Rohith Vemula’s Colleagues Appeal to President of India to sack “Dalit-hating” HCU vice-chancellor Podile Appa Rao

December 18, 2016

Radhika Vemula was manhandled by the Delhi Police in February 2016 even as then MHRD Minister, Smriti Irani made a speech dis-regarding
the pain of the Dalit students struggle in Parliament

Ambedkarite students of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) have in a detailed and strongly worded memorandum to the President of India, substantiated by 26 authenticated annexures, demanded that he exercise his powers as Chancellor of the university and remove Podile Appa Rao as ViceChancellor . The memorandum also appeals for directions to the Government of Telangana to implement SC/ST Prevention of Atrocity Act in the criminal case (Cr.No 20/2016, Gachibowli Police Station) against the authorities pending in the High Court

The memorandum says that there is a direct link between VC Podile Appa Rao’s actions and the death of Rohith Vemula

The searing letter of Rohith Vemula, dated December 18, 2015 addressed to the Vice Chancellor speaks of the bitter humiliation suffered by Dalit students and sarcastically advises how very Dalit student should be given a hangman’s noose and bottle of sodium azide on admission

Further humiliation was heaped on research scholars including Rohith Vemula after he sent the letter, including expulsion from hostel rooms and being barred from the library and other parts of the university

Podile Appa Rao by not responding to the communication and further humiliating the scholars, demonstrated not just his bias, but his unfitness to hold such a responsible position

The detailed memorandum, signed by three close colleagues of Rohith Vemula, Dontha Prashanth, Vijay Pedapudi and Seshaiah Chemuduguntha is meticulously prepared and states how a sub-standard academic was chosen for the post of Vice Chancellor over more deserving candidates simply because of his connections to central minister Venkaiah Naidu and him being part of the politically strong Kamma caste

Further, it details how the Modi Govt and its Ministers crudely, through the appointment of a one man Roopanwal Commission, tried to untruthfully establish that Rohith Vemula was not a Dalit even as the competent authority of the District Collector had already incontrovertibly proved his caste status

The Memorandum also traces the vicious influence exercised by members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) over the administration of the university

What emerges is, again the alleged chain of command responsibility into the institutional murder (suicide) of research scholar Rohith Vemula on January 17, 2016: Humiliation and unfair treatment meted out by Podile Appa Rao at the instigation and abetment by Bandaru Dattatreya, a Central Minister,N.Ramachander Rao, Krishna Chaitanya, Nandanam Susheel Kumar and Nandanam Diwakar which caused to the death of Rohith Vemula along with injuring the lives of other four Scheduled Caste Research Scholars namely, Dontha Prashanth, Vijay Pedapudi, Seshu Chemudugunta and Sunkanna Velpula

The text of the Memorandum released today may be read here:

To,
His Excellency
Honorable President,
Republic of India,

Respected Sir,

Sub: Sub: Seeking your kind intervention in the removal of Prof Podile Appa Rao as the Vice Chancellor, Hyderabad University, and his arrest under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989
As you are aware, the sad demise of the brilliant research scholar Rohith Vemula on January 17, 2016, following extreme casteist harassment induced by Podile Appa Rao on behest of BJP leaders has shocked the people of this country, triggered nationwide protests and sullied India’s image in the international community as a democratic republic where the rights of the meek are protected by a robust and progressive Constitution.

The facts of the case, which we have summarized below, lucidly point to a grand conspiracy executed through the Hyderabad University’s Vice Chancellor Podile Appa Rao and hatched by ABVP and BJP to persecute and humiliate a group of law-abiding, Scheduled Caste students, one of whom was Rohith Vemula.

Podile Appa Rao’s appointment to the post of Vice Chancellor by the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD), on September 21, 2015 had raised many eyebrows as several candidates, immensely more qualified than Podile Appa Rao, were overlooked and he was chosen solely because his political patrons (Venkaiah Naidu) in BJP on caste (Kamma) lineages had faith that he will pursue their agenda while running the affairs of the university (Annexure – 1).

In the following days after this political appointment, Podile Appa Rao set upon the task that his political masters in the BJP had chosen: destroy the anti-sangh Ambedkar Students Association. Without even conducting an enquiry, he passed orders banning Rohith Vemula and four ASA colleagues from hostels, common areas and contesting in the elections.

The despotic, casteist and patrisan attitude of Appa Rao Podile made Rohith Vemula write him a letter on December 18, 2015 (Annexure -2). Dripping with sarcasm, the letter needs to be quoted in full to establish the levels of despondency to which Rohith Vemula had been pushed:

“To,
The Vice Chancellor
Subject: Solution for Dalit problem
Sir,
First, let me praise your dedicated take on the Self-Respect movements of Dalits in HCU campus. When an ABVP president got questioned about his derogatory remarks on Dalits, your kind personal interference into the issue is historic and exemplary. 5 Dalit students are “socially boycotted” from campus spaces. Donald Trump will be a lilliput in front of you. By seeing your commitment, I am tempted to give two suggestions as a token of banality.
1. Please serve 10mg Sodium Azide to all the Dalit students at the time of admission. With direction to use when they feel like reading Ambedkar.
2. Supply a nice rope to the rooms of all Dalit students from your companion, the great Chief Warden.
As we, the scholars, PhD students have already passed that stage and already members of Dalit Self-Respect movement unfortunately, we here are left with no easy exit, it seems.
Hence, I request your highness to make preparations for the facility “EUTHANASIA” for students like me. And I wish you and the campus rest in peace forever.”

As a follower of Dr.B.R.Ambedkar, being a member of Dalit Self-Respect movement, Rohith Vemula strongly felt that the social boycott and the punishment leveled against Five Dalit Research Scholars belonging to Ambedkar Students Association was a direct attempt to choke the voices of Schedule Caste students who are reading Ambedkar and who are asserting their self-respect.
He also expressed that arrangement of facility such as “Euthanasia” for him can make Appa Rao Podile and campus rest in peace forever, which explicitly shows the amount of harassment induced against Rohith Vemula and Four ASA colleagues by Appa Rao Podile.

