Kharge family has meted out injustice to Dalit leaders, says Chalavadi Narayanaswamy
The Leader of Opposition in the Council says the Kharge family has deprived many Dalit leaders, including himself, of opportunities Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Chavaladi Narayanaswamy has said that the Kharge family has snatched away opportunities of many Dalit leaders, including himself. Speaking to presspersons in Dharwad on Tuesday, he took exception to Minister Priyank Kharge terming him an opportunist and said that the Kharge family has deprived him of opportunities he deserved after his four decades of service to the Congress. “Your (Priyank Kharge) father has been in politics for six decades and there is no example of him grooming a Dalit leader,” he quipped. Mr. Narayanaswamy also said that several Dalit leaders, including three-time legislators Prasad Abbayya, A. Narayanaswamy, P.M. Narendraswamy and Shivanna, have been sidelined in the Congress. “On other hand, Priyank Kharge, who has won three times, has been made a Minister on all three occasions,” he said. He also said that in Kalaburagi, the former Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh’s son has been politically suppressed by the Kharge family. Mr. Narayanaswamy also sought an answer from Priyank Kharge about allegations of them amassing wealth. The Hindu Bureau Courtesy : The Hindu Note: This news is originally published on https:/thehindu.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Former JNUSU president files complaint over VC’s alleged remarks on Dalits
Dhananjay, former President of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) for 2023-24, has lodged a complaint with the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) against JNU Vice Chancellor Santishree D. Pandit regarding allegedly hateful statements made on a public platform. The complaint asserts that the Vice Chancellor’s remarks fostered feelings of enmity, hatred, and ill will towards the Dalit community. The complaint contends that these remarks violate the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, which was enacted to prevent atrocities and hate crimes against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The Act criminalises acts that insult, humiliate, or engender social hostility against these communities and includes provisions for immediate investigation and legal recourse to protect their rights and dignity. The petition seeks the NCSC’s immediate intervention for the registration of a case under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, the initiation of an investigation by an independent committee, and disciplinary and legal action against the Vice Chancellor, including her removal from office. The complainant stressed that the Vice Chancellor has not issued an apology, reinforcing the view that the remarks were intentional and designed to encourage discrimination. On Sunday, Vice Chancellor Santishree D. Pandit defended her comments concerning Dalits and Blacks, stating that her remarks were taken out of context and misrepresented for “political purposes” by certain groups. Her statement followed protests by student organisations, including the JNUSU, demanding her resignation over comments made during a podcast published on February 16. In a written statement shared with ANI, the Vice Chancellor noted that “a large number of faculty” members expressed their “unwavering support” for her, accusing the JNUSU and the JNU Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) of undermining deliberative discourse on campus through selective framing. The controversy arose from Pandit’s remarks on the podcast while discussing the University Grants Commission’s proposed 2026 Equity (Anti-Discrimination) Regulations aimed at addressing caste-based discrimination in higher education. A clip circulating online records her stating that Dalits and Blacks “cannot progress by being permanently a victim or playing the victim card,” which sparked strong reactions from student groups. Courtesy : The News Mill Note: This news is originally published on https:/thenewsmill.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Karnataka: Dalit couple worships at temple after Tehsildar’s intervention
The Tehsildar warned that strict action will be taken if such atrocities occur in the taluk in the future. Tumakuru: A peace meeting was held regarding the incident of a newly married couple from the Dalit community being thrown out of a temple. Following the meeting, Turuvekere Tehsildar M.N. Kum E. Ahmed allowed the abused couple to enter the temple. A peace meeting was held in the village on Tuesday regarding the incident that occurred on February 19th in Goni Tumakuru village of Turuvekere taluk. The peace meeting was successful. Furthermore, Tehsildar Ahmed held the newly married couple’s hand and led them inside the Arasamma Devi temple, putting an end to the conflict between upper castes and Dalits. A Dalit newly married couple visited the village deity amidst police cordon. The Tehsildar warned that strict action will be taken if such atrocities occur in the taluk in the future. The Tehsildar stated that the government temple is not anyone’s property and everyone is allowed to enter the temple without restriction, which belongs to the Muzrai Department. He advised the villagers to maintain harmony among themselves. An awareness program is underway. Strict legal action will be taken against anyone found engaging in foolish rituals or illegal activities. Any kind of untouchability or caste-based abuse is a crime under the law. Everyone should be allowed to enter and exit the temple without restriction. If such incidents