Paper leaks are often treated as an examination problem. For the students involved, it becomes a much bigger problem. A cancelled examination can mean starting preparation again, spending more money, travelling again and waiting months for another opportunity. For candidates close to the age limit, a delay can even affect their eligibility for another attempt.

The scale of the problem has been visible in some of India’s biggest examinations. The NEET UG 2024 controversy brought the issue into the national spotlight. The Central Bureau of Investigation investigated allegations surrounding the leakage of the examination paper in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand. The controversy also raised questions about grace marks, examination centres and the overall conduct of the examination.

Government recruitment examinations have faced similar controversies. In 2024, allegations of a question paper leak affected the Bihar Public Service Commission’s teacher recruitment examination, with the commission cancelling the examination for candidates at one centre in Patna. Such cases show how a problem at one point in the examination system can affect thousands of young people waiting for a fair chance.

Think about an aspirant who has spent two years preparing for a government examination. They may have left a job, joined a coaching programme, borrowed money for preparation or moved to another city. On the morning of the examination, they are ready to finally see the result of that effort. Later, news breaks that the paper was leaked and the examination may have to be cancelled. For the authorities, it becomes an investigation. For the student, it can feel like another year has disappeared.

There is also a financial cost that rarely gets enough attention. Application fees, coaching, books, online courses, accommodation, travel and repeated preparation all add up. Not every aspirant comes from a family that can comfortably afford another attempt. A student from a financially weaker background may have to choose between preparing again and finding work to support the family.

Then comes the question of trust. The basic idea behind a competitive examination is simple: candidates should receive the same paper under the same conditions and compete on their preparation. If some candidates get access to the paper beforehand, that basic understanding of fairness breaks down. Students begin wondering whether hard work is enough or whether connections and money matter more.

This is especially serious in India because government jobs remain highly sought after by young people. They offer stability, regular income and social security at a time when many private sector jobs can be uncertain. A limited number of vacancies can attract a huge number of applicants. When an examination is cancelled or delayed, the competition does not disappear. It simply becomes another round of waiting for the same young people.

The responsibility for protecting an examination cannot be placed on students. They have already done their part by studying and appearing for the test. Examination agencies need stronger security systems, careful handling of question papers, better monitoring and quick action when irregularities are reported. Investigations also need to reach the people responsible instead of leaving students to carry the consequences.

There also needs to be greater transparency after a suspected leak. Students deserve to know what happened, why an examination was cancelled and when the next examination will take place. Recruitment calendars should be as predictable as possible, especially when thousands of young people plan their lives around them.

A paper leak may look like a few pages reaching the wrong hands. For a student, the loss can be much larger. It can mean lost time, lost money, another year of preparation and another period of uncertainty.

India often speaks about merit and equal opportunity. Those words only have meaning when the system protects the people who earn their place through honest effort. Young people preparing for examinations are not asking for an easier competition. They are asking for a fair one.

The exam leak crisis is therefore more than a problem of examination security. It is a youth issue. Every leaked paper raises the same question: when the system fails, who pays the price? Too often, it is the student who studied honestly.

 (Jyotiraditya Singh is a Youth Leader and Social Activist associated with Youth Forum India. He writes on youth, education, employment and public policy issues, with a focus on giving young people a stronger voice in public conversations.)

The post The youth caught in the exam leak crisis appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The first reports of children falling ill emerged in the early phase of the crisis, with fever, rashes and other symptoms being reported from the tribal belt. The official account initially placed the number of deaths far below the figures subsequently reported by villagers and local representatives. According to Dainik Bhaskar, the government initially reported eight deaths, while the toll later rose through figures of 19, 22, 24 and 27. By September, Congress leaders were citing 30 deaths and media reports had placed the number at 31, although the administration had not released a final official figure.

Scroll, in its September 4 report, said that at least 25 Baiga and Gond children had died since May and reported that a suspected measles-malaria outbreak had remained undetected for two months in remote Adivasi habitations because of the absence of an adequate healthcare system. The report brought into sharp focus what villagers had been saying: that the crisis was not merely about an infectious disease, but about how little access these communities had to functioning public healthcare in the first place.

The Press Club of India strongly condemns the suspension of the Instagram accounts of three independent journalists following their ground reporting from Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh, on a public health crisis involving the deaths of children from the Adivasi community. pic.twitter.com/3lcjVXcbEd

— Press Club of India (@PCITweets) September 8, 2026

The deaths cannot be reduced to a single disease

The investigations have identified measles, malaria and, in some cases, possible measles-malaria co-infection. Children were also found suffering from dehydration, anaemia, respiratory complications and severe malnutrition. Officials have said that different children presented with different clinical conditions and that no single disease has been established as the cause of every reported death. Some children reportedly died at home or before reaching a healthcare facility, leaving investigators without medical records or diagnostic samples in several cases. A retrospective case-by-case review, including verbal autopsies, is consequently being undertaken.

But the absence of a single pathogen does not make the crisis any less serious. In fact, the health data emerging from the region points towards a much deeper structural failure. A Central government screening exercise covered 32,433 people. It identified 7,711 children with severe acute malnutrition, of whom 518 required admission to Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres. Another 13,406 children were treated for diarrhoea and 274 for severe pneumonia. Since July, 431 children had reportedly been admitted to hospitals, with 52 still undergoing treatment at the time of the report.

These figures make it difficult to view the deaths simply as an isolated outbreak. They reveal communities in which infectious disease, malnutrition, unsafe or inadequate water, poor sanitation and delayed access to medical treatment are interacting with one another.

Balaghat was not an unexpected health-risk zone

The crisis also did not emerge in an epidemiological vacuum. Balaghat has been identified as a major malaria hotspot. According to the health data, of the 2,126 malaria cases reported in Madhya Pradesh in 2025, 685 came from Balaghat. By July 2026, the district had already recorded 174 of the State’s 583 reported malaria cases.

The question, therefore, is not simply why children contracted malaria, measles or other infections. It is why children living in communities already known to face severe deprivation were allowed to reach such critical levels of illness before an adequate response was mounted.

That question becomes more pointed when viewed against the Union government’s own welfare architecture. The Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan, or PM-JANMAN, was created specifically to improve the socio-economic conditions of PVTG communities. The scheme carries an outlay of ₹24,104 crore over three years and includes interventions intended to address basic services and infrastructure in PVTG habitations. Yet a Parliamentary Standing Committee, as reported by The Hindu, subsequently questioned why there were still no clear answers about the causes of the deaths months after the first cases had appeared.

The contradiction is difficult to ignore: government schemes may report near-complete sanctions and high aggregate levels of “saturation”, but the reality on the ground was children falling severely ill in settlements where access to basic healthcare remained precarious.

The protests exposed what official figures did not

As the number of deaths became increasingly contested, anger grew in the affected communities. One of the most disturbing allegations concerned the death of four-year-old Luvkush in Baigatola. Villagers alleged that the administration arranged his cremation without a post-mortem while his parents were away in Hyderabad looking for work. The allegation was followed by villagers blocking the Balaghat-Baihar road. The protests were not simply expressions of grief. They were also demands for recognition, accountability and answers.

The issue deepened when the administration issued an order restricting photography and media coverage in hospitals. The order was withdrawn within hours following protests, as per Scroll. The Collector subsequently clarified that it had been issued in haste and was intended to prevent demonstrations rather than restrict media coverage. But in a crisis already marked by conflicting death figures and allegations that cases were not being adequately recorded, even a short-lived attempt to restrict what could be documented inevitably raised questions about transparency.

There was another serious institutional controversy. According to The Hindu, then Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr Paresh Uplab continued to describe the illnesses as seasonal ailments even as the reported death toll had risen substantially. He was subsequently removed, with Dr Manoj Pandey taking charge, followed later by Dr Shatrughan Singh Dahiya.

The issue, therefore, was no longer simply whether the children had died from measles, malaria, malnutrition or a combination of conditions. It was also whether the State had accurately recognised the crisis while it was unfolding.

The State’s response came in stages

The government has since substantially expanded its response. The 50-bed paediatric facility at the district hospital was expanded to 150 beds, while a Covid ward was temporarily converted into a paediatric ward. Mobile Medical Units were deployed in Birsa and Baihar to provide fever screening, outpatient consultations, maternal and child healthcare, tuberculosis and non-communicable disease screening, medicines and primary diagnosis in remote areas.

According to the Dainik Bhasker report, more than 600 drinking-water sources were purified, insecticide spraying was carried out in 4,338 households and fogging was undertaken in affected and adjoining areas. More than 14,000 children aged between one and ten received an additional Measles-Rubella vaccine dose.