Rohith Vemula was found dead in the afternoon of January 17, 2016, hanging by the neck in a friend’s room. There was a letter found in the same room written by Rohith Vemula which makes it amply clear that he felt deeply dehumanized at multiple levels note made it amply clear that he felt deeply dehumanized at multiple levels. Read along with his earlier suicide notice to Podile Appa Rao exactly 1 month before i.e December 18, 2015, in which he suggests that the administration should provide a rope to Ambedkarite students to kill themselves instead of following Ambedkar’s teachings, clearly points to the discriminatory atmosphere created by the administration, and to all those who pressured him and robbed him of his dignity in this process and in society, as the cause for his suicide.

We see this as an institutionally sanctioned murder, where the institution persecuted him and passed a casteist order of social boycott intended to humiliate him and lead him into a state of resignation.
Instead of protecting a student, who was being pressured furiously by the BJP and the Central Government, who in turn were acting in affiliation with their student group ABVP rather than behaving professionally as non-partisan governers of the public, the University administration issued a punishment without providing any material proof of wrongdoing.

The former Vice-Chancellor, R P Sharma and the Medical Officer of the University had visited the complainant ABVP student — Nanandam Susheel Kumar who is from a family of BJP leaders — in the hospital. The medical records shown to them at the hospital clearly stated that the ABVP leader had been operated for appendicitis (Annexure -3). The medical records showed no evidence of beating or external injuries.

These facts were duly noted in the interim report of the Proctorial Board, which concluded that there was no evidence to prove that Nandanam Susheel Kumar had been assaulted. However, bucking under immense political pressure (Para-2, Page No. 10), the final order summarily suspended five ASA leaders including Rohith Vemula.

This order was revoked in less than three days as it was found that the entire process was vitiated by the fact that the enquiry committee did not have a single SC/ST member, did not summon either the complaint ABVP leader or the ASA leaders who he had falsely charged with assault. The orders were revoked on the condition that the entire enquiry would be conducted afresh.

Podile Appa Rao was introduced to the campus as the Vice Chancellor — overlooking many superior scholars — at this crucial stage by the Ministry of Human Resources Development with the objective of executing a sinister plan. He influenced an order by the Executive Council — banning Rohith Vemula and his four ASA colleagues from hostels and common areas — without conducting a fresh enquiry. It is with the objective of vitiating the fresh enquiry that Prof Apparao was selected out of turn by the Ministry of Human Resources Development.

This arbitrary, unjust and politically motivated order was supported by the Vice Chancellor Appa Rao despite the fact that it was based on an order that had been nullified by the previous Vice Chancellor on the grounds that the procedure employed was unfair and violative of the principles of natural justice.

The five ASA leaders including Rohith Vemula — the targets of the Vice Chancellor — were brilliant research scholars, in the prime of their youth with dreams of reforming society based on the ideals of the Indian Constitution and Dr B R Ambedkar. Each of the five was also a first generation university entrant, raised in extreme poverty and dependent on State support for his education.
By expelling them from the hostel, Podile Appa Rao cut off a crucial lifeline for these students and by banning them from public spaces, he subjected them to the worst form of social exclusion. The order passed by Podile Apparao effectively banished the students from the university community.

He did not care about the evidence before him. He did not even give the ASA leaders a chance to present their side of the story.

What can explain this cruelty besides the fact that it was motivated by extreme hatred? It is a hatred of an ancient kind; the kind that was outlawed by the Indian Constitution and subsequently the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. What Podile Apparao committed was an act of caste hatred intended to lower the social standing of the five Scheduled Caste scholars in front of the entire elite of the academic community.

There is a direct link between Podile Appa Rao’s actions and the death of Rohith Vemula. He must be held both ethically and criminally responsible.

We had hoped that Rohith Vemula’s death would stir the conscience of the government and law enforcement agencies and result in the swift delivery of justice. Hon’ble Chief Minister of Telangana, Sri. K.Chandrasekhar Rao had made a statement in the assembly on 26/03/2016, that he would ensure for recall of Podile Appa Rao, Vice-Chancellor, University of Hyderabad and subsequently would speak to the Prime Minister on the same. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi shed crocodile tears when students of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University protested against BJP during convocation on the incident of Rohith Vemula Suicide, where he said “Mother India Lost its Son”.

However, what happened later only exposes the hypocrisy, casteism and despotic nature of BJP in persecuting Dalits, infact they witch hunted Rohith Vemula’s mother Radhika Vemula who declared a fight seeking Justice for her son Rohith Vemula against BJP and Podile Appa Rao. Despite National Commission for Scheduled Castes having declared Rohith Vemula as Scheduled Caste, despite the competent authority such District Magistrate having declared Rohith Vemula as Scheduled Caste, BJP led centre in an utmost cruel and inhuman manner formed and directed a one-man commission led by Ashok Kumar Roopanwal to deliver the utmost unjust verdict, by terming Radhika Vemula as one who faked her identity. Such highhandedness by BJP was displayed in order to save their henchmen and their ministers from the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. Since, Rohith Vemula’s institutional murder, almost a year has passed without the culprits having to face even the slightest inconvenience.

Indeed, it is our case that the people responsible for pushing Rohith Vemula toward suicide have been protected from the law and rewarded for their mercenary actions with unwavering political patronage. On the other hand, the students of Hyderabad University, who employed peaceful means to agitate for justice for Rohith Vemula, were systematically harassed by the Central and State governments, the Telangana police and the university administration. There were cases registered against both students and faculty, and they were sent to Charlapally Central Prison for registering their dissent against Prof.Podile Apparao who returned as Vice-Chancellor on 22nd March 2016 with the blessings of Venkaiah Naidu.

We also would like to elucidate a brief timeline of events explaining the episode around Rohith Vemula’s suicide and the intervention of BJP and Central Cabinet Ministers leading to the Social Boycott of Five Dalit Research Scholars.

03rd August 2015:
Ambedkar Students Association (ASA), University of Hyderabad (UoH) organized a protest gathering “Against ABVP attack on Montage Film Society” at University of Delhi, New Delhi. At the protest the ASA also raised the issue of the harassment of the students of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune and Pondicherry University.

On the same day, Nandanam Susheel Kumar — a student of UoH and President of the UoH unit of the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the son of a BJP leader ( Nandanam Vinaya ) — posted a comment about the agitating Dalit students of ASA on Facebook at about 09:18 PM in which he said: “ASA GOONS ARE TALKING ABOUT HOOLIGANISM – FEELING FUNNY” (Annexure -4).

The derogatory and provocative statement was posted with the sole aim of humiliating Scheduled Caste students and typecasting them as antisocial elements.

While reinforcing the centuries-old negative stereotyping of Scheduled Caste communities, the comments by the ABVP president created an air of hatred, enmity, and ill-will toward these marginalized communities.

Although deeply outraged, ASA members decided that it was best to solve this issue using peaceful methods. In the presence of Duty Security Officer Dilip Singh (Annexure – 5), Nandanam Susheel Kumar was asked to explain why he had referred to a group of students, who expressly follow the teaching of Dr B R Ambedkar and tenets of the Indian Constitution, as “Goons”. He failed to explain his actions and subsequently agreed to issue an unconditional apology in writing (Annexure -6).

04.08.2015
In less than 24 hours, the grand conspiracy, hatched by a powerful political party, against the ASA, which has no political affiliations besides its commitment to the teachings of Dr B R Ambedkar, began to unfold.

First, about 100 activists of Bharatiya Jana Yuva Morcha (BJYM) led by Bharatiya Janata Party MLC, N Ramchandra Rao blocked the main gate of the university alleging that ASA students had assaulted Nandanam Susheel Kumar. N. Ramachandra Rao even went inside the administrative building and threatened the then V.C Prof. R.P.Sharma that “if action is not initiated against the students of ASA, outsiders will teach them a lesson”. This fact is recorded by the Office of Vice-Chancellor in the detailed minutes of the meeting on 04.08.2015 (Annexure -7).

In a coordinated move, two formal complaints against ASA leaders were filed — one with the Gacchibowli police and the other with the university management.

In the police complaint, Nandanam Susheel Kumar falsely accused ASA members D Prasanth, Ch Seshaiah, V Sunkanna, Vemula Rohit and P Vijay Kumar of assaulting him and police registered a case (Crime number 296/2015) under Sections 448 (trespass), 341 (wrongful restraint), 506 (criminal intimidation), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) r/w 147 (rioting) of the IPC (Annexure -8).

Simultaneously, General Secretary of the ABVP, Mr.Krishna Chaitanya, submitted a complaint to the university management, alleging that Nandanam Susheel Kumar was assaulted the previous night by ASA leaders Rohith Vemula, Dontha Prashanth, K.Vincent, Sunkanna Velpula, Vijay Pedapudi and Seshaiah Chemudugunta (Annexure -9).

That this was a well planned move, is borne out by the fact that Krishna Chaitanya was not even present when Nandanam Susheel Kumar submitted an apology to ASA students.
Following this false and frivolous complaint, several students, including the ASA, demanded a probe into the incident and the matter was referred to the Proctorial Board.

August 5, 2015
The Vice Chancellor along with the Chief Medical Officer of the university and other officials visited the hospital where Nandanam Susheel Kumar was admitted and claiming that he was receiving treatment for the injuries sustained during the alleged attack by ASA students. However, when they perused the medical records, they discovered that a surgery had been performed on Nandanam Susheel Kumar not for injuries but to remove an inflamed appendix (Ref.Annexe -2). This discovery should have been enough to establish the charade that Nandanam Susheel Kumar and his patrons in the BJP were trying to play. But that was not to be the case.

On 10th August, 2015
Sri Nandanam Diwakar, Vice President, BJP, R.R. District, wrote a false, frivolous and malicious letter to Sri Bandaru Dattatreya, Minister of State, Labour& Employment, Government of India, falsely accusing students of ASA and framing false charges aimed at ruining their careers (Annexure – 10).

On 13.08.2015
The university Registrar, basing on the Interim report of Proctorial Board issued a strong warning to N. Susheel Kumar for posting objectionable comments on Facebook against the ASA. Strangely, and despite the fact that the Proctorial Board found no evidence of violence against Nandanam Susheel Kumar, the Registrar warned Rohith Vemula, Dontha Prashanth, K.Vincent, Vijay Pedapudi for seeking apology instead of complaining to appropriate authorities (Annexure -11 ).

On 17th August 2015
Bandaru Dattatreya, Union Minister for Labour and Employment precipitated matters further by writing a letter to Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, then Minister of Human Resource Development persuading the ministry to intervene in to the affairs of the university and take action against members of Ambedkar Students Association (Annexure -12). Subsequently, on 03rd September 2015 Ramjee Pandey, Under Secretary to MHRD sent the letter of Bandaru Dattatreya to Registrar, University of Hyderabad through E-Mail (Annexure -13).

On September 8, 2015
The political pressure had its intended effect. Contrary to the findings of the Proctorial Board in the interim report, the final report deemed the five research scholars of the ASA guilty and they were summarily suspended. It is pertinent to note that the committee which passed the orders did not have a single SC or ST member (Annexure – 14).

On September 10, 2015
Citing the glaring lapses in procedure, including the fact that no evidence of beating Susheel Kumar was found, Murala Rupa, General Secretary of ASA, wrote to the Vice Chancellor seeking immediate revocation of the suspension and the establishment of a separate enquiry committee or a Proctorial Board with different set of members for an impartial enquiry (Annexure -15).

On September 11, 2015
Based on the on Murala Rupa’s representation, the suspension order was revoked subject to afresh enquiry to look into the incident that took place in the intervening hours of August 3 and 4 (Annexure 16).

On September 21, 2015
Professor Podile Appa Rao was appointed as new Vice-Chancellor by MHRD overlooking several candidates who were far more qualified than him (Ref. Annexe – 1).

On September 24, 2015
Subodh Kumar Ghildiyal, Deputy Secretary, MHRD addressed a letter to Registrar, University of Hyderabad with the following Subject line: “Antinational activities in Hyderabad Central University premises – Violent attack on Sri Nandanam Susheel Kumar, Ph.D. student and President of ABVP – reg.” Taking a clear stand in favor of the BJP, ABVP and Nandanam Susheel Kumar, and without any direct access to the material facts of the case, Mr Ghildiyal sought an expeditious report on the imaginary attack that took place in the intervening hours of August 3 and 4 (Annexure -17).

On 06th October 2015
Subodh Kumar Ghildiyal sent a second letter, this time to the political appointee, Vice Chancellor Podile Apparao expressing non-receipt of facts/comments on earlier letter dated 24-09-2015 and requested for expedition of the process (Annexure -18).