occur again in the future, strict action will be taken. We will set up a camp here. As part of the awareness campaign, the district administration will also perform a drama. Several officials, including the District Magistrate, will be present. Please cooperate with the villagers. Tehsildar Ahmed stated that some people have been arrested in connection with the incident, and the police are conducting further investigations. Taluk Panchayat Executive Officer Anantharaju, Conservation Sub-Inspector T. Murthy, Assistant Director of the Social Welfare Department Shivalingaiah, Assistant Engineer of the Public Works Department Kanmani, Panchayat Development Officer Suresh, Revenue Inspector Rangaswamy, Kasaba Hobli Revenue Inspector Jagadeesh, State Intelligence Department Rajkumar, Priest Nanje Gowda, Social Welfare Department employees Dhananjay and Kiran Kumar, Village Administrative Officer Mallick, and other villagers were present on the occasion. What was the matter: A newly married couple from the Dalit community in Goni Tumkur village alleged that they were not only prevented from entering the temple but also subjected to caste-based abuse. Based on a complaint from a person, a case has been registered at the Turuvekere police station under the SC/ST Atrocities Act. The victims stated in their complaint that as soon as they entered the temple, some people insulted them and threw them out. Courtesy: Hindi News
Dalit Couple Faces Humiliation Inside Karnataka Temple, Forced To Leave Premises
A Dalit couple was humiliated at Arasamma Temple in Tumakuru. An FIR was filed under SC/ST Act. A newly married Dalit couple was allegedly humiliated inside a temple in Karnataka and forced to leave the premises in an apparent case of caste discrimination. The incident took place at Goni village in Tumakuru district on February 19 when the Dalit couple visited the Arasamma Temple. It is learnt that a man belonging to an upper caste, identified as Narayanappa, allegedly pretended to be possessed by a deity and told the couple that they were not allowed inside the temple. Footage from the temple shows Narayanappa blocking the pathway to the deity while kneeling, before standing and shouting at the family, forcing them to get out of the temple. The couple reportedly faced humiliation before leaving the temple. He reportedly shouted, “Dalits cannot enter temple. Leave immediately.” Speaking to news agency ANI, SP Ashok KV said, “…One aged person started shouting at the couple in the name of God. He told them things like ‘you should not enter into the temple’. We received a complaint at the Turuvekere police station in which they mentioned seven people, six named and one unknown person.” Following the incident, the victim, Jagadish, filed a complaint with the Turuvekere Police Station. Authorities have registered a First Information Report (FIR) under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against Narayanappa and several others present at the temple, including Prabha, Kantanna, Amulya, Puttegowda, and Padma. “We received the complaint and filed an FIR under the SC/ST Act and BNS 190 and 352…. Immediately, we nabbed the person who appeared to be shouting in the video. A peace meeting has been conducted in that village under the joint leadership of the police and the revenue department. We also ensured the temple entry and other rituals of the newlywed couple…,” he added. Narayanappa has been taken into custody and police were working to trace the remaining accused. The investigation into the matter was underway. Courtesy : News18 Note: This news is originally published on https:/news18.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Dismissing Dalit Assertion as Victimhood Is an Insult to the Constitution
Calling Dalit assertion ‘victimhood’ is not a philosophical position. It is the oldest reflex of every dominant order: discredit the claim before examining its truth. There is a particular kind of violence that never raises its hand. It arrives, instead, in the language of wellness and self-improvement. It does not deny history, it pathologises the act of remembering it. Nowhere is this violence more precisely deployed than in the recurring accusation that Dalits – one-sixth of India’s population, constitutionally recognised as the subjects of the country’s most urgent social justice provisions – ‘play the victim card.’ When that accusation comes from a person occupying a position of institutional authority, it does not merely insult the community, it also rejects the constitutional philosophy of the Republic of India. The ‘victim card’ Let us be precise about what the ‘victim card’ accusation actually claims. It claims that Dalit assertion is not a legitimate constitutional exercise but a psychological performance – that the demand for the implementation of Articles 15, 16, and 17 of the Constitution is not citizens asking for their rights but dependency; that the invocation of the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence on caste discrimination is not law but theatre. It is, in short, a demand that Dalits stop using the Constitution of India in the manner that the Constitution of India was specifically and explicitly designed to be used. