliation trails bahujan women intimately. When menstruating or pregnant women die, their corpses are buried without ceremony, often in unmarked places, their faces turned groundwards to prevent them from returning as “vengeful spirits.” Mandrekar intuits an economic ‘fear’ behind this superstition: these rituals are meant to guard family wealth from women who, in death, might return to claim property once denied to them in life. Mandrekar expands the idea of ritual as a sociological archive, tracing the “traditions of death” where the humiliation and economic dispossession of Dalits are most visceral. He refuses to dismiss superstition as quaint or irrational, instead locating its persistence in material and political realities. Mandrekar observes that mahar traditions (whether deities or celebrations) are modest, symbolic, and exposed to the elements, much like Dalits themselves. But over time, these have been displaced by Brahminical practices such as angat yene and devdevski. Dalits must now spend heavily during Hindu festivals, sinking into cycles of never-ending debt. “They barely pay off one before another comes,” Mandrekar notes, showing that belief itself becomes a form of bondage. Superstition, Mandrekar shows, is also a survival strategy shaped by precarity. Dalits participate out of belief but also fear of persecution by upper-caste men and the consequences of stepping outside caste-bound occupations such as bamboo work, cleaning, or leatherwork. Mandrekar notes that their modest homes are sometimes targeted for demolition under the rhetoric of modernisation, mirroring the contemporary demolition of Muslim neighbourhoods across India. Untouchable Goa is a vital ethnographic companion to recent scholarship on caste in Goa by Parag Parabo (2023), Kaustubh Naik (2017), and Jason K. Fernandes (2020). Parabo’s 2023 work, which distinguishes between the Old and New Conquests, analyses the latter as being aligned with Brahminical consolidation following a period of colonial Christian influence—a process that Mandrekar charts through his fieldwork. While Portuguese colonisation itself remains largely absent in Mandrekar’s account, his ethnography provides a rich archive that complements studies of Goan temple politics, landholdings under colonial regimes, and the intersection of Christianity and Brahminism in defining the asprushya or untouchable, as explored by Parabo and Fernandes. Mandrekar specifically documents the everyday realities of home, ritual, and death in post-independence Goa, when Brahminical consolidation became increasingly visible. Untouchable Goa transforms accounts of caste abuse into evidence, offering a necessary corrective to Goa’s sanitised public image and an essential resource for students of the political economy of caste in the region. The Deras: Culture, Diversity and Politics by Santosh K. Singh (2025): A Review by Neha Sharma Courtesy : Doing Sociology Note: This news is originally published on https:/doingsociology.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Principal beats Dalit student with a bat in Raebareli, child seriously injured with a head injury, allegations of caste discrimination also made
UP News: In Raebareli, the principal of Raghavpur Primary School attacked a Class 1 student, Hrithik, on the head with a cricket bat, causing a severe head injury. Madhav Singh, Raebareli: A serious incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon at Raghavpur Primary School in the Bachhrawan police station area of Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, involving 6-7-year-old Hrithik, son of Ram Baran, a student of Class 1. It is alleged that the school principal struck the student on the head with a cricket bat over some issue. The blow was so forceful that the child’s head was split open and he started bleeding profusely. Injured student taken to the hospital Immediately after the incident, the student was taken to the hospital in a serious condition for treatment. Upon learning of the incident, the family and villagers became enraged. Family and villagers express outrage The family informed the police by calling 112. The villagers alleged that not only are children subjected to physical abuse, but also untouchability and caste discrimination. In protest, the villagers surrounded the school and demanded action against the principal. Police registered a case The police arrived at the scene, calmed the situation, and asked the family to file a complaint at the police station. On Wednesday, the family filed a complaint at the police station, seeking justice. Edited by: Devesh Pandey About the author Devesh Pandey is a consultant at Navbharat Times Online. He has 8 years of experience working in TV channels and digital media. He has experience and interest in politics and sports. He covered several IPL matches and the World Cup 2023 in Lucknow. Courtesy: Hindi News
J&K’s Valmiki Community Added to Scheduled Caste List, Union Govt Informs Parliament
Jammu and Kashmir’s Valmiki community has now been officially added to the Scheduled Caste list, the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment told Parliament on Wednesday. The announcement was made in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha while listing caste inclusion proposals processed in recent years. Minister of State Ramdas Athawale said that Jammu and Kashmir had sent two proposals in the past four years. One of them, related to the Phalahre community, was sent back to the administration because the Registrar General of India wanted more justification. But the proposal for including the Valmiki community had already been approved. “The Valmiki community has now been added to the Scheduled Caste list,” he said. Athawale explained that State and Union Territory governments regularly submit requests to include or remove communities from the Scheduled Caste list. These proposals are examined under fixed rules and must be cleared by both the Registrar General of India and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. “Only after both bodies agree can the government begin the legal process under Article 341(2),” he said. He placed data before the House showing that several States have sent similar proposals in the last four years. He noted that each request is examined using demographic information and historical records. “All proposals have been processed according to the laid-down procedures, and the government continues to review the submissions,” Athawale said. Courtesy : TOP Note: This news is originally published on https:/theobserverpost.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights