Dalits

We Are Against Cow Vigilantism, Attacks On Dalits: Vijay Rupani

India News | Indo-Asian News Service | Sunday October 15, 2017

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani today said his government was against people taking the law in their hands under the pretext of saving cows from slaughter

Kerala Opens Temple Doors To Dalit Priests, And Equality

Kerala News | Reported by Sneha Mary Koshy, Edited by Anindita Sanyal | Tuesday October 10, 2017

In a landmark step, 36 non-Brahmins - six of them Dalits - have been appointed as priests in conservative Kerala. The appointments were made by the Kerala's Travancore Devasom Recruitment Board, which is controlled by the state government - currently headed by CPM's Prinarayi Vijayan.

Gujarat Teen Behind 'Mr Dalit' Campaign Faked The Attack, Say Police

India News | Written by Rohit Bhan | Saturday October 7, 2017

After Dalit teen Digant Maheria told the police that he had been slashed with a blade by two men on a motorcycle while returning from school in his village in Gujarat earlier this week, hundreds of Dalit men from neighbouring villages changed their WhatsApp display pictures in protest to photos of a large moustache with Mr Dalit written under it. I...

'Mr Dalit' Protest On WhatsApp After Attacks in Gujarat Over Moustache

India News | Reported by Rohit Bhan, Edited by Shylaja Varma | Wednesday October 4, 2017

Digant Maheria, 17, was walking back from school in Gujarat's Limbodara village on Tuesday when two unidentified men drove up on a motorcycle and slashed his back with a blade. Digant is a cousin of Piyush Parmar, one of two Dalit men who were beaten up in the village last week for wearing a moustache. The attackers were allegedly Rajput men who sa...

Dalit Man, 21, Beaten To Death Allegedly For Attending Garba In Gujarat

India News | Reported by Rohit Bhan | Monday October 2, 2017

A 21-year-old Dalit man was beaten to death allegedly by a group of men belonging to the upper caste Patel community for attending a garba event in Gujarat's Anand district on Sunday, the police said.

As Karnataka Nears Polls, Political Parties Reach Out To Dalits

Karnataka News | Written by Harish Upadhya | Wednesday August 30, 2017

BJP Karnataka president BS Yeddyurappa on Monday hosted the families of 33 Dalits at his posh Dollars colony residence in Bengaluru. These are the same families whose homes he recently visited as part of his public outreach programme across the state.

'Can No Longer Look Away': 114 Armed Forces Veterans Write To PM Modi

India News | Edited by Nishant Saxena | Monday July 31, 2017

More than 100 military veterans have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying they condemn the targeting of Muslims and Dalits in the country and what they call a climate of fear and intimidation.

What Modi Wants With Amit Shah's Election To Rajya Sabha

Opinion | Swati Chaturvedi | Friday July 28, 2017

Given how much Shah travels - across the country in states heading for election, lunching with Dalits and mobilizing cadre, many are wondering what Narendra Modi has in store for his closest confidante and effective Number Two.

How Uttar Pradesh's Dalit Community Is Reacting To President Ram Nath Kovind

India News | Written by Alok Pandey | Wednesday July 26, 2017

As Ram Nath Kovind, India's second Dalit President after KR Narayanan, took oath on Tuesday, there was hardly a ripple in Mubarakpur -- a Dalit majority village just 30 km from Lucknow and 200 km from the Presidents' hometown in Kanpur Dehat. There is no consensus about whether a Dalit taking over the country's highest office would bring a change i...

Peace Returns To Andhra Village Facing Caste Unrest

South | Press Trust of India | Wednesday July 26, 2017

Peace returned to Andhra Pradesh's Garagaparru village, where a dispute over installation of an Ambedkar statue had led to acrimony between Dalits and an upper caste group over the last three months.

Will Ram Nath Kovind's Election Help? Depends, Say Dalits In UP Village

India News | Written by Alok Pandey | Wednesday July 26, 2017

As Ram Nath Kovind, India's second Dalit President after KR Narayanan, took oath today, there was hardly a ripple in Mubarakpur -- a Dalit majority village just 30 km from Lucknow and 200 km from the Presidents' hometown in Kanpur Dehat.

Parliament's Monsoon Session Day 6: Highlights

India News | Monday July 24, 2017

The first week of the Monsoon Session saw heated debates as the Opposition sought to corner government several issues including farmer suicides, atrocities on Dalits, cow vigilantism, and problems arising from the Goods and Services Tax or GST.

Monsoon Session In Parliament Day 4 Live: 'India Not Unreasonable With China' Says Sushma Swaraj On Border Standoff

India News | Edited By Bhanu Priya Vyas | Thursday July 20, 2017

After a stormy three days, the fourth day of monsoon session in parliament is expected to invite similar pandemonium. Opposition stays united in its resolve to question government on several issues including farmer distress, unemployment, atrocities on Dalits, lynchings, and problems arising from the Goods and Services Tax.

President Election Result 2017: Ram Nath Kovind Will Take Oath As 14th President Of India On July 25

India News | Edited by Abhishek Chakraborty | Thursday July 20, 2017

Ram Nath Kovind has won the presidential election after securing over two-thirds of the total electoral college votes. Mr Kovind will be sworn-in as the 14th President of India on July 25. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Ram Nath Kovind for winning the presidential election. PM Modi tweeted: "Congratulations to Shri Ram Nath Kovind Ji on...

A Day Later, Mayawati's Resignation From Rajya Sabha Still Not Accepted

India News | Reported by AKhilesh Sharma, Edited by Shuchi Shukla | Wednesday July 19, 2017

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati was not in Parliament this morning after her dramatic announcement yesterday that she was quitting the Rajya Sabha for not being allowed to speak on what she called atrocities on Dalits, but her three-page resignation is yet to be accepted. This is because it was not in the format required.