The government also expanded surveillance to around 50 villages, increased sanitation interventions and strengthened treatment and referral arrangements. As reported by The Sun Today, the Chief Minister visited Balaghat on August 30, met affected families and announced ₹2 lakh assistance for each family of a deceased child. The government also announced a ₹225-crore development plan covering 100 villages formerly affected by Naxal activity.

These interventions are necessary. But they also raise an uncomfortable question: why did many of these measures become visible only after the deaths, protests and national attention?

Parliament asks the question the villages had already been asking

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment questioned representatives of the Tribal Affairs Ministry, the Jal Shakti Ministry and the Department of Telecommunications about the Balaghat deaths, The Hindu reported. Members asked why, months after the first cases, there were still no clear answers regarding the causes of death. The Committee also questioned the implementation of PM-JANMAN and sought village-wise saturation data rather than aggregate figures.

A scheme cannot be considered successful merely because projects have been sanctioned on paper. A health intervention cannot be judged by the number of mobile units deployed after an outbreak. And a welfare programme cannot be called saturated while children in the communities it targets remain severely malnourished and struggle to reach medical care.

Political intervention followed public outrage

The Opposition also intervened. Times of India reported that Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi described reports of 30 tribal children dying in Balaghat as extremely concerning and distressing, and called on Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to ensure immediate investigation, treatment and relief. Madhya Pradesh Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar separately wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a high-level medical inquiry and questioning how children could die from illnesses that may be treatable with timely intervention.

LoP @RahulGandhi Ji Writes- “बालाघाट, मध्य प्रदेश में 30 आदिवासी बच्चों की मौत की खबर बेहद चिंताजनक और पीड़ादायक है। इस घातक बीमारी के साथ पीने के पानी, पोषण, और समय पर इलाज जैसी बुनियादी सुविधाओं का अभाव बच्चों की जान ले रहा है।

ये सरकार की पूर्ण विफलता है। मुख्यमंत्री स्वयं… https://t.co/dUc5of2PSl pic.twitter.com/hrAlC0J2wD

— Mumbai Congress (@INCMumbai) September 5, 2026

बालाघाट, मध्य प्रदेश में 30 आदिवासी बच्चों की मृत्यु की खबर बेहद चिंताजनक और पीड़ादायक है।

इस घातक बीमारी के साथ पीने के पानी, पोषण, और समय पर इलाज जैसी बुनियादी सुविधाओं का अभाव बच्चों की जान ले रहा है।

ये सरकार की पूर्ण विफलता है। मुख्यमंत्री स्वयं इसका समाधान करें और क्षेत्र… pic.twitter.com/1fkfehcdnN

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 5, 2026

Recently, Cockroach Janata Party founder Abhijit Dipke also visited Balaghat.

I’m on my way to Balaghat, MP, where 30 Tribal children have died.

I’ve received information from one of the Tribal activists that MP Police is now moving to detain some of the Tribal students coordinating my visit.

Why is it always a BJP-ruled state that seems so afraid of the…

— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) September 11, 2026

The Gondwana Gantantra Party went further, giving the administration 15 days to provide ₹50 lakh compensation to the family of every deceased child and demanding a CBI investigation. These interventions have ensured that the deaths cannot simply disappear into the administrative language of “seasonal illness”, “surveillance” or “ongoing investigation”.

The High Court steps in

The Madhya Pradesh High Court sought a response from the State government on a public interest litigation concerning the deaths of more than 30 tribal children. As reported by LiveLaw, the petition alleged inadequate medical care and pointed to around 400 children being treated in a facility that initially had only 50 beds. The petition was filed after media reports brought the deaths to public attention.

The Court initially directed the petitioner to personally visit the affected areas and verify the claims rather than proceed solely on newspaper reports. After the petitioner submitted a ground report, the Court issued notices to the State Health Department, Women and Child Development Department, the Balaghat Collector and other authorities. The ground report alleged that handpumps in affected areas were producing yellow-coloured water, that children and women had not received nutritious food on time for months, and that poor sanitation was contributing to infections. It further alleged that significant administrative action followed only after the number of deaths had crossed 30.

What does Balaghat reveal?

The most disturbing feature of the Balaghat crisis may ultimately be that none of its individual components is entirely new. Malaria was already a known problem. Malnutrition was already present. The affected communities were already among India’s most vulnerable tribal populations. Remote settlements already faced difficulties accessing healthcare. Yet the crisis escalated to the point where dozens of children were reported dead and hundreds became ill before the State response reached the scale now being described.

Whether the final death toll is 25, 30 or another number, whether individual deaths are ultimately attributed to malaria, measles, malnutrition, respiratory complications or combinations of these, the underlying failures remain visible: severe malnutrition, inadequate healthcare access, sanitation concerns, difficulties with transportation and referral, questions around drinking water, delayed detection and serious disagreement between communities and the administration over the scale of the crisis.

The tragedy in Balaghat is therefore not only about how these children died. It is about how long they were allowed to remain vulnerable before the State responded with urgency.

Related:

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The post Deaths, Denials and Delayed Action: The Balaghat crisis appeared first on SabrangIndia.

And when it came down, another fact became impossible to ignore: the people who were closest to the disaster became the first line of rescue, while the state institutions took 2 hours to provide “relief”. The accounts coming out through media outlets show residents, students and student volunteers scrambling over dangerous debris, pulling out bricks and concrete with their bare hands, arranging oxygen cylinders and water, clearing access routes and helping professional rescue teams locate survivors. That is not merely a story of community courage. It is also a deeply uncomfortable question about the State’s preparedness.

The first rescuers were the people who lived there

The most powerful images emerging from Satya Niketan are not of politicians arriving at the site. They are of ordinary people entering the rubble before they knew whether the adjoining structure might also collapse. As The Times of India reported, electrician Md Ishtiyaq and other local residents climbed onto the debris almost immediately after the building came down. There was fear that the neighbouring structure could collapse too. They went in anyway. Ishtiyaq borrowed a hammer from a nearby shop and used it to break a PVC pipe trapping a student’s leg. Around him, residents and students began improvising a rescue operation. Human chains were formed to move debris. Chunks of walls, concrete and iron rods were removed by hand.

The Indian Express reported that residents formed a human chain within minutes. Bricks, stone slabs, broken chairs, pillows and mattresses were pulled away so that trapped students could be located. Residents moved vehicles obstructing access and helped create space for rescue machinery. A former DU law student who lived in the building two years earlier told the newspaper that during the first hour, those who came forward to help were “mostly residents of the area”. The narrow lanes of Satya Niketan made the situation even more difficult. The very urban density that had made the locality attractive to students also made it difficult to bring heavy rescue equipment close to the collapsed structure. Yet the residents did what they could with what they had.

NSUI volunteers were not spectators — they were in the rubble

The role played by student volunteers deserves to be recorded with the same seriousness as the official rescue operation. The Times of India reported that DU students and NSUI volunteers Hariom Sisodiya and Pawan Thakur rushed to the site after receiving a call that a friend might have been inside the PG. They spent almost two hours removing bricks, pipes, rods, plaster and concrete. Their hands were scratched and bloodied from the debris. Their efforts, according to the report, helped rescue three people.

The The Hindu account records Krishna Bhardwaj, a DUSU campaigner, arriving with around 25–30 members of his team. He recalled pulling students from the rubble before police and fire personnel had fully taken over the rescue operation. He also described hearing a student pleading to be saved, only to later learn that the student had died.

The student volunteers did not know who was trapped beneath the rubble. They did not know whether the debris above them would shift. They went in because somebody had to.

सत्य निकेतन में छात्रों के साथ हुई त्रासदी और पीड़ित परिवारों को न्याय दिलाने की मांग को लेकर NSUI का धरना लगातार जारी है।

आज दिल्ली प्रदेश कांग्रेस कमेटी के अध्यक्ष श्री @devendrayadvinc जी NSUI द्वारा चलाए जा रहे धरने में पहुंचे और धरने पर बैठे।

इस दौरान NSUI के राष्ट्रीय… pic.twitter.com/cchD0OUXsz

— NSUI (@nsui) September 7, 2026

ये है बीजेपी की संवेदनहीनता का असली चेहरा!

सत्य निकेतन हादसे के मलबे से छात्रों को निकालने में लगे NSUI कार्यकर्ताओं को मदद करने से रोकने वाले ये बीजेपी नेता सिर्फ़ राजनीति और अड़ंगेबाज़ी करना जानते हैं।

इस बेशर्म हरकत के लिए बीजेपी को छात्रो से माफ़ी मांगनी चाहिए। pic.twitter.com/rE9LEnZemT

— NSUI (@nsui) September 8, 2026

सत्य निकेतन त्रासदी के बाद भी विश्वविद्यालय प्रशासन की संवेदनहीनता जारी है।

NSUI ने आज वाइस चांसलर के खिलाफ प्रदर्शन कर जवाबदेही तय करने की मांग उठाई। तीन दिन पहले छात्रों की मौत हुई है, लेकिन वाइस चांसलर पीड़ितों और छात्रों के सवालों का जवाब देने के बजाय कार्यक्रमों में व्यस्त… pic.twitter.com/sHm4BgrBMw

— NSUI (@nsui) September 8, 2026

रेस्क्यू में देरी, मीडिया पर पाबंदी और अब राहत के लिए टेंट लगाने से भी रोक!

