Latest news with #ScheduledCastesandScheduledTribesPreventionofAtrocitiesAct
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5 days ago
- Politics
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Uttar Pradesh: SP member booked for teaching ‘politicised alphabets' at Saharanpur ‘PDA Pathshala'
A Samajwadi Party member has been booked by the Uttar Pradesh police for allegedly operating an unauthorised school in Saharanpur, where children were taught 'politicised' alphabets, The Times of India reported on Monday. The first information report, registered at the Dehat Kotwali police station, was based on a complaint filed by a resident identified as Maan Singh, who accused Farhan Alam Gada of politicising education and misleading children. He alleged that the children were being taught phrases like 'A for Akhilesh', 'B for Babasaheb', 'D for Dimple' and 'M for Mulayam Singh Yadav', referring to Samajwadi Party leaders and BR Ambedkar. Singh alleged that this sparked public outrage and hurt public sentiment, The Times of India reported. The incident came to light after a video, reportedly filmed at Gada's residence in Ramnagar village, was widely shared on social media, PTI reported. In the footage, uniformed children were seen participating in the lesson. सहरानपुर में समाजवादी पार्टी के एक नेता PDA पाठशाला शुरू की है,जिसमें बच्चों को A for Apple नही A for अखिलेश और D for DELHI नहीं D for डिंपल यादव पढ़ाया जा रहा #PDA l #NDA l — प्रतीक खरे/Pratik khare 😷 (@pratik_khare_) July 31, 2025 Gada had launched the first such school, called 'PDA Pathshala' after the Samajwadi Party's outreach to Pichhda (backward), Dalit and Alpsankhyak (minority) communities, India Today reported. These community-run schools aim to provide free education to underprivileged children while also introducing them to the party's core ideology. He has previously said that the schools were not just for teaching the alphabet but also to educate children about the 'great men of Samajwadi ideology'. 'Just as convent schools have their own curriculum, our PDA Pathshala introduces children to socialist ideology,' The Times of India quoted him as saying. Gada has been charged under Section 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for promoting enmity between groups, and under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act. Samajwadi chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the Bharatiya Janata-led state government of being anti-education. 'Even the British didn't file an FIR for studying,' he said in a post on X. 'The anti-education face of BJP has now been exposed to the public. Now BJP will be gone forever.' पढ़ाई के लिए तो FIR अंग्रेजों तक ने नहीं की थी। भाजपा का शिक्षा विरोधी चेहरा अब जनता के सामने उजागर हो गया है। अब भाजपा हमेशा के लिए जाएगी। निंदनीय! — Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) August 3, 2025 In a related case, another leader from the Samajwadi Party, Rachna Singh Gautam, was booked for allegedly holding another unauthorised 'PDA Pathshala' outside a government school in Shahampur Garhi village in Kanpur, Hindustan Times reported. The complaint accused her of politicising children, misusing school premises and spreading misinformation. The Samajwadi Party launched ' PDA Pathshalas ' in protest against the state government's now-rolled back move to merge primary schools. The merger policy, aimed at consolidating schools with fewer than 50 students, had faced backlash for potentially increasing dropout rates, especially among children from poor, rural and marginalised communities, due to greater travel distances and reduced local access to education. The Uttar Pradesh government has defended the policy, saying it is in line with the 2020 National Education Policy and aims to enhance education quality, while optimising the use of resources.
The Independent
29-07-2025
- The Independent
Indian IT worker murdered in suspected caste-motivated ‘honour killing'
A young IT professional was murdered in a suspected caste -motivated ' honour killing ' in India on Sunday evening. Kavin Selva Ganesh, 27, was allegedly hacked to death by his partner's brother in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, local media reported. Ganesh had visited his partner, identified by police as Subhashini, at her traditional medicine clinic in Tirunelveli town to consult about his grandfather's health. Subhashini's brother, S Surjit, allegedly lured him outside and on to a secluded stretch around 200 metres from the clinic, and attacked him with a sickle. 'He threw chilli powder on Kavin's face after which he started running,' the victim's mother, S Tamilselvi, said in her complaint to police, according to Deccan Herald. 'But Surjith chased him and hacked him to death.' Ganesh, who worked for the multinational IT company Tata Consultancy Services in the state capital of Chennai, belonged to the Devendra Kula Vellalar community, a historically marginalised group under the rigid Hindu caste system. The community is listed among the Scheduled Castes in the Indian government's classification. Subhashini is from the Maravar community, a socially dominant caste in Tamil Nadu that falls under the 'Most Backward Classes' category, denoting a higher status in the caste hierarchy than 'Scheduled Castes'. Although both groups are officially considered socially and economically disadvantaged, the Maravar community holds more local influence and status. The couple's relationship had reportedly drawn disapproval and repeated threats from Subhashini's family members who opposed it out of caste pride. 'The victim and the accused's sister were schoolmates and had known each other for a long time,' an unnamed local police officer told Hindustan Times. 'The woman's family had objected to their relationship.' Subhashini's father S Saravanan and her mother Krishnakumari are both serving police inspectors, according to The Hindu. Tamilselvi also said in her complaint that Subhashini's family had given multiple threats to her son in the past. The Times of India reported that Subhashini's family had previously approached local police to warn Ganesh off but no formal action was taken. Surjit was arrested after he surrendered on Monday. He was charged along with his parents under relevant sections of the criminal code and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act. Saravanan and Krishnakumari are reportedly absconding. Terming his son's murder a ' caste killing', Ganesh's father alleged that it was instigated by Subhashini's parents. 'The woman asked my son to come to the hospital. The accused took my son out, threw chilli powder on his face and pulled out a machete to kill him,' Chandrashekar told Hindustan Times. 'The government should immediately expel his mother and father from service. We will protest and not take my son's body unless action is taken against them.'