On October 20, 2015
Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, Joint Secretary, Central Universities and Language, sent a letter to Vice Chancellor Podile Appa Rao asking him to personally initiate action against the ASA students on the basis of the letter written by Bandaru Dattatreya to Smriti Zubin Irani (Annexure -19).

On November 19, 2015
Further pressure was applied, through a letter written by Ramji Pandey, Under Secretary, MHRD addressed to Podili Appa Rao (Annexure – 20). This letter referred to the letter written the previous month by Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and instructed Podile Appa Rao to follow up on the matter. Again, the letter made it clear what the MHRD’s political view was on the subject line, which read: “Antinational activities in Hyderabad Central University premises – Violent attack on Sri Nandanam Susheel Kumar, Ph.D. student and President of ABVP – reg.”
NOTE: None of these letters of duress from powerful officials acknowledged the fact that no evidence had been found against the ASA leaders and that Nandanam Susheel Kumar had been hospitalized not injuries but for an appendicitis surgery.

On November 27, 2015
Podile Appa Rao performed precisely the kind of task he was chosen for by his political masters. As chairman of the Executive Council, he put pressure to take action against the Scheduled Caste students who had been falsely accused. At his prodding, its 167th meeting, the Executive Council passed orders banning the five ASA students from accessing the hostel, other common areas, the administrative building (Annexure – 21). The social boycott of these students from the university community was completed by barring them from contesting the student body elections.
It is of great significance that this unjust order — passed without a proper enquiry and without giving the defendants a chance to respond to the allegations — was issued by a committee that did not have a single SC or ST member.

On December 04, 2015
Keeping with the script, Podile Appa Rao approved the order passed by the Executive Council. He took this hasty step knowing full well that the EC’s order was passed without conducting a proper enquiry and without giving the students a chance to respond in their defence.
With this one act, Podile Appa Rao compromised the autonomy of the university with the sole purpose of endearing himself to his political masters in the government.

On December 17, 2015
The beneficiaries of this fraudulent action of the Vice Chancellor, the ABVP, heaped further insult on the ASA students by putting up posters across the campus titled: “Fitting Verdict to Goondas” (Annexure – 22). The text of the said posters was equally derogatory and once again described ASA activists as “Goons”. A jubilant Nandanam Susheel Kumar, President, ABVP also shared the digital version of this poster on Facebook.

On December 18, 2015
Rohith Vemula along with other students submitted a representation to Chief Proctor in which a strong protest was lodged against the humiliating and provocative posters circulated by the ABVP (Annexure -23). On this occasion, Rohith Vemula also stressed that ABVP is clearly trying to instigate unrest and distort the peace on campus. But no action was taken against N.Susheel Kumar, ABVP and others.
On the same day, dejected and depressed at the biased, arbitrary and blatantly discriminatory attitude of Podile Appa Rao, Rohit Vemula addressed a letter to him expressing his unease and displeasure at the commitment and personal interest shown by the VC to persecute Dalit students.

Dripping with sarcasm, the letter needs to be quoted in full to establish the levels of despondency that Rohith Vemula had been pushed:
“First, let me praise your dedicated take on the Self-Respect movements of Dalits in HCU campus. When an ABVP president got questioned about his derogatory remarks on Dalits, your kind personal interference into the issue is historic and exemplary. 5 Dalit students are “socially boycotted” from campus spaces. Donald Trump will be a lilliput in front of you. By seeing your commitment, I am tempted to give two suggestions as a token of banality.
1. Please serve 10mg Sodium Azide to all the Dalit students at the time of admission. With direction to use when they feel like reading Ambedkar.
2.Supply a nice rope to the rooms of all Dalit students from your companion, the great Chief Warden.
As we, the scholars, PhD students have already passed that stage and already members of Dalit Self-Respect movement unfortunately, we here are left with no easy exit, it seems.
Hence, I request your highness to make preparations for the facility “EUTHANASIA” for students like me. And I wish you and the campus rest in peace forever.”
But nothing could move the VC and the five students had no option but to start living in the open in the harsh winter without access to food, water and sanitation.

On January 14, 2016
The Joint Action Committee for Social Justice comprising Students’ Union 2015-16 (officially elected body), and all students organization except ABVP requested the Vice-Chancellor to terminate the illegal order imposed upon Five Scheduled Caste Students. The demonstration had absolutely no impact on Podile Apparao.
Rohith Vemula, whose family depended on money that he sent home, became increasingly restless as he was barred from entering the administrative building and submitting his claims to fellowship. Some unseen hands had choked up his funding and he had not received his fellowship for 7 months. Several students are witness to the fact, and willing to testify before anybody, that Rohith Vemula was haunted by the financial troubles imposed on him by the university management. He was also severely dispirited in his last days and repeatedly spoke of the futility of fighting for social change against an all-powerful political adversary.

January 17, 2016
Rohith Vemula was found dead in the afternoon of January 17, 2016, hanging by the neck in a friend’s room. His suicide note made it amply clear that he felt deeply dehumanized at multiple levels (Annexure -24). Read in context with his note to Podile Apparao exactly 1 month before, suggesting that he should provide a rope to Ambedkarite students to kill themselves when repeatedly encountering such blatant violations of their dignity in the University, it clearly points to the actions of the administration, and to all those who pressured him and robbed him of his dignity in this process and in society, as the cause for his suicide.

January 18, 2016
A complaint was lodged by Dontha Prashanth at Gachibolwi Police Station registered as FIR : 20/2016, against the harassment, atrocities. Humiliation, injustice by Podile Appa Rao at the instigation and abetment by Bandaru Dattatreya, N.Ramachander Rao, Krishna Chaitanya, Nandanam Susheel Kumar and Nandanam Diwakar which caused to the death of Rohith Vemula alongside injuring the lives of other four Scheduled Caste Research Scholar namely, Dontha Prashanth, Vijay Pedapudi, Seshu Chemudugunta and Sunkanna Velpula (Annexure -25)
It distresses us to bring to your notice the fact that Podile Appa Rao is not just a casteist criminal but a substandard scholar as well. It has been proved beyond reasonable doubt that Prof Apparao is a plagiarist (Annexure – 26).