प्रशासन अपनी नाकामी छुपाने के लिए हर संभव कोशिश कर रहा है, लेकिन NSUI छात्रों की आवाज़ दबने नहीं देगी और हर जरूरतमंद तक मदद पहुँचाने के लिए डटी रहेगी। pic.twitter.com/X8AqRLv1CI

— NSUI (@nsui) September 7, 2026

दिल्ली जैसे देश की राजधानी में घंटों बाद भी छात्रों को रेस्क्यू न कर पाना सरकार और प्रशासन की पूरी तरह विफलता है। न डिजास्टर प्लान, न पर्याप्त उपकरण, न सक्षम टीम और न कोई जवाबदेही!

हम मांग करते हैं—दोषियों पर सख्त कार्रवाई हो, मृतक छात्रों के परिवारों को मुआवजा मिले, घायलों का…

— NSUI (@nsui) September 7, 2026

The neighbourhood became a rescue infrastructure of its own

The community response did not end with pulling people out. According to The Times of India, local residents arranged water and refreshments for rescue workers through the night. A student volunteer, Gulaab, stayed at the site and helped control the crowd so that rescue personnel could work. By Monday, NSS cadres and students from nearby colleges arrived carrying biscuits, water, soft drinks and medical supplies.

ANI also reported something that is almost surreal in a city with an enormous disaster-response apparatus: local residents ordered oxygen cylinders through a quick-commerce application to assist people trapped under the debris. This is the kind of detail that should not be buried beneath official statements about “war footing”.

Because it raises a simple question: Why were ordinary residents having to improvise life-saving infrastructure at a disaster site?

There is, of course, an official account of the response. Police said a PCR call was received at approximately 1.34 pm and that Delhi Police, NDRF, Delhi Fire Service, DDMA and ambulances were deployed. NDRF officials have also said their teams reached the site soon after being alerted and began rescue operations. However, that official account exists alongside something that cannot simply be dismissed: repeated eyewitness accounts describing a slower response.

Times Now reported residents alleging that police and NDRF personnel were absent for nearly two hours. Another resident described the rescue operation as extremely slow. DU students Ankit Tiwari and Shivam Sharma said they helped residents remove debris and alleged that officials arrived more than an hour after the first call for help.

For some families, the rescue itself became another source of anguish

The story of Aditya makes the question of rescue time even more disturbing. According to the report carried by Rediff and PTI, Aditya had moved into the PG only four days before the collapse. After the building came down, he managed to call his family and tell them that he was trapped beneath the debris and that his phone battery was running out. He remained conscious and was able to communicate. His father later questioned why it took nearly four hours to bring him out.

Aditya survived and is being treated at AIIMS. However, while waiting, he recorded a video from beneath the debris. The footage showed the claustrophobic space in which he and another injured student were trapped. His father’s question is devastating precisely because it is so simple: if a conscious student could call for help, why did it take so long to reach him?

But the collapse did not begin on September 6

The most dangerous way to understand Satya Niketan would be to treat the collapse as an unpredictable accident. The reports collected in the file point to warning signs that existed well before Sunday afternoon. An MCD official told the media that the collapsed structure was a G+4 building on a roughly 55-square-yard plot where permission existed only for a G+1 structure. It was nevertheless being used as a student PG.

The adjoining girls’ PG was subsequently evac­uated and sealed after being found to be in a dilapidated condition. That immediately raises the question that cannot be avoided: If a building was allegedly four floors beyond what was permitted, how did it continue operating as a student accommodation in one of Delhi’s most prominent university neighbourhoods?

The responsibility cannot automatically stop with the property owner. The owner may face criminal liability if the investigation establishes wrongdoing. However, an unauthorised or unsafe building does not become invisible simply because a private person owns it. A building does not exist outside the reach of regulation. It requires approvals, must comply with prescribed building norms, and remains subject to inspection and enforcement by the authorities. Where a building is being used to accommodate dozens of students, safety standards become even more critical.

That makes the question of responsibility far bigger than simply asking who constructed the unauthorised floors. The real questions are: Who was responsible for monitoring the building? Who was supposed to inspect it? Were inspections actually carried out? If violations were visible, why was no timely action taken? Were notices issued, and if so, what happened afterwards? Why was the building not sealed or its use stopped? Most importantly, how was it allowed to remain occupied despite the risks?

The collapse, therefore, cannot be reduced to an act of unauthorised construction alone. It also demands scrutiny of the regulatory and enforcement machinery that was supposed to prevent precisely such a disaster.

Repair or construction work in the basement is another major line of investigation. Police said repair work was underway when the collapse occurred. Residents also reported basement work and water accumulation. The Chief Minister said preliminary information indicated that excavation in the basement may have caused a pillar to shift. MCD, however, has said the precise nature of the work cannot be established until the debris is cleared.

Residents told Times Now that they had warned the owners and workers about the condition of the building and the basement work. This is how preventable disasters happen: not necessarily because nobody saw the danger, but because danger becomes normalised.

Satya Niketan was built into a student-housing crisis

There is another uncomfortable truth here. Students did not simply choose Satya Niketan because private PGs were attractive. They went there because they needed somewhere to live. The Indian Express reported that Delhi University has more than 2.5 lakh students but only around 9,000 hostel beds, with hostel accommodation disproportionately available to postgraduate students. The result is that thousands of students, particularly those coming from outside Delhi, are pushed into private PGs and rental accommodation in neighbourhoods such as Satya Niketan and Mukherjee Nagar.

The question is not simply why students rented an unsafe building. The question is why a university that draws students from across the country does not have enough safe accommodation for them. The Delhi High Court put the issue far more directly.

As reported by The Telegraph, the Court questioned not only the role of the building owner and MCD but also the absence of adequate hostel facilities for outstation students. It directed the MCD to examine whether PG buildings had valid permissions and whether building laws had been violated, and asked DU to provide details of its outstation students and hostel capacity. The Court’s message was blunt: the government cannot escape responsibility.

The administrative response has now begun to look familiar. The MCD’s own pre-monsoon survey is now under scrutiny. According to The Hindu, the civic body had surveyed nearly 28 lakh of around 32.5 lakh properties identified for inspection by late June, but classified only 19 as dangerous and 74 as requiring immediate repairs. It remains unclear whether the Satya Niketan building had been inspected during that exercise.

What makes Satya Niketan different is the student unity emerging from the rubble

By Monday, September 7, the collapse had become the centre of a much larger student mobilisation across Delhi. AISA, SFI, NSUI and ABVP — organisations that occupy very different political and ideological spaces — took to the streets separately, but with strikingly overlapping demands: accountability for the deaths, safety audits of student accommodation, action against illegal construction and, above all, an end to the dependence on unsafe private PGs because universities have failed to provide enough hostels. The Telegraph, reporting on the protests, described the mobilisation as a response to both the deaths and the wider shortage of safe and affordable student housing.

AISA calls it an “avoidable disaster”: The All India Students’ Association has been among the most forceful in connecting the collapse to the larger failure of student infrastructure. AISA described the incident as an “avoidable disaster” and demanded strict action against those responsible as well as accountability from the Delhi government. Crucially, it also challenged the narrative that this was simply the consequence of one negligent property owner.

AISA pointed to the shortage of affordable hostels at Delhi University and argued that students are effectively pushed into expensive private PGs and rental accommodation because the university has failed to provide alternatives. It also alleged that police and JCB machinery reached the site around two hours late — a claim that must be independently investigated against official response records, but which has now become a significant part of the protest narrative. Instead of asking only, “Who owned this building?”, AISA is asking why students had to live in such buildings in the first place.

What is happening in Delhi?

IN THE LAST 48 HOURS:

7 students killed in Satya Niketan.

A South Campus gardener electrocuted to death.

Chongtham Vikram Singh, renowned guitarist and music teacher from Manipur, beaten to death.@AmitShah @gupta_rekha, 48 hours of horror in the…

— Neha (@neha_aisa) September 8, 2026

This isn’t about one building. From Satya Niketan to Vijay Nagar, Patel Chest to Gurmandi, Delhi’s hostel crisis feeds the PG mafia.

