Hathras not isolated case, is structural anti-Dalit violence: BIAS, TISS students, alumni

By A Representative

A large number of students and alumni of the Birla Institute of Applied Sciences (BIAS), Nainital, and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), with branches in Mumbai, Guwahati and Tuljapur, have said in an identical statement that the Hathras incident “cannot be seen in isolation but as structural casteist violence committed by upper caste people against Dalits as a community and Dalit women in particular.”
Commenting on the gangrape of Dalit girl Manisha, who subsequently died in September-end, in a statement, they said, “The family of the victim had been continuously harassed by two of the accused and other people from the upper castes of their locality”, blaming the incident on “the upper caste dominating Thakur community” which has been found involved in “caste-based violence before” in Boolgarhi village of Hathras district of UP.
Asserting that the “same men attempted to rape her even before”, the statement said, “There are countless cases where sexual violence on Dalit women has been committed in the guise of teaching lessons to the Dalit community as a whole”, adding, “The body of Dalit women has been subjected to sexual violence by abusive and barbaric upper-caste men time and again.”
Accusing the police system and state machinery for “shamelessly” siding with the powerful people which committed the crime in Hathras, the statement said, these people were extended “all the help earlier by not providing the proper treatment to the victim and then by denying the rights of the victim’s family to performing the last rites.”

The statement accused the authorities of “failing” to transfer the victim immediately to the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences “even after the condition was too critical for her survival”, adding, “Later also, after 14 days, she was only admitted a day before her death in the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi.”
Rolling out data, the statement said, “Over 3,500 Dalit women were raped in India in the year 2019, with one 3rd of them comes from the state of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. About 2.42 lakh rape cases in 7 years (2013-19), after the Nirbhaya gang-rape case, almost four women are raped every hour. Such barbarism is supported by the casteist state, it said, adding, it is “a blot on the Indian justice system” as well.
Demanding “immediate commencement of fast track trial and stricter punishment to the guilty”, the statement demanded “strong actions against the police officials who held the victim away from receiving proper treatment and denied the victim’s family of their rights to perform the last rites.” It added, strong actions should be taken against the police/government officials who have been “trying to destroy the evidence” and “threatening” the victim's families.

Comments

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

Aligning too closely with U.S., allies, India’s silence on IRIS Dena raises troubling questions

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The reported sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about international norms and the credibility of the so-called rule-based order. If indeed the vessel was attacked by the American Navy while returning from a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam, it would represent a serious breach of trust and a violation of the principles that govern such cooperative engagements. Warships participating in these exercises are generally not armed for combat; they are meant to symbolize solidarity and friendship. The incident, therefore, is not only shocking but also deeply ironic.

India’s foreign policy at crossroads: Cost of silence in the face of aggression

By Venkatesh Narayanan, Sandeep Pandey The widely anticipated yet unprovoked attack on Iran on March 1 by the United States and Israel has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters around the world. Reports indicate that the strikes have resulted in significant civilian casualties, including 165 elementary school girls, 20 female volleyball players, and many other civilians.

India’s green energy push faces talent crunch amidst record growth at 16% CAGR

By Jag Jivan* A new study by a top consulting firm has found that India’s cleantech sector is entering a decisive growth phase, with strong policy backing, record capacity additions and surging investor interest, but facing mounting pressure on talent supply and rising compensation costs .

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Search This Blog