Against this backdrop and on the basis of facts summarized above, we sincerely urge you to remove Prof.Podile Appa Rao as Vice-chancellor of University of Hyderabad with a subsequent direction to the Government of Telangana to implement SC/ST Prevention of Atrocity Act in the matter related to Cr.No 20/2016 at Gachibowli Police Station.
Thanking you,
Yours Sincerely,
(DONTHA PRASHANTH)
(VIJAY PEDAPUDI)
(SESHAIAH CHEMUDUGUNTA)
(The memorandum will be dispatched to the President of India tomorrow)

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HCU Bows to Campus Outrage: Suspension of 5 Students Revoked

In EFLU, five Dalit students ‘defamed’ a professor. How? By speaking against oppression

December 17, 2016

On January 17, Rohith Vemula, a Dalit student at the University of Hyderabad, committed suicide. For the whole year, his mother, brother and thousands of others have been asking for justice, and hold the University’s VC accountable for the institutional murder of Vemula.

But far from acting in this regard, the government continues to ask: was he even a Dalit? Was he not an anti-national? The ‘debate’ is on.

In November 2012, junior civil judge S Rama Krishna was allegedly assaulted by CV Nagarjuna Reddy and his brother, Pawan Kumar Reddy after he refused to remove the name of Reddy’s brother from a dying declaration. The said declaration was of a servant employed with Pawan Reddy, who had accused him of setting the servant on fire “for not agreeing to sign on a blank paper.”

The Dalit judge was subsequently suspended, and for the past three years, he has been running from pillar to post with the hope of getting justice. A week ago, 61 members of the Rajya Sabha submitted a petition to Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari for initiating the impeachment process of Justice C V Nagarjuna Reddy of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh High court for alleged victimisation of the Dalit judge, along with amassing assets disproportionate to his income.
But while the senior judge remains scot free, the Dalit judge has had to go into hiding, and fears for his life.

But both these issues have already been written about. So why do we bring it up here?

Read on.

On Monday, the Namapally Criminal Court, Hyderabad, found five Dalit students guilty of ‘defaming’ English Foreign Language University (EFLU) professor Meenakshi Reddy, Dean of the School of Germanic Studies.

The court ordered six months’ imprisonment against the five, but all the accused are out on bail and have been given time till January 10 to appeal against the judgement.

Reddy is the daughter of Obul Reddy, who served as the chief justice of of Andhra and Gujarat High Courts and the former governor of Andhra Pradesh, and in fact, the judge takes notes of this, remarking, “she hails from a good family”. It is also not a mere coincidence that the same lawyer, Prabhakar Sripada, who is representing CV Nagarjuna Reddy, was also here to defend Meenakshi Reddy.

What lead to the professor being defamed?
According to Praveen (name changed) one of the defendants who spoke with Twocircles.net, the verdict is another case of Dalits being targeted for raising their voice. Also, it is important to point out cases of caste discrimination are not new to the campus, and neither is it a case of Hindu right vs the ‘liberals’. “The professor, and other officials who have colluded with her are the members of the left liberal spaces but are happy to ignore cases that can potentially damage their reputation,” said Praveen.

As early as 2009, a girl from the department tried to commit suicide; in 2011, the Osmania University (OU) police questioned two university professors including Meenakshi Reddy after the NHRC took notice of R Jayamurugan, a Dalit student pursuing German, who claimed that he was being failed consistently in his semester examinations, which forced him to discontinue the course.

In 2012, one more Dalit student, Kush Kumar, from the same department tried to commit suicide by consuming pills after he ‘failed’ his exams.

According to the defendant, these are not mere unfortunate incidents of students failing to cope up with the pressure. “In all these cases, the department’s attitude has come under scrutiny, but let alone take action, the University has not even bothered to investigate the matter. What does this show, if not an absolute disregard to the problems that we are facing,” Praveen added.

It is important to point out that of the five defendants-R Bathran, M Sriramulu, Upendra, Satish and Mohan–only Sriramulu was a student of the German department, and had alleged discrimination at the hands of Reddy since 2011. “She was very casteist, and would tell Dalit students to quit studies and go back to the villages they came from,” Praveen added.

Apart from Sriramulu, the other students, who were also members of various Dalit and Ambedkarite organisations in the university, took note of the harassment that Sriramulu was facing. One of them interviewed Sriramulu in a series of interviews that were then uploaded on YouTube, which can be watched here, here and here. These videos were all uploaded in 2012 and 2013.

According to Praveen, for the judiciary, the use of the term ‘Reddy harasses’, ‘Feudal Reddy’ is defaming. “We never knew these words are defaming. The case did not have much to prove defamation, but all through this we students were defamed and at the end the Judge says we are convicted because we defamed!”

“It is the rarest of the rare case, where students have been convicted where defamation case conviction was given for students,” he added.

What was said in the interviews?
In one of the interviews which Sriramulu gave while hospitalised he said, “For the past 8 months (nearly a whole year), I was struggling to get permission to sit in the class. But they made two committees (to enquire into the matter), one is the SC/ST committee and the other is Meenakshi Reddy committee (to enquire into the complaints of the discriminatory behaviour of Meenakshi Reddy prevailing towards the students). But even after 8 months, no results have surfaced. They have been delaying the whole process and spoiled my whole academic year (2012-2013).” The struggle for justice had taken its toll on Sriramulu and he had been hospitalised for a lengthy period during the year.

Praveen added that this case picked up heat in 2013, when Mudasir Kamran, a PhD student in the ELE (English Language Education) Department, committed suicide after insensitive and high-handedness of administration on the night of March 2, 2013.

A member of the administration, Proctor Harish Vijra, responded to a scuffle between Mudasir and his friend by handing him over to the police. An internal matter which could have been dealt with in a sensitive manner within the university was instead dragged to a police station. Following Mudassir’s death, the students increased their protests and against the Proctor, and at the same time the protests against Reddy also increased.

What was even more surprising was the fact that when faced with accusations, Reddy decided to approach the court directly and filed a private complaint, including against one of the defendants for merely recording the interview which was uploaded on YouTube. The fact that the University did not object to this action of Reddy also shows that it seemed only too happy to side with one of its faculties than to look into the issues faced by the Dalit students.