BJP controls Delhi top to bottom: Centre, Govt, LG, MCD, MPs, MLAs, Councillors. Yet hostels remain scarce. Why? Because PG mafia money flows…

— Neha (@neha_aisa) September 7, 2026

Satya Niketan was not just one incident.. it’s a pattern of negligence.

Student lives matter! pic.twitter.com/yTBUaDP0FM

— Neha (@neha_aisa) September 7, 2026

Students of DU, of Satys Niketan want Justice! Not an inch back till our demands are met! pic.twitter.com/OtbdTLeE80

— AISA (@aisa_official_) September 7, 2026

Satya Niketan rises against corrupt and incompetent DU Vice Chancellor, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and PG Mafia! pic.twitter.com/GPFjuHcO7N

— AISA (@aisa_official_) September 7, 2026

SFI has taken the housing question directly to the streets: The Students’ Federation of India has similarly refused to treat Satya Niketan as an isolated accident. The SFI Delhi State Committee held a protest rally and candlelight vigil at Delhi University’s Arts Faculty, demanding hostels for all students, immediate safety audits of PGs and private accommodation, closure of unsafe buildings and a cap on rents in student residential areas.

Its demand goes even further: until adequate hostel infrastructure is created, the government should bear students’ accommodation costs. Students interviewed after the collapse told the media that they were paying between ₹12,000 and ₹15,000 for cramped double-sharing rooms, precisely because many colleges do not provide hostels. Another DU student told The Indian Express that the university has more than 2.5 lakh students but only around 9,000 hostel beds. So when SFI demands a rent cap and state-funded accommodation until hostels are available, it is responding to a material reality students are already living.

The system is broken . Another institutional murder in DU yesterday,when a worker died in the night. If not for the spontaneous mobilisation of students, the university wouldn’t even have taken accountability! pic.twitter.com/8hzcrvTw1i

— SFI Delhi (@SfiDelhi) September 8, 2026

Yes, we are angry. Yes, we are sad. But the movement shall not stop, the rage shall not recede. We shall remember the victims of the Satyaniketan building collapse in resistance. We shall fight the institutional apathy shown by DU and the BJP governments. pic.twitter.com/e7R43Ouqd9

— SFI Delhi (@SfiDelhi) September 8, 2026

Candle light vigil,in rage and remembering the victims of Satyaniketan building collapse. Never forget! Never forgive! pic.twitter.com/GR3yv5rrJa

— SFI Delhi (@SfiDelhi) September 7, 2026

NSUI is demanding hostels, inspections and closure of illegal PGs: NSUI has also taken the fight directly to the government and DU administration. NSUI president Vinod Jakhar alleged that no new hostel had been built for DU in the past decade, arguing that the shortage has forced students into private PGs where, in his words, safety guidelines are not followed.

The organisation has demanded new hostels within DU, inspections of all PG accommodations and the closure of illegally operated facilities. It has also called for regulation of rents in PGs and hostels. That demand exposes an obvious contradiction. The State cannot simultaneously fail to provide enough university accommodation, allow private housing to fill the vacuum, and then treat every unsafe PG as merely a private dispute between landlord and tenant.

NSUI Candle March

Satya Niketan pic.twitter.com/xv5XycFrs8

— NSUI (@nsui) September 7, 2026

एक तरफ सत्य निकेतन में छात्र बिल्डिंग गिरने के कारण दबकर मर जाते हैं और दूसरी तरफ देश के गृह मंत्री गोवा में BJP कार्यालय का फीता काटते हैं।

ये बहुत ही शर्मनाक है।

जिन प्राइवेट PG में छात्रों को रहने के लिए मजबूर किया जाता है, वहां कोई सुरक्षा गाइडलाइन फॉलो नहीं की जाती।

ऐसे…

— NSUI (@nsui) September 7, 2026

हमारी मांग:

⦿ दिल्ली यूनिवर्सिटी के अंदर छात्रों के लिए हॉस्टल बनाए जाएं
⦿ अवैध रूप से संचालित हॉस्टल और PG को बंद किया जाए
⦿ हॉस्टल और PGs के लिए rent control act बनाया जाए
⦿ CM रेखा गुप्ता हादसे की जिम्मेदारी लें और दोषियों पर एक्शन हो
⦿ सभी PGs की जांच कराई जाए, उचित…

— NSUI (@nsui) September 7, 2026

Cockroach Janta Party demands range from student safety to a wider indictment of the State: The response from the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has also sought to place the Satya Niketan collapse within a much larger crisis of student safety and public infrastructure. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the contradiction between political attention to universities and the condition in which students are actually being made to live. Referring to Modi’s visit to Delhi University shortly before the collapse, Dipke asked how students could be expected to pursue their education when even their hostels and classrooms could not be guaranteed to be safe. He demanded safe classrooms, functional hostels and basic dignity for students, asking pointedly how long students would be made to pay for failures in public infrastructure.

The CJP’s later response went beyond the immediate building and towards the system that allows unsafe student accommodation to proliferate. Its spokesperson Saurav Das described students as being left to “live like cockroaches” and alleged the existence of a wider “PG mafia” involving unregulated paying guest accommodation and political interests. These are allegations, not established findings, but they point to precisely the questions that any serious investigation must answer: who owns these properties, who authorises or tolerates their conversion into student housing, whether inspections actually take place, what happens to violations once they are detected, and whether officials are held accountable when unsafe structures continue to operate. The CJP has demanded a seven-point action plan including structural audits of student accommodations, disclosure of building records, a public database of safety certificates, accountability of officials and compensation of ₹1 crore to each bereaved family.

Delhi’s Satya Niketan does not have a double-engine or a triple-engine BJP sarkar. It has a TEN-ENGINE BJP sarkar!

And yet, the blame-game is on. Blame the Congress. Blame the AAP. If any lapses are found from previous governments, prosecute those responsible. But it just so… https://t.co/jiVqriEQRG

— Saurav Das (@SauravDassss) September 7, 2026

Delhi: On the Satya Niketan building collapse, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) chief spokesperson Saurav Das says, “This is Delhi’s governance structure. The councillor is from BJP, the MLA is from BJP, the MP is from BJP, the Zone Chairman is from BJP, the Mayor is from BJP, the MCD… pic.twitter.com/wZfZiGHsti

— IANS (@ians_india) September 7, 2026

CJP’s seven demands.

Justice for Satya Niketan students. pic.twitter.com/WHmrBr4w3E

— Saurav Das (@SauravDassss) September 7, 2026

Dipke also framed the tragedy as a question of political priorities. As reported by The Hindu, he contrasted the construction of grand political establishments with the unsafe and inadequate infrastructure available to students, arguing that the government should prioritise safe educational institutions and hostels rather than political grandstanding.

Students are trapped under the debris, and locals are trying to rescue them with their bare hands.

Not a single person from the administration is in sight.

When every minute could save a life, where is the administration? And for how long this will continue to happen? https://t.co/BEL3RfCqR3

— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) September 6, 2026

ABVP is demanding officials answer for the collapse: ABVP, meanwhile, has taken its protest directly to the civic administration. The organisation held demonstrations and sit-ins across DU campuses and demanded accountability from the MCD, including the suspension/resignation of the MCD Commissioner. It has called for a high-level and impartial inquiry, action against negligent PG operators and building owners, action against officials responsible for enforcement failures, and immediate structural and safety audits of private accommodation in student-dominated areas.

ABVP’s protest also escalated at the MCD headquarters, where protesters entered the Civic Centre and the premises were subsequently reported to have been vandalised. That escalation should be recorded honestly; a legitimate demand for accountability does not make vandalism acceptable. At the same time, the underlying question raised by the protest remains entirely legitimate: how was an allegedly unauthorised G+4 building permitted to operate as a student PG?

The Opposition response: From condolences to the question of accountability

Opposition parties have increasingly moved beyond expressions of grief to attack what they describe as a systemic failure of governance. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called the collapse a “deeply distressing and avoidable tragedy”, arguing that students come to Delhi to build their futures, not to risk their lives merely to find a roof over their heads. Senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi similarly connected the deaths to the chronic shortage of university hostels, pointing out that students are pushed into private PGs where large numbers can end up living under one roof in what he described as inhumane conditions. He also said Congress and NSUI workers were present at the site and ready to assist affected students and their families.

.@narendramodi जी कल दिल्ली विश्वविद्यालय के SRCC में गए। यह देश के युवाओं, शिक्षा और उनके भविष्य पर संवाद का अवसर था। लेकिन अफसोस, युवाओं के सवालों का सामना करने के बजाय भाषण फिर एक राजनीतिक प्रचार में बदल गया।

मोदी जी की Modus Operandi —

लोकतंत्र में सवालों को दबाने के लिए…

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) September 6, 2026

The building collapse in Delhi’s Satya Niketan is a deeply distressing and avoidable tragedy. Reports of DU students being trapped under the debris are extremely worrying.

