#LockdownCasteAtrocities: Human rights social media campaign to petition UN

A Dalit artist's painting on caste atrocities

By A Representative
The Dalit Human Rights Defenders Network (DHRDNet), claiming to be a coalition of over 1,000 Dalit human rights defenders across India, has collaborated with Public Bolti, a citizen journalism and advocacy platform, to run a social media campaign #LockdownCasteAtrocities on DHRDNet’s official social media handles on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Linktree and Youtube.
Explaining the reason for the month-long the campaign, DHRDNet said, “The mainstream media – as far too many Dalit journalists have pointed out ad nauseam – reports only on the most brutal cases of caste atrocities, especially after a furore raised by people from the community.”
Giving instances, DHRDNet said in a statement, this is true of Khairlanji, as also Hathras, pointing out, “When they do cover it, even the most ‘progressive’ of media tramples on the dignity of the victims/survivors, fails to mention the caste of the perpetrators, while universally trying to suppress the caste angle.”
“Further”, asserted DHRDNet, “When it comes to victims of atrocities against Dalits, images of brutality inflicted on them are shared widely, while the consideration of the dignity of the individual and their families – a courtesy extended always to upper caste victims – is honoured only in the breach.”

Giving details of the campaign, DHRDNet said, “To highlight the cases, while at the same time respecting the dignity of the individuals, the campaign features 30 artists from Bahujan communities presenting 30 cases over 30 days, through rap and music, illustrations, poetry, performance art, and mixed media. It’s an attempt to rewrite the narrative from victimhood to calling out the Brahminical oppressors.”

It continued, “The campaign has initiate conversations on various aspects related to atrocities being committed against Dalits, through explainers, sessions with on-ground experts, media reporting on atrocities, and various Call to Action steps for allies. One of the key focus areas is making information related to the Prevention of SC/ST Atrocities Act accessible to members of the community, to facilitate quicker registration of cases.”

Deciding to table a petition for the United Nations Organisation at the end of the campaign, DHRDNet said, it would stress on institutionalizing “regular reporting and effective dialogue on the elimination of discrimination based on caste and analogous forms of inherited status”, adding, “A second petition contains a detailed list of concrete recommendations to address and prevent caste crimes in individual states directed to lawmakers such as MPs and MLAs.”
The campaign, which is being carried out on, which is being concentrated in five states – Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka – will be followed with the release of a report on the atrocities on Dalits during the pandemic lockdown in these five Indian states, some time in the first half of November 2020.

Comments

What Sister Nivedita understood about India that we have forgotten

By Harasankar Adhikari In the idea of a “Vikshit Bharat,” many real problems—hunger, poverty, ill health, unemployment, and joblessness—are increasingly overshadowed by the religious contest between Hindu and Muslim fundamentalisms. This contest is often sponsored and patronised by political parties across the spectrum, whether openly Hindutva-oriented, Islamist, partisan, or self-proclaimed secular.

Safety, pay and job security drive Urban Company gig workers’ protest in Gurugram

By A Representative Gig and platform service workers associated with Urban Company have stepped up their protest against what they describe as exploitative and unsafe working conditions, submitting a detailed Memorandum of Demands at the company’s Udyog Vihar office in Gurugram. The action is being seen as part of a wider and growing wave of dissatisfaction among gig workers across India, many of whom have resorted to demonstrations, app log-outs and strikes in recent months to press for fair pay, job security and basic labour protections.

India’s universities lag global standards, pushing students overseas: NITI Aayog study

By Rajiv Shah A new Government of India study, Internationalisation of Higher Education in India: Prospects, Potential, and Policy Recommendations , prepared by NITI Aayog , regrets that India’s lag in this sector is the direct result of “several systemic challenges such as inadequate infrastructure to provide quality education and deliver world-class research, weak industry–academia collaboration, and outdated curricula.”

Gig workers’ strike halts platforms, union submits demands to Labour Ministry

By A Representative India’s gig economy witnessed an partial disruption on December 31, 2025, as a large number of delivery workers, app-based service providers, and freelancers across the country participated in a nationwide strike called by the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU). The strike, which followed days of coordinated protests, shut down major platforms including Zomato , Swiggy , Blinkit , Zepto , Flipkart , and BigBasket in several areas.

The rise of the civilizational state: Prof. Pratap Bhanu Mehta warns of new authoritarianism

By A Representative Noted political theorist and public intellectual Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta delivered a poignant reflection on the changing nature of the Indian state today, warning that the rise of a "civilizational state" poses a significant threat to the foundations of modern democracy and individual freedom. Delivering the Achyut Yagnik Memorial Lecture titled "The Idea of Civilization: Poison or Cure?" at the Ahmedabad Management Association, Mehta argued that India is currently witnessing a self-conscious political project that seeks to redefine the state not as a product of a modern constitution, but as an instrument of an ancient, authentic civilization.

Why experts say replacing MGNREGA could undo two decades of rural empowerment

By A Representative A group of scientists, academics, civil society organisations and field practitioners from India and abroad has issued an open letter urging the Union government to reconsider the repeal of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and to withdraw the newly enacted Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025. The letter, dated December 27, 2025, comes days after the VB–G RAM G Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 16 and subsequently approved by both Houses of Parliament, formally replacing the two-decade-old employment guarantee law.

From Kerala to Bangladesh: Lynching highlights deep social faultlines

By A Representative The recent incidents of mob lynching—one in Bangladesh involving a Hindu citizen and another in Kerala where a man was killed after being mistaken for a “Bangladeshi”—have sparked outrage and calls for accountability.

NYT: RSS 'infiltrates' institutions, 'drives' religious divide under Modi's leadership

By Jag Jivan A comprehensive New York Times investigation published on December 26, 2025, chronicles the rise of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) — characterized as a far-right Hindu nationalist organization — from a shadowy group founded in 1925 to the world's largest right-wing force, marking its centenary in 2025 with unprecedented influence and mainstream acceptance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi , who joined the RSS as a young boy and later became a full-time campaigner before being deputized to its political wing in the 1980s, delivered his strongest public tribute to the group in his August 2025 Independence Day address. Speaking from the Red Fort , he called the RSS a "giant river" with dozens of streams touching every aspect of Indian life, praising its "service, dedication, organization, and unmatched discipline." The report describes how the RSS has deeply infiltrated India's institutions — government, courts, police, media, and academia — ...

Reshaping welfare policy? G-RAM-G marks the end of rights-based rural employment

By Ram Puniyani With the Ram Janmabhoomi Rath Yatra, the BJP’s political strength began to grow. From then on, it started projecting itself as a “party with a difference.” Gradually, the party’s electoral success graph kept rising. However, many thinkers and writers did not find this particularly worrying at the time, as they saw little difference between the BJP and the ruling Congress. The BJP’s real face began to emerge when it became the principal party of the NDA led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It first came to power for two brief tenures—13 days and then 13 months—and subsequently governed for nearly six years with Vajpayee as Prime Minister. During this period, many of these writers began to understand that the BJP was indeed a “different kind” of party, as even then the process of undermining democratic values and norms had begun. During the first term of the UPA government, several schemes were implemented that were based on the concept of “rights.” These included the right...

Search This Blog