What happened to the case filed by the students?
The students had not limited themselves to merely shouting slogans against Reddy; instead, as early as 2012 itself they had filed a case against her under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. But of course, there has been no action taken by the authorities in this regard. In fact, even the judge in the defamation case took cognizance of this point, and remarked, “Admittedly, the A1 (Sriramulu) has lodged a report against Pw1 (Reddy) which was recognised as C.R. no 359/2012 of P.S.O.U., u/Sec 3 1(x), of SC/ST (PoA) Act, 1989. Admittedly, no charge sheet is appeared to have been filed in that case as its copy is not placed by any of the parties herein. As per the Pw1, the said case was closed after finding its content as false.

“However, the Pw1 could not file the copy of the final report said to have filed by the Police in the said case. As per the A1, he has not received any notice from the police in that case referring his report as false, and thus the said crime has not attained finality.”

So, while the case filed by the student has not even reached the stage of a charge sheet, the complaint filed by Reddy was deemed good enough for defamation.

Still wondering why Dalits have such hardships in getting justice?

Courtesy: TwoCircles.net

Cashless in Varanasi: What a Bank Queue Looks Like in the PM’s Constituency

December 17, 2016

What you see is what you get, The queue at this Bank of Baroda branch in Modi's constituency of Varanasi is pathetic: this branch is located in Pilikothi in the Kotwali area of the city, see the map

Even as hyperbole on De-Monetization hogs the discourse, here is what a Bank Queue looks like in the PM Narendra Modi’s Constituency. This is the Bank of Baroda and the area is home to thousands of weavers, many though not all belonging to the underprivileged sections.

These photographs were taken on December 13 and 14, 2016 that is on the 35^th and 36^th Day After De-Monetization. The complaints were angry and shrill. Every night at midnight of a new day, the queues form, there are anywhere from 300-450 people in the queue all night. It is winter when the minimum termperature drops to 9-10 degrees centigrade.

The Bank opens at 11 a.m. The process is slow and excruciating. Few persons, get cash, much less than what is their due. At 2 p.m. they are told there is no cash left. The relentless cycle continues and has been continuing.

If this is the state of some of the banks at least in the PM’s constituency of eastern Uttar Pradesh, what of the rest of India, not accessible to the urban camera lens or eye?

Images: Teesta Setalvad

30 lakhs, 2.5 Kg gold seized from tailor in Chandigarh

December 17, 2016

Rs. 30 lakh in cash and two and a half kilograms of gold were recovered from the premises of a prominent tailor in Chandigarh by the Enforcement Directorate as part of its operation to unearth illegal cash. Out of the seized cash Rs. 18 lakh were in new Rs. 2,000 notes, the rest were in 100- and 50-rupee notes.

Acting on a tip off, the ED investigators swooped down on the premises of Maharaja Tailor in Punjab’s Mohali and at sector 22 in Chandigarh.

After examining the bill books of the shop, the officials found that the owners of the tailoring shop had bought 2.5 kg gold at a rate of Rs. 44,000 per 10 gram after demonetisation.

The ED investigators said that they were verifying how the notes were exchanged and who the owners of the shop bought the gold from.

The seizure comes three days after ED officials recovered Rs. 2.19 crore cash from a cloth merchant in Chandigarh. The Chandigarh Police had arrested a senior bank employee of a private bank in Mohali for allegedly providing new currency to cloth merchant Inderpal Mahajan on commission basis.

ED had seized Rs. 2.19 crore including Rs. 17.74 lakh in Rs. 2,000 denomination, Rs. 12,500 in Rs. 500 denomination from the house of Mr Mahajan on 14 December.

(With inputs from PTI)

Kejriwal demands setting up of commission to probe source of political parties’ funds

December 17, 2016

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday demanded setting up of a commission to probe source of funding of political parties.

He also questioned the central government’s decision to exempt political parties from paying income tax while depositing old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes.

He sought to link the Centre’s tax exemption decision to the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi yesterday, suggesting the announcement was outcome of the parleys between the two.

“Common people are being investigated if they deposit Rs 2.5 lakh individually. But if political parties are not going to be investigated even if they deposit Rs 2,500 crore following the decision, then it is wrong.

“We demand setting up of an independent commission to probe into bank accounts details of political parties over the past five years, to investigate into their sources of funding,” Kejriwal said at a press conference.

He also asked the Centre to make public details of money deposited by all political parties post-demonetisation and sought removal of the “less than Rs 20,000 donation cap” for tax exemption, saying “each paisa the parties receive should be declared”.

“The income tax returns filed by AAP right from its formation until now are being enquired into. We are presenting each of the receipts and vouchers to the income tax department. We are not scared, what other parties, BJP, are scared of? Why they too should not be probed?” he asked.

Kejriwal, a bitter critic of Modi, accused the latter of helping political parties — the “biggest hoarders of black money” — to convert it into “white” at a time when common people have been forced to queue up outside banks and ATMs to withdraw their hard-earned money.

“Ye desh ke sath dhokha hai (it is a big fraud played on the country),” Kejriwal said.

Stating it was “surprising” that the tax exemption decision came after Gandhi led a Congress delegation to meet Modi, Kejriwal demanded that the Congress Vice President make public details of Modi’s corruption as he claimed to have supporting documents.

“He is not sharing details of Modi’s corruption, is only talking about it… Then he meets the PM and seals a deal. I will insist Gandhi to make public the evidences and that he stops entering into deals with Modi. Or else, the country will not forgive him,” Kejriwal said.

Hitting out at the Prime Minister, Kejriwal alleged Modi’s intentions were “bad” right from the day he announced demonetisation on November 8.

Meanwhile, Kejriwal also denounced the decision to hike petrol and diesel prices, which he saw as a repercussion of demonetisation and sought its immediate reversal.

“We oppose the hike in fuel prices. This is direct result of demonetisation. The rupee has become weak in international market post-demonetisation, leading to hike in the fuel prices. This should be rolled back immediately,” he said.

To a question, the chief minister said the AAP is “not affected” by demonetisation.

He reiterated demonetisation is an “unconstitutional” move and likened it to dacoity by the Prime Minister on bank accounts of people as they are not being allowed to withdraw their hard-earned money.

Referring to a case pending before the Supreme Court with regard to demonetisation, Kejriwal hoped it takes cognisance of concerns and declares the move as “unconstitutional”.