Every effort must be made to rescue those trapped and ensure the best possible treatment for the injured.…

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) September 6, 2026

दिल्ली के सत्य निकेतन में इमारत ढहने की खबर बेहद दर्दनाक और चिंताजनक है। कई लोगों के मलबे में दबे होने की खबर है, जिनमें दिल्ली यूनिवर्सिटी के कई छात्र भी शामिल हैं।

मेरी अपील है कि NDRF, दिल्ली फायर सर्विस और सभी बचाव दल हर संभव प्रयास करके हर एक छात्र तक पहुँचें, घायलों को… https://t.co/uQi7H8HPra

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 6, 2026

Rahul Gandhi’s response became sharper the following day. He accused the BJP government of following a recurring pattern in which there is little prevention before disasters, followed by political grandstanding and the shifting of responsibility onto lower-level officials after lives have already been lost. Referring to the Satya Niketan collapse alongside other recent disasters in Delhi, Gandhi argued that the absence of preventive action was itself a form of political failure. He also questioned the notion of a “triple-engine” government in Delhi, asking why such administrative alignment had not translated into basic safety for students. NDTV reported his central argument as one of “no accountability”, with Gandhi saying that where there is no political intent, there is no accountability either.

हर बार BJP सरकार का वही शर्मनाक पैटर्न – हादसों से पहले रोकथाम नहीं, उनके बाद बयानबाज़ी होती है, कुछ छोटे अफ़सरों पर ज़िम्मेदारी मढ़ दी जाती है, और असली गुनहगार जवाबदेही मुक्त रहते हैं।

सत्य निकेतन में छात्रों से भरी इमारत का गिरना कोई अकेली त्रासदी नहीं है। पिछले 4 महीनों में…

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 7, 2026

The criticism also came from within the wider Congress organisation. Delhi Congress chief Devendra Yadav asked why students arriving in the capital from across the country should have to live without any guarantee of safety, arguing that a Prime Minister’s speeches at Delhi University could not substitute for actual protection of students. Congress media department head Pawan Khera described the recovery of a copy of A Thousand Splendid Suns from the rubble as a symbol of a generation that, in his words, was being left without adequate guarantees of dignity, safety or a future. NSUI president Vinod Jakhar separately alleged that the administration arrived nearly two hours after the collapse and said NSUI workers had immediately attempted to pull students from the debris.

There isn’t a problem with the BJP’s capacity. There is a problem with its intentions. Victims are shamed while perpetrators are shielded.

And this culture of impunity is nourished from the very top.

A Prime Minister who evades accountability, lets people with tainted records… https://t.co/tISONGv1Ko

— Pawan Khera ಪವನ್ ಖೇರಾ (@Pawankhera) September 7, 2026

It is both haunting and moving to see the book, ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’, recovered from the rubble at Satya Niketan, Delhi.

It is a heartbreaking story of oppression, endurance, solidarity, love, sacrifice and hope.

The novel follows the lives of women in Afghanistan. But… https://t.co/MNeHq4bDOV

— Pawan Khera ಪವನ್ ಖೇರಾ (@Pawankhera) September 6, 2026

The Satya Niketan Collapse Exposes The Reality Behind The Growth Claims pic.twitter.com/fvhkSxJZ3N

— Congress (@INCIndia) September 7, 2026

The Aam Aadmi Party, meanwhile, placed the responsibility more directly on the Delhi civic and administrative machinery. AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal described the collapse as “extremely tragic and alarming” and said the government needed to “wake up from its slumber”, calling for comprehensive measures to protect public safety. AAP MP Atishi demanded a high-level inquiry and strict action against those responsible for negligence. Saurabh Bharadwaj went further, questioning the functioning of the MCD building department and alleging that corruption and political influence had allowed unsafe construction to continue. Those allegations should themselves be investigated rather than treated as established fact, but they underline the central issue: the collapse was not simply the consequence of one building owner’s decisions; it raises questions about the regulatory machinery that was supposed to identify dangerous construction before people were killed.

सत्य निकेतन, दिल्ली में इमारत गिरने का हादसा अत्यंत दुखद और चिंताजनक है। मेरी भगवान से प्रार्थना है कि मलबे में फंसे लोगों का सकुशल और जल्द रेस्क्यू हो जाए।

दिल्ली में सरकार की लापरवाही के कारण अब तक कई हादसे हो चुके हैं। सरकार को नींद से जागना होगा। बड़े स्तर पर एक्शन लेकर… https://t.co/HSzRPPOVJy

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) September 6, 2026

दिल्ली के मोती बाग स्थित सत्य निकेतन में इमारत गिरने की ख़बर बेहद दुखद और चिंताजनक है। मलबे में छात्रों समेत कई लोगों के दबे होने की आशंका बेहद विचलित करने वाली है।

प्रशासन से अपील है कि राहत एवं बचाव कार्य पूरी तत्परता से चलाया जाएँ और मलबे में फंसे सभी लोगों को सुरक्षित बाहर…

— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) September 6, 2026

How would someone trapped in a cavity of debris call for help when Mobile Signals have been jammed ?

Who ordered to install Mobile Jammers at Satya Niketan PG students building ?

Why did NDRF took 2-3 hours to reach in the middle of delhi ?

Why were Govt Ambulances 2 hours… pic.twitter.com/V6xAw79r1X

— Saurabh Bharadwaj (@Saurabh_MLAgk) September 8, 2026

The protest has moved from grief to a demand for structural change

The students’ demands are also increasingly being translated into formal legal and institutional action. A PIL filed by DU law student Aniket Kumar Gupta has sought an independent investigation into the collapse, an immediate safety audit of private PGs and hostels in Satya Niketan, safe relocation of students from unsafe buildings and ₹1 crore compensation for each deceased victim, reported Indian Express.

NSUI has separately moved the Delhi High Court seeking a structured hostel-development policy for Delhi University. Moreover, the wider student mobilisation is happening against the backdrop of the Delhi High Court itself questioning the regulation of PGs and the adequacy of hostel facilities.

The Court has asked how buildings with permissions for limited floors are being turned into much larger PG structures and why there is no effective mechanism regulating such accommodation.

The significance of Satya Niketan is already travelling beyond the immediate site. The Times of India reported that students at Sir Chotu Ram Institute of Engineering and Technology in Meerut protested outside the vice-chancellor’s office over hostel shortages in the aftermath of the Delhi tragedy. The students were demanding accommodation and expressing heightened fears about being forced into private housing after seeing what happened in Satya Niketan, reported The Times of India.

Conclusion: The students should not have had to become their own rescue system

The most disturbing lesson of Satya Niketan is not simply that an allegedly unauthorised and structurally compromised building collapsed. It is that, in the crucial first moments after it did, ordinary residents and students were among those who climbed into the rubble, organised human chains, moved debris and searched for survivors. The government’s response cannot end with suspensions, sealing drives and post-disaster audits. Those measures may be necessary, but they are the beginning of accountability, not its conclusion. Authorities must establish who approved what, what the building was legally permitted to contain, whether it was ever inspected, whether violations were detected, whether notices were issued, whether enforcement was attempted, and why a property being used to house students was allowed to remain in operation. The precise cause of the collapse must also be established independently rather than prematurely attributed to basement work, rain, seepage or any other single factor while the investigation is still underway.

Most importantly, the State cannot simultaneously fail to provide adequate student housing and then treat the safety of the private housing market as someone else’s problem. When public universities provide only a fraction of the accommodation their students require, students are pushed into dense private neighbourhoods such as Satya Niketan. When those neighbourhoods become commercially dependent on student housing without corresponding infrastructure, regulation and enforcement, the resulting risk is not merely a “private” landlord problem. It becomes a question of urban governance and public responsibility. The collapse has therefore exposed more than one unsafe building. It has exposed a system in which students are expected to find their own roofs, residents are expected to improvise rescue operations, and governments arrive with audits after the deaths have already occurred.

Related:

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The Normalisation of Suicide at IITs: Institutional blindness and failure

Pune’s DJ Controversy, Ganeshotsav and Assault: The politics of who gets to make noise

Midnight Arrest, Daylight Questions: Why was Santosh Pandit taken into custody?

The post Satya Niketan Collapse: When students and neighbours had to rescue students from a system that had failed them appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Let me first clarify that I am not making a value judgement here. Nor am I pushing forward an argument that students of yesterday were avid readers, while students of the present time are an anti-knowledge lot.

To make such a sweeping generalisation, one would need to conduct a scientific study and take into consideration multiple factors. On the occasion of Teachers’ Day, I simply want to share my own experience—something that has been troubling my mind.