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar – the man who designed that Constitution, warned in his closing address that ‘political democracy cannot last unless there lies at the base of it social democracy’. He did not write Articles 17 and 46 as aspirational poetry, but as tools to help dismantle the unequal social order. He knew that a formal constitution in fundamentally unequal society could not produce justice. The reservation system, the anti-atrocity law, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes – these were not gifts from the state to a disadvantaged community. They were constitutional rights, extracted by democratic assertion from a state that would, without them, have perpetuated the very order the Constitution claimed to abolish. Calling Dalit assertion ‘victimhood’ is not a philosophical position. It is the oldest reflex of every dominant order: discredit the claim before examining its truth. What the data shows In 2022, the National Crime Records Bureau recorded 57,582 cases of atrocities against people from Scheduled Caste (SC) communities. That is roughly 157 cases every single day. These were not mere reports of discrimination or allegations of social slights, but registered cases of violence, humiliation, and abuse — everything from murder and rape to the forced drinking of urine, the destruction of homes, and the prevention of access to public water sources. According to the fifth National Family Health Survey, women from SC communities face significantly higher rates of violence than caste Hindu women. According to the 2011 Census, 79.8% of India’s manual scavengers – those who clean human excrement by hand because no one with a choice would do so – belong to SC communities. A landmark 2007 study by economists Sukhdeo Thorat and Paul Attewell found that identical job applications sent to employers with only the applicant’s name changed resulted in 67% fewer callbacks for Dalit names compared to upper-caste ones. Oxfam India’s 2022 Discrimination Report found that SC households earn, on average, 21% less than upper-caste and dominant caste households even in formal, regulated employment, where the law theoretically guarantees equal treatment. CASTE OPPRESSION IN NUMBERS ■ 57,582 registered SC atrocity cases in 2022 alone (NCRB) — 157 every single day ■ 79.8% of manual scavengers belong to Scheduled Caste communities (Census 2011) ■ 67% fewer job callbacks for identical CVs with Dalit names (Thorat & Attewell, 2007) ■ 21% income gap between SC and upper-caste workers in formal employment (Oxfam 2022) ■ 3.6% SC literacy rate at Independence — the direct product of millennia of educational prohibition ■ 20 Dalit student suicides at elite central institutions between 2014 and 2023 These are not the numbers of a community suffering from a psychological addiction to grievance. They are the numbers of a community living inside a system so comprehensively hostile to their existence that the real question is not why they assert their rights, but why they are required, in the face of this evidence, to justify the assertion to anyone at all. The American lesson The comparison to the Black community in the US is frequently used in this debate – usually to suggest that India, like the US, should move beyond race or caste-conscious remediation toward a colour-blind meritocracy. This selective reading of American history is a reversal of what that history actually demonstrates. Martin Luther King Jr., writing from a Birmingham jail cell in 1963, described the greatest obstacle to Black freedom as not the violent racist but the ‘white moderate’ – the liberal who was ‘more devoted to order than to justice,’ who told Black Americans their demands were badly timed, their demonstrations extreme, their sense of urgency unreasonable. King wrote that this moderate preferred a ‘negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice.’ The counsel to stop playing the victim card is, in every era and in every country where it has been deployed, the voice of King’s white moderate. The Kerner Commission, appointed by President Lyndon Johnson after the 1967 urban uprisings, concluded with the full authority of the American federal government that the United States was moving toward ‘two societies, one Black, one white – separate and unequal’ and that passive non-discrimination was woefully inadequate to address centuries of structural racism. The US responded with affirmative action. When the US Supreme Court struck down race-conscious university admissions in 2023, Black and Latino enrolment at elite institutions dropped within a single admissions cycle. Evidently, its removal immediately reconstituted the exclusion it had been designed to address. India, with thirty centuries of caste oppression and a SC literacy rate of 3.6% at independence, is in a far more severe position
JNU Student Bodies Clash Amid VC’s ‘Dalit Victimhood’ Remark, Demand Resignation
More than 10 students were injured in the clashes that broke out at Jawaharlal Nehru University on Sunday night. Some of them reportedly suffered serious head injuries. Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) witnessed another bloody clash at midnight on Sunday night, a fierce clash broke out between the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Left student organisations on the campus. Students affiliated with Left organisations took out a torchlight procession demanding the resignation of VC Shantishree Dhulipudi Pandit. The protesters alleged that ABVP students attacked them, while the ABVP claimed that Left-wing students targeted students studying in the library. Several students were seriously injured amid the lathi-charge and stone-pelting, rekindling the debate on campus about security and freedom of expression. The main root of this entire fight is the recent interview of Vice Chancellor Shantishree Dhulipudi Pandit, in which she made some comments about Dalits and blacks, which the students are considering ‘casteist’ and ‘insulting’. As JNU VC Shanti Shri Dhulipudi Pandit dismisses UGC regulations as “irrational” and “unnecessary,” student union has demand