Mayawati Quits Parliament Hours After Angry Walkout From Rajya Sabha

India News | Reported by Sunil Prabhu, Edited by Arun Nair | Tuesday July 18, 2017

Mayawati, Bahujan Samaj Party chief, has resigned from the Rajya Sabha hours after she had angrily walked out of the Upper House of Parliament today declaring she would quit if she was not allowed to speak on what she called frequent attacks on Dalits in Uttar Pradesh.

Do Ram Nath Kovind And I Have No Other Qualities Than Being Dalits? Asks Meira Kumar

India News | Press Trust of India | Saturday July 1, 2017

The Opposition's presidential nominee said India is at a crucial juncture today with prevalence of religious intolerance and narrow-mindedness.

Presidential Candidate Kovind Calls Himself 'Crusader': Foreign Media

India News | Iain Marlow, Bloomberg | Monday June 19, 2017

India's ruling coalition has announced its candidate for a presidential election, choosing a man who has championed the rights of India's Dalits amid protests by so-called "lower castes."

In This Year's IIT Class, Kids Of Farmers And Labourers: Telangana's Super 100, Almost

Telangana News | Written by Uma Sudhir | Tuesday June 13, 2017

Marginal farmers, labourers, orphans, Dalits and tribals - nearly a hundred children from very underprivileged backgrounds have made Telangana proud this year. With special coaching from free government schools, 27 of them have cracked the entrance examination for the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology. The other 71 will go to the National...

Given Soap, Told To Take Bath Before Yogi Adityanath Visit, Say Dalits

India News | Reported by Alok Pandey, Edited by Anindita Sanyal | Sunday May 28, 2017

People belonging to a Scheduled Caste in Uttar Pradesh have alleged that they were given soap and shampoo by the local administration ahead of a visit by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath last week.

Saharanpur's Rajputs Warn The BJP: Give Us Justice, Or Lose Our Votes

India News | Written by Sreenivasan Jain (with inputs from Manas Pratap Singh) | Sunday May 28, 2017

The violence has uncovered the BJP's dilemma - while Rajputs constitute a loyal base, the party cannot afford to antagonise Dalits, whose increasing support played a key role in delivering a massive mandate to the party.

1 Dead In Fresh Violence In Saharanpur In Uttar Pradesh

India News | Written by Alok Pandey | Tuesday May 23, 2017

There was fresh violence in western Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur district on Tuesday afternoon, before and after a visit by Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati to a village that saw a clash between Dalits and upper caste members a fortnight ago that left one dead and over 20 injured.

Saharanpur Violence: 22 Arrested, Extra Security Called In

India News | Reported by Nikhil Pandhi, Edited by Anindita Sanyal | Thursday May 11, 2017

Twenty-two people were arrested and 4 companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary was called in at Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, where violence erupted yesterday - the third such instance in a month. Locals indicate it was a fallout of alleged police inaction in the previous clashes between the district's Dalits and upper castes.

Saharanpur Remains Tense Post Caste Clashes, UP Police Chief Takes Stock

India News | Written by Alok Pandey | Sunday May 7, 2017

As the situation in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur continues to be tense, UP police chief Sulkhan Singh will visit the district after clashes between Dalits and upper castes on Friday left one person dead and over 20 injured. This was the second big caste clash in the district in a fortnight.

This Land Is Sacred: India’s First Private Gold Mine Angers Villagers

Thomson Reuters Foundation | Wednesday May 3, 2017

Sonakhan, Chhattisgarh: The village of Sonakhan in Chhattisgarh hardly looks like the site of a gold rush. There are no gun-toting ruffians, nor squalid camps of desperate fortune-seekers. The dusty village with its distinct reddish soil, is a collection of modest brick homes and small patches of cultivated land amid scraggly forest. But the villag...

Kerosene In Well - That Was Dalits' Punishment For Band Baaja At Wedding

India News | Edited by Anindita Sanyal | Sunday April 30, 2017

Not long after the celebrations ended in the Dalit quarters of Maada village in Madhya Pradesh, a shocking discovery was made by the locals. The well that supplied water to nearly 500 Dalits, was yielding kerosene. The alarmed Dalits called in the authorities and the well was pumped out. It appeared that kerosene had been deliberately poured in to ...

BJP Names Party Meet Venue In Odisha After Dalit Poet Bhima Bhoi

India News | Press Trust of India | Friday April 14, 2017

BJP today named the venue of its national executive meeting here after the dalit poet Bhima Bhoi apparently to woo dalits who constitute over 17 per cent of Odisha's population.

Congress Lawmaker Ranjeet Ranjan Alleges Caste Discrimination In Uttar Pradesh

India News | Indo-Asian News Service | Thursday March 23, 2017

Congress member in the Lok Sabha Ranjeet Ranjan on Thursday said Yadavs and some other castes were being targeted in Uttar Pradesh, and questioned the anti-Romeo squads formed in the state. "An IPS officer has said, a particular caste is being targeted. The way hatred is being spread against Yadavs, Muslims and Dalits in Uttar Pradesh, it is agains...

Laddoo In Hand, Amit Shah Sets The BJP A New Target

India News | Reported by Sandeep Phukan, Edited by Anindita Sanyal | Friday March 17, 2017

The taste of victory is sweet and the BJP wants more. At a weekly meeting of lawmakers today, party president Amit Shah offered a laddoo from the famous Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor to Prime Minister Modi - brought by a lawmaker as blessings of Lord Balaji - and immediately informed his colleagues that they begin preps for he BJP's ...

Uttar Pradesh Elections 2017: The BJP's Strategy For 102 Seats In Eastern UP

India News | Written by Shikha Trivedy | Friday March 3, 2017

UP's most backward castes could decide the election results in the eastern part of the state