One of the first major signs of the decline of reading culture is the disappearance of shops and stalls selling books, magazines, and newspapers. Even the Xerox shops around colleges and universities are now busy printing and photocopying documents to be submitted to the administration, rather than essays, articles, or relevant portions of books and magazines.

Even newspaper hawkers are hardly visible, not only around colleges in semi-rural areas but also at those located in district headquarters and cities. Around college and university campuses, what one mostly sees is the mushrooming growth of fast-food kiosks. Since the administrations are often unable to run the canteens properly, students have little choice but to go outside and eat junk food.

Inside the campus, library culture is also on the decline. One of the main reasons for this is the lack of library staff. Most of the library staff are contractual workers who are poorly paid. As a result, they often do not work there with a sense of commitment. Even among those who are working, many are not trained in library science. Nor are they sensitized to the needs of readers. The reading hall is also poorly maintained. The seating arrangements and lighting are inadequate. The books are not properly arranged, making it difficult for readers to access them.

However, the growing corruption within the publishing world has also infected our campuses. As a result, a large portion of the books purchased in recent years are simply garbage. Even in the journal sections, substandard journals are purchased while quality journals are often ignored. Everywhere, there are cuts in the budget, and even when money is spent, it is rarely spent on the welfare of students or the promotion of genuine academic activity.

The administration is happy to display this garbage on the shelves of the library in return for hefty kickbacks, while caring little about valuable books that are damaged by pests or due to neglect.

I do not know much about the complex rules and norms that determine how colleges and universities are ranked among the top institutes by government agencies. But my yardstick for judging whether a college or university is academically vibrant is very simple. Whenever I visit a new academic institution, I first try to visit its library because a well-attended library is a sign of a healthy academic environment.

While no bhajan (devotion) is possible without bhojan (food), I next visit the canteen inside the academic premises. A canteen not only provides food but also creates a space for interaction, debate, and discussion. I am sad to say that most universities and colleges cannot boast of having such a happening place. If there are a few such eateries, they are highly commercialised, serving mostly fast food. While the food may be ‘hot’ and ‘spicy’, the public culture there is dull and lifeless.

The shrinking democratic space is no less responsible for the declining reading culture. The administration is becoming more authoritarian day by day. The regime of security and surveillance is intensifying with each passing day. Even teachers often maintain a sense of superiority. Most teachers favour students who act meekly before them, touch their feet, and flatter them at every opportunity.

The caste network is also deeply pernicious on campuses. It is not a coincidence that the students or research scholars favoured by a teacher are often those who belong to his caste. While our teachers project themselves as the biggest “patriots” in public life, in their personal lives they often indulge in what can only be described as anti-national behaviour by practising caste-based discrimination.

Worse still, our educational campuses are not adequately sensitised to the needs and concerns of female students, religious minorities, and differently-abled people. The syllabus has been framed to glorify the past rather than to meet the needs of students in the present. Students from marginalised sections often find it difficult to relate to the course structure and feel alienated from the academic environment. The rise of majoritarianism and intolerance, along with the display of religiosity on campuses, has further alienated minorities.

Discussions and jokes in staff rooms and classrooms are often anti-women. The rampant misogyny prevalent on campuses makes women feel unsafe. Parents, too, often seize this opportunity to further control the freedom of their daughters.

The lack of student activism and the disappearance of debating and seminar culture are among the major reasons why students do not feel motivated to read. Often, student organisations are banned on campuses by the administration on the grounds that they are involved in violence. It is true that some student bodies have been involved in violent activities, and no one is arguing that they should not be held accountable for their misdeeds. But one also needs to recognise that banning student politics is not the solution to violence. Even elections are sometimes marred by violence, but no one argues that elections should be abolished.

Even the seminars held within campuses often fail to achieve their intended purpose. This has much to do with the relationship between funding agencies and the ideologies they seek to impose on the organisers. Seminars have now turned into occasions to facilitate politicians in power and echo the political lines of the establishment, without critically examining whether such policies are indeed framed in the public interest or merely serve vested interests. Since students and researchers are required to produce certificates of participation, they are often more concerned with obtaining the certificate and filling the chairs in the audience than with participating in any meaningful and fruitful discussion.

It is not only the academic spaces that are responsible; parents, too, often impose their own will on their children. We hardly find parents who facilitate their children in pursuing the goals of their choice. Most are in a hurry to see their children settle into high-salaried and secure jobs. Both at home and in our society, a person is often judged “successful” on the basis of how much wealth they have amassed, how trendy their clothes are, and how luxurious a car they drive.

The anti-intellectual environment at homes get extended into our academic spaces. The teachers hardly read. They have forgotten that a good teacher is the one who is first a student. The advancement in career is the bigger concern for the teachers rather than acting as the source of knowledge. They hardly speak on the pressing political issues because they want to remain in the good book of the establishment.

Even if our Constitution gives every citizen the fundamental right to freedom of speech, and the highest court of the country has held that dissent and criticism are integral parts of democracy, a large section of teachers have imposed self-censorship on themselves. They write only when they need papers for promotion, and most of these papers are poorly written and make little sense. Yet they get published as “research papers” because the authors pay publishers huge amounts of money.

Even in the staff room, teachers hardly discuss academic issues. The favourite gossip among male teachers is often about the clothes of their female colleagues, accompanied by rumours about their personal lives and sexual relationships. Worse still, many teachers are excessively flattering towards their seniors while being rude and dismissive towards their students.

All these factors contribute negatively to the lives of our young students. The smarter among them have come to realise that knowledge is not the first criterion for getting jobs in academia. That is why they spend a large amount of their energy flattering their teachers and developing networks with those in the administration and politics. Sensing that joining the political outfits of the ruling party is a more secure way of getting jobs, they are often too busy attending sectarian political programmes rather than spending time in the classroom and library.

Since a large number of students hardly read, they are unable to write. Whenever they turn up to submit their assignments, their writings are often copied and pasted from the internet. These are some of the more disturbing trends that I have noticed while working as a teacher. I do not know how these issues can be addressed. But if India has to excel in the field of knowledge and ensure that its democracy remains meaningful, policymakers cannot afford to ignore these questions.

(Dr Abhay Kumar teaches Political Science. His recently published book is Muslim Personal Law: Definitions, Sources and Contestations (Manohar, 2026). Email: debatingissues@gmail.com)

The post Why are reading habits among Indian students declining? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

According to his parents, Aditya was interested in joining the protest because he believed students were facing injustice. The couple decided to accompany him rather than prevent him from participating. The family travelled to Dak Bungalow Chowk by auto rickshaw and remained together during the demonstration.

Patna Police, however, have denied that the child was detained, saying he was rescued from a potentially dangerous situation at the protest site and later handed over safely to his family. The incident was reported by The Wire, which spoke to the child’s parents and the police.

Police say child was rescued

The Patna Police, in a press release issued on August 26, rejected social media claims that the child had been detained. According to the police, protesters had moved towards a restricted area and attempted to break through or remove barricades. Police said that amid the situation, they spotted a child at the protest site and intervened to protect him from the crowd and the possibility of a stampede. The police said the child was subsequently handed over to his family “safe and sound”. The family’s account differs.

Ranjit and Munni told The Wire that police first attempted to take Aditya away during the protest. According to them, media persons present at the spot intervened, following which the child was allowed to remain with them. Someone later gave Aditya a tricolour, which he began waving. When some protesters climbed onto a police bus that had reportedly been brought to detain protesters, Aditya also climbed onto the bus and continued waving the national flag. Ranjit said he subsequently took his son and attempted to leave the protest site.

According to him, police approached them and told him that his wife was waiting for him. He and Aditya followed the police and were subsequently placed in an ambulance along with Munni. The family says they were initially told they would be taken home. Instead, they were taken to the Kotwali police station, which is around 500 metres from Dak Bungalow Chowk.

Family alleges assault at police station

The parents have alleged that they were kept at the police station for several hours and assaulted by police personnel. Ranjit told The Wire that he and his wife were taken into a small room where around six police personnel were present, including four women police officers. He alleges that police personnel assaulted both him and his wife.

According to his account, officers instructed female personnel on how to beat Munni. He alleges that officers stepped on her legs and that he was beaten on the soles of his feet and hands with a baton. He also alleged that he was pushed to the ground, struck on his back and hit below the waist. Ranjit said the alleged assault lasted around 15 minutes.

“They treated us as if we were hardened criminals,” he told The Wire.

Munni separately alleged that police kicked her in the abdomen despite her having undergone a Caesarean-section delivery. Ranjit said he pleaded with the police to stop assaulting his wife.

The police have denied the allegations. Kotwali SHO Ajay Kumar told The Wire that no assault took place inside the police station. Responding to questions about injury marks on Munni’s body, he said the injuries could have been sustained during the protest itself.