her resignation. The VC, known for her RSS association, labelled Dalits as under “permanent victimhood,” All India Students’ Association (AISA) said in a press release. “AISA extends its solidarity to the students of JNU as well as the rusticated JNUSU Office Bearers and ex-JNUSU President in their fight against the Brahmanical forces in their campus as well against their unjust rustication in an attempt to deprive JNU students of their right to democratic representation,” the students’ union stated. What Happened At The Protest? The Left claimed that while the march was going on peacefully, ABVP members pelted stones at them and attacked them with sticks. While the ABVP said that under the guise of ‘resignation’, Left students entered the library and beat up students who were studying peacefully. More than 10 students were injured in the clashes that broke out at Jawaharlal Nehru University on Sunday night. Some of them reportedly suffered serious head injuries. The injured have been admitted to the AIIMS Trauma Center. Delhi Police remained on alert outside the campus, but due to JNU’s autonomy rules, efforts to control the situation inside were only made after obtaining permission from the police administration. Delhi Police could not enter without the permission of the JNU administration. What JNU Said? Meanwhile, the JNU administration said it has taken note of the matter and will be taking appropriate action against “unruly behaviour on campus” and “repeated destruction of public property. How The Controversy Begun? The latest controversy began with a podcast interview released on February 16, 2026. In it, the Vice Chancellor, while discussing the UGC’s equity regulations, said, “You can’t always progress by playing the victim card. Just as it happened for Black people, the same thing has happened here for Dalits.” Student organisations (SFI, AISA, JNUSU) said that this statement is casteist and an insult to the struggles of Dalits. They called it an attack on constitutional rights in the name of ‘woke culture’ and demanded the Vice Chancellor’s resignation. The VC clarified that her statement had been distorted. She said no one should be permanently categorised as a “victim.” Courtesy : News18 Note: This news is originally published on https:/news18.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Dalit man tied to wooden cot, beaten to death in Jharkhand; mob violence suspected over love affair
DALTONGANJ: A 25-year-old Dalit man was lynched allegedly by a mob on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday at Telyahi village in Palamu district, police said. According to the law enforcers, the lynching could be related to a love angle, but the accused charged him with theft. “We are probing the crime from all angles,” Palamu SP Reeshma Ramesan said. The victim, Pawan Kumar, was tied to a leg of a wooden cot and beaten up. One person has been detained in connection with the crime. Parwa police station officer-in-charge Anchit Kumar said they received a call around midnight alleging that a youth was being beaten up on suspicion of attempting to steal a tractor battery. A patrol team reached the village and found Kumar tied up and surrounded by an aggressive mob. Police rescued him and rushed him to the Medinirai Medical College and Hospital in Daltonganj around 4.06 am, where the doctors declared him dead on arrival. SP Ramesan said no battery was recovered from the victim and described the theft allegation as “unfounded” and a “deception” meant to mislead the police. The investigators are probing a possible “love angle,” as Kumar was allegedly called to the spot by a girl. Police sources suspected the killing may have been linked to a personal relationship and could involve members of the girl’s family and their associates. Kumar, a resident of nearby Kokarsa village, was allegedly lured to Telyahi. An FIR was lodged by the victim’s father, Manoj Ram, with Parwa police station in connection with the incident. The case has been registered under Section 103(2) of the BNS, which pertains to mob lynching. Police have withheld the names of the accused, saying they could abscond. Under the direction of the District Legal Services Authority chairman, Ram Sharma, who is also the principal district and sessions judge, para-legal volunteer Pankaj Pathak will visit the family to initiate and provide interim victim compensation. DLSA secretary Rakesh Ranjan said the family would receive legal assistance.The post-mortem was video-graphed. The victim, Pawan Kumar, was tied to a leg of a wooden cot and beaten up. One person has been detained 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
‘Opposition Raising Dalit CM Slogan To Cover Shortcomings,’ Says Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara; Cabinet To Decide On Student Union Elections
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara accused opposition parties of using the Dalit Chief Minister issue to cover their shortcomings, stating Congress decides on such appointments. He said student elections will be decided by the Cabinet and declined to comment on the dispute between Siddaramaiah and H.D. Kumaraswamy over caste politics. Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Monday accused the opposition parties of raising the slogan of a Dalit Chief Minister to cover up their own shortcoming, asserting that it is the Congress party that makes Dalits Chief Minister and only the High Command decides on the timing of such an appointment. Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Parameshwara also addressed the ongoing discussion regarding conducting student elections in colleges and regarding the war of words between former CM Siddaramaiah and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy over caste politics. On the discussion around the Dalit Chef Minister, Parameshwara dismissed it as an opposition move to cover up their own shortcomings. “This is all the handiwork of the opposition parties. To cover up their own shortcomings, the opposition has raised the slogan of a Dalit Chief Minister. Isn’t our Chief Minister governing? Isn’t the administration functioning? It is the opposition that is unnecessarily bringing in the Dalit CM factor,” Parameshwara said. He further emphasized that it is congress party that provides opportunities to Dalits to become chief ministers. “It is the Congress party that makes Dalits the Chief Minister — who else does it? The High Command will decide when a Dalit Chief Minister should be appointed,” Parameshwara said. On the question regarding conducting student elections in colleges, Parameshwara said the decision will be taken in the Cabinet. “Earlier, when K.H. Ranganath was the Higher Education Minister, clashes took place in some colleges and universities. At that time, elections to student unions were stopped. When I was the Higher Education Minister, we had banned syndicate elections. Now, there is again a discussion about conducting student union elections. We have to see what decision will be taken in the Cabinet,” Parameshwara said. Regarding the war of words between CM Siddaramaiah and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy over caste politics, Parameshwara declines to respond, citing their past association. “I cannot respond to this. Siddaramaiah was earlier in the JD(S) and was its president. Later, he was expelled from the party. We do not know what all issues exist between them. I cannot comment on the exchange of words between the two,” Parameshwara said. (Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.) Courtesy : TFPJ Note: This news is originally published on https:/thefreepressjournal.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Dalit newlyweds denied temple entry in Karnataka’s Tumakuru:Accused tells couple to worship at home
A Dalit couple was stopped from entering a temple in Tumakuru district, Karnataka. The young couple had recently married. When they arrived at the temple, a man named Narayanappa prevented them from entering. He told them that Dalit people should worship at home and not come to the temple. The incident occurred on 21 February at the Arasamma temple in Tumakuru village. The couple filed a police complaint against five people. They said that Narayanappa had publicly threatened them, and others present at the temple had supported him. Following the complaint, police arrested the main accused, Narayanappa. The other accused are still absconding, and police say the search for them is ongoing. A dispute broke out between people of Hindu and Muslim communities during Shivaji Jayanti in Bagalkot. A dispute broke out between people of Hindu and Muslim communities during Shivaji Jayanti in Bagalkot. February 20: Hindu-Muslim dispute erupted on Shivaji Jayanti A Shivaji Jayanti procession was held in Bagalkot on Thursday night around 10 PM. When it passed the Panka Mosque area, stones and slippers were thrown at the procession. Bagalkot SP Siddharth Goyal said a policeman was injured in the stone-pelting. The SP said police are reviewing CCTV footage. Action will be taken against the culprits once the footage is examined. Section 163 of BNS will remain in force in the area until midnight on 24 February. The situation is under control. Eyewitness Umesh said the incident occurred near the mosque during the procession. Around 8–10 people threw stones and slippers. No arrests have been made yet. Meanwhile, police confirmed that on 20 February, during the Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti procession in Bagalkot district, shoes, slippers, and stones were thrown at the procession near a mosque. Courtesy : Bhaskar English Note: This news is originally published on https:/bhaskarenglish.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Infant dies in Nagar Kurnool after caste-based temple assault
The family claims they were barred from entering the temple, beaten by organizers, and denied police help Hyderabad: A two-month-old infant succumbed to injuries from an alleged castedriven attack at the Kummera Mallanna Jathara in Nagar Kurnool mandal on February 21. The family claims they were barred from entering the temple, beaten by organizers, and denied police help. Chakali Chandrakala, her son Ganesh, daughter-in-law, and daughter arrived for Mallanna darshan during the jathara. Organizers—including village sarpanch Tukaram Reddy, Undyala Srinivas Reddy, Srikant Reddy, Satish Reddy Kannireddy, and Kufender Reddy—allegedly stopped them at the gate. When Chandrakala protested, the group reportedly hurled caste-based abuses and assaulted the family, ignoring pleas to halt due to the infant’s presence. The family alleges one assailant kicked the two-month-old child, who fell critically ill and was rushed to a hospital. Despite treatment, the infant died. They attribute the denial of temple entry to their backward caste status. Approaching Nagarkurnool Police Station for justice, the family says officers threatened them and refused to file a report. Victims claim the organizers, from an upper caste and linked to the Congress party, used their clout to evade accountability. The family now seeks protection, a thorough probe, and severe punishment for those responsible. Courtesy : Madhyamam Note: This news is originally published on https:/madhyamam.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights