Harassed, stalked, abused, insulted, minor Dalit girl’s suicide spreads shock and distress

By Bharat Dogra

They try their best to gain composure in order to be able to say what they want to tell, but they just cannot help it and break down time and again. One can understand their extreme distress. Anyone who has heard of this tragedy has felt highly distressed and shocked, and they are after all the parents of the girl who has suffered the extreme tragedy.

They are from Nevada village of Mahuwa block (Banda district, UP). Their 12 year old daughter Chhaya was repeatedly being harassed, stalked, abused and insulted by a ruthless (dabang) young man known to be of bad character and belonging to an influential household. The girl being of a tender age was not at all prepared for this kind of behaviour and felt terribly threatened, confused and endangered. The youth wanted her to follow his dictates and when she resisted this he abused her. The parents tried to stop all this but belonging to poorer and weaker section of society (dalits) could not succeed. It is important to understand this background in order to understand the sudden, disastrous turn of events on November 13.

On this day Chhaya had gone to get some branch or leaves from a tree to make a broom. Here again the youth appears to have followed her and made an effort to molest or assault her.

On hearing the girl’s shrieks, her mother Shanti rushed to the spot. She found the youth dragging her daughter and abusing her in highly insulting ways, using unprintable words. Shanti managed to rescue her daughter from this goon, although he continued to utter bad and threatening words. Meanwhile some other villagers also gathered at the spot. Feeling badly insulted and threatened, the girl rushed towards her home.

Observing that the situation is becoming difficult for him, now the goon tried to move away. However as Shanti has also stated in a written complaint, even at the time of leaving in a disgraced way he was threatening to kill and using abusive words.

It took Shanti some time to get away from the scene where people had gathered. By the time she reached her home, her insulted, hurt and confused daughter had already committed suicide by hanging herself.

When Shanti related this deeply shocking incident at a meeting, crying at the same time, the assembled people were deeply moved and particularly several women had tears in their eyes.

Later when I met them separately, Shanti and her husband Jaswant were inconsolable. This tragedy has affected them very deeply and they are unable to recover from this. While the village community should certainly support them, at the same time officials should visit the family and assure them of all possible support for emerging from this distress, while at the same also giving assurance of strong action against the culprit.

While all such crimes should be strongly condemned and strong action should be taken against the offenders, what is most tragic is when such assaults take place against minor girls and children. In another recent incident which had sent shock waves in this region, in Masuri village of Mahuwa block a 12 year old dalit girl had been raped about 3 months back, causing serious injuries which took a long time to heal. This girl had gone to work in a field where finding her lonely and vulnerable she was attacked. In this case the culprit has been arrested and is in jail at the time of writing.

Preventive steps to minimize or eliminate the possibilities of such tragedies are certainly needed on the basis of urgency.

---

The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include "When the Two Streams Met" and "Planet in Peril"

Comments

How natural and organic farming can be a key to combating the climate crisis

By Raj Kumar Sinha* On July 9, while addressing the “Sahkar Samvad” in Ahmedabad with women and workers associated with cooperatives from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan, Union Home Minister Amit Shah emphasized that natural farming is essential for both our health and the health of the soil. This is a significant statement in the context of addressing the climate change crisis. Natural farming can play a crucial role in combating climate change. Also known as organic farming, it is a system of agriculture that can increase food production without harming the environment. Natural farming has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 35% to 50%.

100 yrs of RSS as seen by global media house: Power, controversy, push for Hindu-first India

By Rajiv Shah On a blistering summer evening in Nagpur, nearly a thousand men in brown trousers, white shirts, and black caps stood in formation as a saffron flag was raised, marking a graduation ceremony for Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) workers. This vivid scene, described in a recent FT Weekend Magazine article, “A hundred years after it was founded, India's Hindu-nationalist movement is getting closer to its goal of a Hindu-first state,” captures the enduring presence of the RSS, a century-old Hindu-nationalist organization.

Another 'honor' killing in Tamil Nadu: Caste pride has murdered love, again

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Once again, Tamil Nadu has witnessed a brutal so-called 'honor' killing. This time, it is Kevin Selvaganesh, a 27-year-old software engineer from the Scheduled Caste community, who has been hacked to death by the family of the girl he loved since childhood. Kevin, a brilliant student employed at Tata Consultancy Services, was in a relationship with Subashini, his schoolmate and girlfriend. The couple, both well-educated and professionally qualified, had plans to marry. Yet, that love story ended in bloodshed — sacrificed at the altar of caste pride.

Why is India’s cheetah project under fire? Study flags ecological, social, species injustices

By Rajiv Shah A recent peer-reviewed study has sharply criticized Project Cheetah—India’s high-profile initiative to reintroduce African cheetahs into the wild—as ethically compromised, scientifically flawed, and socially unjust. Titled “Delineating the Environmental Justice Implications of an Experimental Cheetah Introduction Project in India”, the paper is authored by Yashendu C. Joshi, Stephanie E. Klarmann, and Louise C. de Waal, and was published in Frontiers in Conservation Science.

The myth of population decline: India’s real challenge is density, not fertility

By N.S. Venkataraman* India’s population in 2025 stands at approximately 1.4 billion. In 1950, it was 359 million, rising sharply to 1.05 billion by 2000. The population continues to grow and is projected to reach around 1.7 billion by 2050.

Siang dam project sparks debate over security, development, and displacement in Arunachal

By Aarna Gupta* The proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) in Arunachal Pradesh, India, has emerged as a contentious initiative shaped by strategic, environmental, and social concerns. Indian officials, including Union Minister Kiren Rijiju and Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, have voiced strong support for the project. One of the primary motivations is China’s plan to build a 60,000 MW hydropower dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo River (the upper stretch of the Brahmaputra) in Tibet, which Indian authorities see as a threat to water and national security. In response, the 11,000 MW Siang Dam, with its 9 billion cubic meter reservoir, is viewed as a necessary countermeasure to manage water flow and reduce vulnerability.

Shanghai Textbook reassessed: Between revolutionary rhetoric and economic reality

By Harsh Thakor "Maoist Economics and the Revolutionary Road to Communism: The Shanghai Textbook on Socialist Political Economy" (1975) presents a detailed exposition of the Chinese perspective on socialist political economy under Mao . Developed during the Cultural Revolution, it outlines a theoretical framework for the functioning of a socialist alternative to capitalism. The book was formulated under the direction of Zhang Chunqiao, who played a central role in discussions, content planning, and final reviews of the draft.

Trump’s tariff tactics are a geopolitical bully move that may backfire

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent move to impose high tariffs on Indian goods is yet another example of his aggressive, unilateralist economic policy—an attempt to pressure and punish rather than to negotiate. This is not an isolated action. Trump has shown similar hostility toward other countries aligned with the BRICS bloc—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—reflecting his disdain for multipolar global cooperation and his desire to maintain American economic supremacy at all costs.

Search This Blog