(With inputs from PTI)

Courtesy: Janta Ka Reporter

Ravi Shankar Prasad’s controversial statement, says demonetisation like ‘labour pain’,will result in ‘joy’

December 17, 2016

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today likened demonetisation woes to “labour pain“, saying its end result would be as “joyful” as the birth of a baby.

Photo courtesy: livemint

Prasad made the remarks at an event organised by the Delhi BJP’s IT cell that lay emphasis on how demonetisation was an opportunity for the country’s transition towards a cashless economy.

However, Prasad said the government’s motive behind demonetisation was “less cash”, not cashless. He criticised the Opposition parties for “not allowing” the Parliament to function.

“People will face a little problem. But the pain is like the one that a woman in labour undergoes. Eventually one will experience the joy like one does hearing the first cry of a baby,” Prasad said.

He asserted that the defunct notes deposited in the banks will be scrutinised and not all of it will be considered “white”.

At the gathering, largely consisting of lawyers, Prasad also took jibes at former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying, he was “happy” when Singh spoke.

“I eagerly wait for the speeches of two people. Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi,” he said, and went on to hail Prime Minister Narendra Modi for having “raised” India’s stature in the global community through his foreign trips.

He said the amount deposited in the banks will help in investing in strengthening the Indian Army, assisting farmers, small traders, building roads, adding that “naxals and terrorists” are a troubled lot due to the decision.

Speaking at the event, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said politicians like Arvind Kejriwal and Akhilesh Yadav, who are opposing the measure, are actually “aware of its benefits”.

Tiwari also referred to Modi’s statement that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had “rejected” Wanchoo Committee’s recommendations in 1971 to bring demonetisation.

(With inputs from PTI)

Courtesy: Janta Ka Reporter

Much ado about beards: How not to read Supreme Court’s judgement on Muslim servicemen

December 17, 2016

The Supreme Court was not addressing any larger questions on religion in public space, or how to regulate it.

There has been a bit of a buzz about the Supreme Court judgement in the case of Mohammed Zubair and Aftab Ahmad, servicemen in the Indian Air Force who were discharged from service for sporting beards.

Three things need to be clarified:

First, they sported the beards in breach of Air Force Regulations.

Second, there’s no wholesale bar on Muslims having a beard for religious reasons even under the Regulations.

Third, they were unable to substantiate the claim that the beards were being sported for religious reasons.

The apex court confirmed the judgement of both the Single Judge and the Division Bench of the High Court, which had agreed with the Air Force. However, many of the headlines that came up after the Supreme Court judgement on Thursday appear to have been read as suggesting that the Supreme Court had somehow outlawed Muslim servicemen from wearing beards.

Going by social media reaction, this seems to have resulted in either rage-clicks from those who thought it was a bad thing or gloat-clicks from those who thought it was a good thing.

Prosaic judgement
The actual judgement is far more prosaic.

Zubair, for instance, had been asked by his superior officers to shave off his beard as it was not in compliance with Regulation 425 which governs facial hair among Air Force personnel. He challenged this direction in court and lost. Subsequently, when he didn’t comply, he was discharged from service in accordance with the relevant rules.

Interestingly, this case didn’t decide the validity of his discharge from the Air Force since, oddly he doesn’t seem to have challenged it.

The Court has concerned itself therefore only with the issue of whether he could be lawfully directed by the Air Force to remove his beard in accordance with Regulation 425. In specific, paragraph (b) of Regulation 425 which allows personnel to maintain beards for religious reasons, subject to certain requirements. The Air Force had come out with certain policies implementing this rule and Zubair was found to be in contravention of this rule. He didn’t challenge this rule or any of the policies implementing it as being illegal or unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court’s reasoning is careful. In these days when judges have had the reckless tendency to veer off into tangents in judgements, spouting their own views on matters unrelated, Justice DY Chandrachud sticks to the straight and narrow, laying down the law with clarity and thought.
At times, the recitation of the history of the regulation of beards in the Air Force, the way servicemen may apply to keep one, and the relevant regulations have a Catch-22-like dark humour about them. It seems somewhat odd that in the age of biometric identity, the primary reason given for regulating facial hair seems to be the need to easily recognise and establish the identity of the serviceman, apart from the the need to maintain “uniformity of personal appearance” in the forces.

What not to read into it
Too much should not be read into the wider impact of this judgement. Servicemen do not enjoy all the protections of Part III of the Constitution to the same extent as everyone else. Article 33 of the Constitution states that the rights they enjoy are only those that are granted by law made by Parliament and not those granted by the Constitution. In some cases, servicepersons enjoy the same rights as everyone else (such as the right to approach the constitutional courts for rights violations), but their rights, while in service are restricted.

Justice DY Chandrachud’s sedate and sober judgement stands in stark contrast to Justice Katju’s brimstone and bluster in the context of another similar issue involving the maintenance of beards, this time in educational institutions. Even keeping in mind that Justice Chandrachud wrote a detailed judgement and Katju just said things in court, it’s a reminder that moderation is sometimes undervalued in a judge.

The issue of public displays of religious symbols and religious practice is a thorny issue that doesn’t always have cut and dried answers. It is a matter of trying to balance the individual’s right to practice religion in the ways they deem fit, with larger concerns such as public security, health and morality. The balancing act is difficult and it is bound to cause some resentment. Should firecrackers be banned or merely regulated on health grounds? Likewise, jallikattu? And what about slaughter of animals for ritual purposes?

In recent times, these issues have gained a perverse competitive communal edge. “If ‘they’ can be allowed to do their thing, why can’t ‘we’?” It is stoked for obvious political gain on all sides. It is also the wrong approach to resolving these issues. Whether firecrackers should be banned as a public health measure has nothing to do with whether some other practice is allowed or banned for another reason. It’s hard enough weighing the competing interests of religion and public health, without competitive communalism being brought into the mix.

The court’s task in Zubair’s and Aftab’s cases was rather straightforward – were they permitted to keep a beard under the regulations or not? The regulations themselves were not challenged as violating the constitution. As such, this judgement, while correct in its reasoning and ultimate finding, is unlikely to help answer larger questions on religion in the public space, and how to regulate it.