Aditya kept asking about his parents

According to his father, Aditya himself was not assaulted at the police station. Ranjit said the child was offered biscuits and chocolates but refused them. Instead, he repeatedly asked to be allowed to stay with his parents. He also questioned police about why his parents had been beaten after seeing their injuries, according to Ranjit. The family says Aditya remained calm despite the situation.

His father told The Wire that the six-year-old has previously shown an interest in participating in protests. Aditya had also participated in an RJD-organised march in Patna on August 19, according to his parents.

Ranjit also claimed that Aditya’s actions during the August 25 protest had attracted police attention. According to him, police had lathi-charged protesters during the demonstration and some teacher aspirants suffered head injuries. Ranjit said Aditya asked in front of media persons who had ordered the lathi-charge. He further alleged that when a police officer was leaving the protest site, Aditya questioned him about where he was going after the alleged incident. According to Ranjit, police later asked the parents at the police station why their child had been asking about the injured protesters and the lathi-charge.

Mother taken to hospital

Munni reportedly became unwell while at the police station and complained of anxiety. Ranjit said he informed the police, who brought water for her. According to the family, she was subsequently taken to New Gardiner Road Hospital, a government hospital located around 500 metres from the police station. Munni told The Wire that two women police personnel accompanied her to the hospital.

She alleged that she was advised not to tell the doctor that she had been beaten at the police station. According to Munni, she did not tell the doctor about the alleged assault because she felt intimidated in the presence of police personnel. She was treated at the hospital and given a prescription. Munni alleges that the police took the prescription, telling her that it would later be given to her husband. She says the prescription was never returned.

The SHO denied the allegation that police had taken the prescription, saying that such a document normally remains with the patient. After her treatment, Munni was taken back to the police station. The family says they were finally released at around 8 pm and reached their home at around 9 pm.

Ranjit has further alleged that before their release, he and his wife were made to sign a written document. According to him, the document stated that strict action could be taken if Aditya participated in a protest in the future. He also claims that it stated that police could summon the parents for questioning at any time. Ranjit said he did not know the full contents of the document he had signed. The family also alleges that police instructed them not to speak about what had happened inside the police station.

Protest over TRE-4

The protest was organised by teacher aspirants who are opposed to changes announced by the Bihar Public Service Commission for the upcoming TRE-4 examination. Under the new pattern, the examination is to be conducted in two stages, while negative marking will continue in objective examinations. The protesting aspirants have demanded that the examination instead be conducted as a single examination and without negative marking.

On August 25, they began marching from Gandhi Maidan towards Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary’s residence. The protesters broke through police barricades during the march and reached Dak Bungalow Chowk, where police action followed. Aditya joined the protesters there with his parents.

Family now fears police harassment

Ranjit and Munni are a working-class couple. Ranjit has studied until Class 4 and works as a daily-wage labourer, earning around Rs 500 a day. Munni works as a domestic worker. The family lives in a single rented room. Aditya is their only child and studies in Class 1 at a private school. According to his parents, he enjoys Mathematics, Hindi and English and keeps a copy of the Constitution. The family says the events of August 25 have left them fearful of further police action. Ranjit told The Wire that he has stopped going to work for several days because he fears that police could arrest or assault him again. The family also says they did not eat or sleep properly after returning home that night. Munni said they kept wondering what they had done wrong. The family is now reportedly avoiding staying at home because of fears of police harassment.

Advocate Shivnandan Bharti, who is planning to file a writ petition concerning the incident, has described it as a case of illegal detention and questioned why the child was not simply handed over to his parents if the police intervention was solely for his safety.

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Address Discrimination & Hate Crimes India told: CERD, UN

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According to the minister, between 2022-23 and 2024-25, Pune, Mumbai, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nagpur, Amravati, Akola and Yavatmal districts collectively reported 14,526 child deaths. This high figure includes infants and children under five admitted to government facilities, as well as cases of severe malnutrition. The minister also said that 138 infant deaths have been recorded in the tribal-dominated Palghar district. Palghar has always been high on hunger, deprivation and infant mortality figures.

Speaking in the assembly in response to a question and citing from the state health department’s data as of November 2025, Abitkar said 203 children were identified as suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and 2,666 from Moderate Acute Malnutrition. The proportion of underweight children was recorded at 0.23 per cent, while 1.48 per cent fell in the moderately underweight category.

The minister also referred to the Sample Registration System 2022, released by the Registrar General of India, which estimated Maharashtra’s neonatal mortality rate at 11 per 1,000 live births, lower than the national average of 23. In defence, Abitkar said the state government has adopted multiple measures under the Integrated Child Development Services programme to reduce malnutrition. These include regular health examinations, the Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Amrut Aahar Yojana for pregnant women, targeted interventions for SAM children, the Nutrition Campaign, the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana and the ‘Suposhit Maharashtra’ initiative.

(This is based on a report by PTI)

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The Indian Express reported that the video shows a man seated on a chair gripping a young boy by his hair, tearing out handfuls of it, and throwing the hair into a dustbin — all while laughing. The boy, visibly terrified, pleads for the abuse to stop. The person seen committing the act has been identified as a sanitation worker employed at the station, while the video was allegedly filmed by a police constable posted there.

Police have now registered an FIR under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) — including Section 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), Section 198 (willful disobedience of law with intent to cause injury), and Section 54 (abetment while present). The case also invokes Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, which criminalises cruelty towards a child, according to The Indian Express.

The incident and the complaint

According to the FIR, the incident occurred last month after the boy — a minor — was detained in an assault case. The complaint, filed by his grandmother, states that he had been picked up by the police following a neighbourhood altercation that left one person injured in an alleged knife attack. The police then detained the boy and subsequently sent him to a juvenile remand home, where he remained for about 16–17 days before being released, as per Indian Express.

Initially, the youth did not disclose the abuse he suffered in custody. His grandmother told The Indian Express that he became withdrawn and fearful after being released. It was only when the video surfaced on social media several weeks later that he revealed the truth — that during his detention, he was humiliated, beaten, and had his hair forcibly pulled out while police officers looked on and one recorded the act on his phone.

The grandmother then approached community leaders for help, and together they drafted a formal complaint. This complaint named four persons: the sanitation worker, the constable, the station’s police inspector, and an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP).

Community intervention and representation

Mujahid Nafees, Convener of the Minority Coordination Committee (MCC), wrote to Gujarat DGP Vikas Sahay on behalf of the family, demanding immediate disciplinary and criminal action against the officers involved. The application was formally forwarded to Rajkot Police Commissioner Brajesh Kumar Jha, reported The Indian Express.

With the assistance of local community members, the youth’s grandmother also submitted a separate written representation to the Police Commissioner. However, when the FIR was finally registered, it named only two accused — the constable and the sanitation worker — omitting the senior officers originally mentioned.

According to sources close to the family, reported The Indian Express, the police presented what they described as “convincing evidence” that both the Inspector and ACP were not present at the police station when the incident occurred. This led to their exclusion from the FIR, though activists have criticised the decision as premature and lacking transparency.

Official statements and inquiry

When contacted, Rajkot City Police Commissioner Brajesh Kumar Jha was unavailable for comment. DCP Zone-2 Rakesh Desai told The Indian Express that the FIR had been filed based on the grandmother’s complaint. “In the case of the video of a minor whose hair is being pulled out, his grandmother has given a complaint and we have filed an FIR,” Desai said. “The accused police constable has been transferred to headquarters, and the sanitation worker has been removed from his job.”

When asked about the inspector and ACP who were named in the initial complaint but not in the FIR, DCP Desai said, “Our inquiry has found that they were not involved.”

The preliminary inquiry has now been assigned to ACP (West) Radhika Bharai, who confirmed to The Indian Express that she has recorded statements from all involved and will submit her final report shortly. The criminal investigation into the FIR will be handled by a Police Sub-Inspector from another chowki under the same jurisdiction to ensure impartiality.

A second case of custodial torture against a minor

This latest incident in Rajkot comes on the heels of another horrifying case from Botad district, Gujarat, where four police constables were booked for the alleged torture and sexual assault of a 17-year-old boy in custody in August 2025. The case has attracted national attention due to the boy’s critical condition and the Supreme Court’s involvement.

According to the report of LiveLaw, the sister of the victim filed a petition under Article 32 of the Constitution before the Supreme Court, seeking an investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). As provided in the petition, the boy was picked up by police officers of Botad Town on August 19, 2025, from a local fair on suspicion of theft. He was illegally detained for over nine days — from August 19 to August 28 — during which he was brutally assaulted and sexually abused by four to six officers.

The plea alleged multiple violations of procedural law:

• The minor was not produced before a Juvenile Justice Board or magistrate within 24 hours,
• No medical examination was conducted,
• His grandfather was also detained and tortured, and
• Officials later attempted to coerce the family into signing false statements.

