125 kg soap for Adityanath: UP Dalit activists barred from addressing media at Lucknow Press Club, arrested

Ram Kumar, SR Darapuri

By A Representative
The Uttar Pradesh government has barred well-known Dalit rights activists Ram Kumar and SR Darapuri to hold a press meet at the UP Press Club in Lucknow. They had planned the press meet to highlight the detention of 45 Gujarat Dalits, travelling with in Sabarmati Express with 125 kg soap, at Jhansi railway station on Sunday.
While Kumar heads Dynamic Action Group, a well-known Dalit rights group in UP, Darapuri is a former IPS officer associated with the Budelkhand Dalit Sena. The permission for holding press meet is learnt to have been taken by Darapuri. Both Kumar and Darapuri had been opponents of earlier governments, including that of Mayawati.
The Gujarat Dalits, who wanted to present the soap with a Gautam Buddha image to UP chief minister Yogi Atidyanath to clean-up “anti-Dalit” mindset, were forcibly sent back from Jhansi to Ahmedabad. The unprecedented action was carried out jointly by a UP police contingent and the Railway Police, Jhansi.
The soap was planned to be delivered in protest against Yogi’s officials giving soaps, shampoos and other toiletries to Dalits in Kushinagar May this year, asking them to “come clean” before meeting the chief minister, who was visiting the town.

Adityanath meeting Dalits in Kushinagar

Ahead of the press meet, 30-odd Dalit rights activists were picked up from different spots in Lucknow, including eight at the UP Press Club. The UP Police claimed, they were detained for planning a protest rally against Adityanath without permission.

Top Gujarat Dalit rights activist Martin Macwan, the main brain behind idea of “presenting” the 125 kg soap to Adityanath, told me, “I could not go to Lucknow for the press met, as the flight in which I was to go was extraordinarily delayed.”

He added, “I am told, there was a huge police contingent at the UP Press Club to not allow the press meet. Are Dalits terrorists or what? What are they so afraid of? Dalits seeking to present soap to Adityanath?”
“I am sure, I would have been sent back from the Lucknow airport if I had landed there on time”, he added.
A media report said, the police had planned in well in advance to not allow Dalit activists to hold their press conference” highlighting the Dalits’ soap offer to Adityanath. A large posse of policemen was seen waiting at the UP Press Club since morning.
Arrested at 1:30, they were set free at 5:30 after they obtained bail, Dalit activists were charged with Section 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which gives police the power to arrest anyone to prevent a cognisable offence.

Comments

When democracy becomes a performance: The Tibetan exile experience

By Tseten Lhundup* I was born in Bylakuppe, one of the largest Tibetan settlements in southern India. From childhood, I grew up in simple barracks, along muddy roads, and in fields with limited resources. Over the years, I have watched our democratic system slowly erode. Observing the recent budget session of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, these “democratic procedures” appear grand and orderly on the surface, yet in reality they amount to little more than empty formalities. The parliamentarians seem largely disconnected from the everyday struggles faced by ordinary exiled Tibetans like us.

Study links sanctions to 500,000 deaths annually leading to rise in global backlash

By Bharat Dogra International opinion is increasingly turning against the expanding burden of sanctions imposed on a growing number of countries. These measures are contributing to humanitarian crises, intensifying domestic discord, and heightening international tensions, thereby increasing the risks of conflicts and wars.

Dhurandhar: The Revenge — Blurring the line between fiction and political narrative

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan* "Dhurandhar: The Revenge" does not wait to be remembered; it arrives almost on the heels of its predecessor, released on March 19, 2026, just months after the first film’s December 2025 debut. The speed of its arrival feels less like creative urgency and more like calculated timing—cinema responding not to storytelling rhythm but to the emotional climate of its audience. Director Aditya Dhar, along with actor Yami Gautam, appears acutely aware of this moment and how to harness it.

Beyond the island: Top mythologist reorients the geography of the Ramayana

By Jag Jivan In a compelling new analysis that challenges conventional geographical assumptions about the ancient epic, writer and mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik has traced the roots of the Ramayana to the forests and river systems of Central and Eastern India, rather than the peninsular south or the modern island nation of Sri Lanka.

BJP accounts for 99% of political donations in Gujarat: Corporate giants dominate

By Jag Jivan An analysis of the official data on donations received by national parties from Gujarat during the Financial Year 2024-25 reveals a staggering concentration of funding, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accounting for nearly the entirety of the contributions. The data, compiled in a document titled "National Parties donations received from Gujarat during FY-2024-25," lists thousands of transactions, painting a detailed picture of the financial backing for political parties from one of India’s most industrially significant states.

Alarming decline in India's repair culture threatens circular economy goals: Study

By Jag Jivan A comprehensive new study by environmental research and advocacy organisation Toxics Link has painted a worrying picture of India's fading repair culture, warning that the trend towards replacement over repair is accelerating the country's already critical e-waste crisis.

Captains extraordinaire: Ranking cricket’s most influential skippers

By Harsh Thakor* Ranking the greatest cricket captains is a subjective exercise, often sparking passionate debate among fans. The following list is not merely a tally of wins and losses; it is an assessment of leadership’s deeper impact. My criteria fuse a captain’s playing record with their tactical skill, placing the highest consideration on their ability to reshape a team’s fortunes and inspire those around them. A captain who inherited a dominant empire is judged differently from one who resurrected a nation’s cricket from the doldrums. With that in mind, here is my perspective on the finest leaders the game has ever seen.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

‘No merit’ in Chakraborty’s claims: Personal ethics talk sans details raises questions

By Jag Jivan A recent opinion piece published in The Quint by Subhash Chandra Garg has raised questions over the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Atanu Chakraborty from HDFC Bank , with Garg stating that the exit “raises doubts about his own ‘ethics’.” Garg, currently Chief Policy Advisor at Subhanjali and former Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India, writes that the Reserve Bank of India ( RBI ) appears to find no substance in Chakraborty’s claims, noting, “It is clear the RBI sees no merit in Atanu Chakraborty’s wild and vague assertions.”

Search This Blog