Alok Prasanna Kumar is an advocate based in Bengaluru and was a Senior Resident Fellow of the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. Views expressed here are purely personal and not a reflection of any other organisation’s views.

Courtesy: Scroll.in

Modi Govt’s Black Money Hunt Spares Political Parties -No IT Scrutiny on Old Notes Deposit

December 17, 2016

No checks on deposits by political parties

On Friday, December 16 Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said if the deposits are in bank accounts held by political parties, they would attract no tax.

Image: Business Standard

Despite it’s high voltage campaign, ostensibly against black money, political parties appear to have been spared. Is this a brazen attempt to build a cross-party silence or consensus?Worse, this means that individuals or corporations can launder their money through the account of political parties and escape the net!

The Modi government has put out an email ID for whistleblowers to send information about possible conversion of black money by individuals, but it seems to have given political parties a free run with deposits of old currency notes in their accounts. On Friday, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said if the deposits are in bank accounts held by political parties, they would attract no tax.

The government has put out an email ID for whistleblowers to send information about possible conversion of black money by individuals, but it seems to have given political parties a free run with deposits of old currency notes in their accounts. On Friday, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said if the deposits are in bank accounts held by political parties, they would attract no tax.

Both the Economic Times and the Indian Express have widely reported this controversial move.

“Dekhiye, if it is a deposit in the account of political parties, they are exempt. Lekin agar individual ke account mein, kisi ke bhi account mein jama ho raha hai, toh woh toh definitely the information will come on our radar (See, if it is a deposit in the account of political parties, they are exempt. But if it is deposited in any individual account, in anyone’s account, that information will definitely come on our radar.)

Finance Ministry officials said that the tax exemption to political parties will be subject to existing conditions in the law. According to Section 13A of the Income-tax Act, political parties are exempt from income tax provided they maintain books of accounts and record details of individuals making donations over Rs 20,000.

Separately, at a FICCI event, Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa, when he was asked about deposits of political parties, said, “Jab tak 30 December tak purane note koi bhi jama kara sakta hai toh isme kisi ke khilaaf aisa koi vyavdhaan nahi hai ki falaana aadmi nahi kara sakta aur falaana kara sakta hai (Until December 30, anyone can deposit old notes. There is no provision that says so-and-so cannot deposit and so-and-so can). Anybody in India can deposit these notes in his account.”

Having collected around Rs 1 crore in every search-and-seizure and admissions of Rs 2,600 crore of concealed income through 295 surveys, the tax department on Friday announced commencement of the second opportunity. Beginning Saturday, Adhia said, citizens can come clean with their unaccounted wealth through the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) till March 31, 2017.

Declarations made in the 105-day scheme will be subject to total 49.9 per cent of tax, penalty and surcharge, along with the declarant having to deposit 25 per cent of the undisclosed income in an interest-free deposit scheme for four years. Adhia said that black money cannot be converted to white unless taxes on undisclosed assets are paid and full investigation is concluded. Adhia announced an e-mail ID — blackmoneyinfo@incometax.gov.in — for whistleblowers to send information about possible conversion of black money.

Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman Sushil Chandra said the tax department was also receiving a lot of real-time information, which was being matched with existing profiles of tax assessees. He said that since the November 8 announcement of discontinuing high-denomination currency notes, the department had seized Rs 393 crore after conducting 291 searches and seizures. Of this, Rs 316 crore were cash seizures, including Rs 80 crore in new currency notes. Apart from this, jewellery worth Rs 77 crore was seized.

“Deposits in bank accounts are being watched and, therefore, they should come very clean under this scheme which is the last window available for anyone,” Chandra said, adding that around 3,000 notices have already been issued based on the deposits made after November 8.

Emphasising that scrutiny of data will be “non-intrusive” so that there is no fear of ‘Inspector Raj’, Adhia said that the government would also take help from professional agencies to analyse information of deposits made post the currency discontinuation decision.

“We want people to come forward and declare on their own unaccounted cash/deposit. The moment all the deposits come by December 30, we will analyse the voluminous data that we get. We would scrutinise all the data in a non-intrusive manner so that the fear of ‘Inspector Raj’ is not there in the minds of people,” he said.

Unlike the previous four-month long tax compliance window — Income Declaration Scheme (IDS) — which ended on September 30, declarants under the PMGKY will have to produce a receipt ensuring that they have paid taxes and penalties, before filing a declaration. Under IDS, declarants made their disclosures before payment of tax and penalty. The disclosure scheme is part of The Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Act, 2016, approved by the Lok Sabha earlier this month and has the President’s assent.

Adhia said that while declarations made under the new taxation and investment regime of PMGKY will not be admissible as evidence under different tax Acts such as Central Excise, Wealth Tax or Companies Act, the declarants will not enjoy any immunity under existing criminal laws.

He said that if the undisclosed cash or deposit in accounts was not declared under the PMGKY scheme, it will attract tax, surcharge and cess totalling 77.25 per cent of the income if it is declared in the income tax returns. In case the disclosure is not made either using the scheme or in returns, a further 10 per cent penalty on tax will be levied followed by prosecution, he said. Under the scheme, the income declared will not be included in the total income of the declarant under the Income Tax Act for any assessment year.

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Rohith Vemula’s Colleagues Appeal to President of India to sack “Dalit-hating” HCU vice-chancellor Podile Appa Rao

The text of the Memorandum released today may be read here:

In EFLU, five Dalit students ‘defamed’ a professor. How? By speaking against oppression

Cashless in Varanasi: What a Bank Queue Looks Like in the PM’s Constituency

What you see is what you get, The queue at this Bank of Baroda branch in Modi's constituency of Varanasi is pathetic: this branch is located in Pilikothi in the Kotwali area of the city, see the map

30 lakhs, 2.5 Kg gold seized from tailor in Chandigarh

Kejriwal demands setting up of commission to probe source of political parties’ funds

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday demanded setting up of a commission to probe source of funding of political parties.

Ravi Shankar Prasad’s controversial statement, says demonetisation like ‘labour pain’,will result in ‘joy’

Much ado about beards: How not to read Supreme Court’s judgement on Muslim servicemen

The Supreme Court was not addressing any larger questions on religion in public space, or how to regulate it.

Modi Govt’s Black Money Hunt Spares Political Parties -No IT Scrutiny on Old Notes Deposit

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