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29-07-2025
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Tamil Nadu: Dalit man killed by girlfriend's brother allegedly over inter-caste relationship
A 21-year-old man has been arrested for killing a 27-year-old Dalit software engineer in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli district, in what the police alleged to be a caste crime, The Indian Express reported on Tuesday. S Surjith, the accused, allegedly hacked Kavin Selva Ganesh to death on Sunday. Ganesh, who belonged to a Scheduled Caste community, was in a relationship with Surjith's sister, S Subhasini. Surjith surrendered to the police shortly after attacking Ganesh, according to The Indian Express. His parents, Saravanan and Krishnakumari, are police sub-inspectors. They were named as co-accused in the first information report and charged under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act. The parents have been accused of inciting the crime and making threats to Ganesh in the past. Ganesh, a resident of Arumugamangalam village in Thoothukudi district, worked at Tata Consultancy Services in Chennai. On Sunday, he had gone to meet Subhashini at a private clinic in Tirunelveli town, where she works as a consultant. Subhashini belongs to a Most Backward Class community. Surjith allegedly met Ganesh outside the clinic and told him to come along as his parents wanted to speak with him. Ganesh got on his two-wheeler and left for Astalakshmi Nagar, The Indian Express reported. A few hours later, his body was found about 200 metres from the clinic, the Hindustan Times reported. Police said Ganesh and Subhashini had known each other since childhood. They had faced growing hostility from Subhashini's family. Ganesh's family told police that they had received repeated threats from her parents, the Hindustan Times reported. Ganesh's family has refused to accept his body and is demanding legal action against Surjith's parents, who they allege were instrumental in the murder. 'They objected to the relationship from the beginning and repeatedly harassed my son,' The Indian Express quoted Ganesh's mother, S Tamizhselvi, as saying. 'Even now, they may use their positions to influence the case.'
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12-07-2025
- Politics
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Rohith Vemula suicide: Telangana government has sought to reopen case, says deputy CM
The Telangana government has submitted a legal note in the High Court seeking directions to reopen a case about the suicide of University of Hyderabad scholar Rohith Vemula, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said on Friday, according to The Indian Express. Vikramarka, a Congress leader, said at a press conference in Delhi that the government 'will not leave anybody involved in the case.' The deputy chief minister questioned the Bharatiya Janata Party's decision to appoint N Ramchander Rao as the new head of its Telangana unit. Rao, a former MLC, was among the accused named in the original case related to Vemula's death. 'It shows that whoever goes against Adivasis and whoever goes against Dalits will be rewarded by the BJP,' Vikramarka was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. 'The BJP has to apologise to the nation. Is targeting Dalits the qualification for you to appoint as president.' Rohith Vemula, a PhD scholar at Hyderabad Central University, had died by suicide on January 17, 2016. In his suicide note, he had alleged caste-based discrimination and harassment by the university. Vemula had been protesting against the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, which is the Bharatiya Janata Party's student wing, and the administration at the University of Hyderabad for their decision to bar five Dalit men, including himself, from using their hostels and the university's public spaces. Vemula was a leader of the Ambedkar Students Association. His death triggered nationwide protests and sparked a movement against caste-based discrimination in higher educational institutions. Following his death, police registered a case of abetment to suicide and invoked charges under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act. In May 2024, eight years after Vemula's death, the Telangana Police filed a closure report in the case that claimed that Vemula did not belong to the Scheduled Caste category and hence died by suicide fearing that his real caste identity would be discovered. The report also alleged that the Vemula family forged their caste certificates. However, the family has maintained that Rohith Vemula's mother is a Dalit Mala by birth and was adopted by a woman belonging to an Other Backward Classes community. The closure report also cleared the accused persons: Secunderabad MP at the time Bandaru Dattatreya, Member of Legislative Council N Ramachander Rao, Vice Chancellor of University of Hyderabad Appa Rao, Leaders from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and .
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23-06-2025
- Politics
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Telugu actor Vijay Deverakonda booked under SC/ST Act for comments about Adivasis
Telugu actor Vijay Deverakonda was booked under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act by the Hyderabad Police for making allegedly derogatory remarks against Adivasi communities during a public event, PTI reported on Sunday. Deverakonda made the alleged statements on April 26 during a pre-release event for his film Retro. The case was filed at the Raidurgam police station based on a complaint by Nenavath Ashok Kumar Naik, state president of the Joint Action Committee of Tribal Communities. The complainant alleged that the actor referred to Adivasi persons as lacking intelligence and compared them to Pakistani terrorists, The Hindu reported. Naik said that the actor's comments were offensive and deeply insulting to the dignity and self-respect of the Adivasi community. Another case was registered against Deverakonda in May at Hyderabad's SR Nagar police station under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act over the comments, the newspaper reported. On May 3, the actor apologised on social media, saying that he had 'no intention to hurt or target any community, especially our Scheduled Tribes, who I deeply respect and consider an integral part of our country'.