On September 1, as per Bar & Bench, police told the family that the boy was suffering from an “insect bite” and required specialised medical attention. He was transferred to Zydus Hospital, Ahmedabad, where doctors found that he had suffered severe kidney damage requiring dialysis, temporary blindness, and seizures resulting from trauma.

The petition further stated that the boy remained in the ICU, and during this time, police officials allegedly forced his signature on certain documents and compelled family members to sign papers claiming that his injuries were due to a bicycle fall. The hospital refused to share the toxicology report or medical details with the family.

Supreme Court’s directions

The matter reached the Supreme Court in early October. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta heard the petition on October 7, 2025. As per LiveLaw, the bench refused to entertain the case directly, directing the petitioner to first approach the Gujarat High Court for relief.

Justice Nath observed: “Our sympathy is with your case, but the proper way is to go to the High Court.” Justice Mehta added that the petitioner could return to the Supreme Court if the High Court failed to take adequate steps.

The petitioner’s lawyer, pleaded for urgent directions to preserve the CCTV footage of the police station and to constitute a medical board from AIIMS, citing fears that crucial evidence might be destroyed. The Court, however, declined to issue immediate orders, stating, “It won’t be destroyed if you go to the High Court timely.”

Civil society response and pattern of abuse

The Minority Coordination Committee (MCC), which has taken up both the Rajkot and Botad cases, has called for the immediate suspension of the accused officers, registration of additional offences under custodial violence statutes, and judicial monitoring of the investigations.

Human rights advocates and legal experts have expressed grave concern over the emerging pattern of police violence against minors, particularly Muslim youth from marginalized backgrounds. They point out that both cases involve illegal detention, denial of medical access, and attempts at cover-up, indicating a culture of impunity within the state’s policing system.

Bhatt, who represented the Botad victim’s family, told Bar & Bench that these incidents “demonstrate a systemic disregard for due process and a chilling normalisation of custodial violence against minors.”

Conclusion: The urgency of accountability

The two back-to-back incidents — in Rajkot and Botad — lay bare a disturbing continuity of abuse within Gujarat’s police system, particularly against young Muslim males. Both cases reveal a pattern of dehumanizing violence, institutional protectionism, and token disciplinary actions that stop short of real accountability.

While Rajkot police have limited their action to transferring one constable and dismissing a sanitation worker, such cosmetic measures do little to restore public faith. Rights organizations have called for:

• Independent investigations under judicial supervision,
• Immediate forensic preservation of CCTV footage and medical records,
• Prosecution of officers under sections related to custodial torture and juvenile protection, and
• Oversight by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)

As has been documented, these incidents are not isolated excesses — they are symptoms of a systemic crisis. Unless the Gujarat government ensures structural accountability and enforces zero tolerance for custodial brutality, these cases will fade into the familiar pattern of viral outrage followed by institutional silence.

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Child was assaulted by two teachers in the classroom

According to a police report, the child was assaulted by two teachers—Rakesh Saini and Ravindra—inside the classroom shortly after he returned from a short absence. The complaint, filed by the boy’s father, alleges that one teacher held the child down while the other repeatedly beat him with a stick.

According to the Indian Express, Jhabrera Station House Officer Ajay Shah said that victim’s  father alleged that one of the teachers ‘threw the child to the ground, pressed his face with a shoe, and held his hands’ while the other ‘beat him with a stick’.

A 7-year-old Muslim boy was allegedly beaten by his teachers inside a classroom of a government school in Jhabrera village of Haridwar district in Uttarakhand for allegedly missing a day of school.@ghazalaahmad5 reports:https://t.co/FOyDJn20Ki

— Maktoob (@MaktoobMedia) September 14, 2025

The child reportedly sustained multiple injuries, including a fractured hand and trauma to his back and hips. Photographs of the boy, shared by the family, show red scars on his body, highlighting the severity of the attack.

Principal accused of inaction

The child’s father initially approached the school principal to report the incident, but claims his concerns were dismissed. Instead of receiving support, he alleges he was met with threats from the accused teachers.

“When I went to the school, both teachers threatened me, saying: ‘Go away, otherwise we will kill you,” the father stated in his complaint, as reported

Following the alleged inaction by the school authorities, the father took the matter to Jhabrera police station, leading to the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) on September 11, 2025.

Legal action and investigation

Police confirmed that the FIR has been filed under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, for cruelty to a child. The case also includes charges under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) Section 115(2) for voluntarily causing hurt and Section 351(2) for criminal intimidation.

“Further investigation and due legal proceedings are underway,” officials at Jhabrera police station said.

The child is currently undergoing treatment at a local hospital for his injuries. His family says he remains in shock from the incident.

Complaint filed with Minority Commission and NHRC

Mohammad Saddam Mujeeb, former advisor at the Delhi Minorities Commission, has filed complaints with the National Commission for Minorities, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

“This is a clear violation of child rights and it needs to be investigated. Student safety is at stake,” said Mujeeb, Maktoob Media reported.

He added, “This can happen with any student in the state. It should not be repeated; hence, accountability must be ensured.”

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What triggered the abuse?

The incident occurred on Tuesday, July 8, after school staff allegedly discovered bloodstains in a washroom. Instead of handling the situation with discretion and sensitivity, the school principal decided to launch a public and humiliating investigation. According to the police, the girls were herded into the school’s convention hall, where they were shown images of the bloodstains via a projector and asked to identify whether they were on their periods, as reported in The Indian Express.

“Who Is Menstruating?”- Thumbprints and strip searches

Those who disclosed they were menstruating were asked to submit their thumb impressions. Girls who said they were not were taken, one by one, to the washroom by a female attendant who allegedly forced them to remove their clothes and undergo a physical inspection to confirm if they were telling the truth, according to NDTV. One parent of a Class 7 student spoke to Times of India and said, “My daughter came home trembling. She told me she was forced to undress in the washroom, in front of other students. This isn’t discipline; it’s mental harassment”.

Police action and legal charges

According to Thane (Rural) Additional Superintendent of Police Rahul Zalte, the parents protested outside the school premises on Wednesday, demanding strict action against the school staff involved. The police promptly registered an FIR against eight individuals, including the principal, four teachers, the woman attendant, and two trustees.

The accused have been charged under the BNS Sections 74 (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 76 (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe), in addition to relevant provisions of the POCSO Act, as reported by Free Press Journal.

On Wednesday evening, the principal and attendant were arrested, and the school management dismissed the principal from her post, officials confirmed. A senior police officer said both women would be produced before a court on Thursday, according to the report of Mumbai Mirror.

Students left traumatised

A particularly harrowing detail emerged when one girl, who had denied menstruating, was accused by the principal of lying. She was reportedly asked, “Why are you using a sanitary pad if you’re not menstruating?” and then forced to give her thumbprint under coercion. Many girls reportedly went home crying and mentally disturbed, revealing the trauma to their families. Parents and local child rights groups have labelled the incident mental and physical abuse, demanding further criminal prosecution and inquiry by the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MSCPCR).

Thane Rural Police have stated that they are currently recording statements from students and witnesses. “We are taking the testimonies of other children and school staff, and gathering all electronic and forensic evidence,” said an investigating officer, while speaking to India Today.

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When Courts Fail Survivors: How patriarchy shapes justice in sexual offence against women cases

Surviving Communal Wrath: Women who have defied the silence, demanded accountability from the state

The post Thane School Horror: Principal, attendant arrested for forcing girls to strip in menstruation check, case registered under POCSO appeared first on SabrangIndia.

As these elderly persons can barely look after their own needs, these children get neglected. They do not go to school and roam around aimlessly. Tragedy struck twice recently as three such children of this hamlet were drowned, two in a pond and one in a canal. This caused widespread distress in the hamlet.

Urmila, a deeply sensitive dalit woman of this village was already involved with a voluntary organization Vidya Dham Samiti (VDS). With its help she decided to open an informal school in which these children could come get some education and care.

For over a year now she has been teaching these children for about two hours per day. Depending on the migration cycle, the number of children who attend this school can range from 20 to 35. The school hours were 4 to 6 earlier but with the onset of winter have been changed from to 3 to 5.

Urmila is one of the very few women here who is a graduate. She divides children according to age group and teaches them the basics of English, Hindi and Math. Saturday being sports day is eagerly awaited. Keeping in view the recent tragedies, children are alerted regarding safety precautions. They also learn about good health and hygiene.

Urmila has not yet been able to arrange a room or properly covered place for her small school, so rainy days sometimes become off days while occasionally someone provides a covered place. She hopes that some more durable solution can be found soon.

Meanwhile Urmila has already succeeded in integrating some of her students in the mainstream school, although problems caused by the frequent migration of their parents will persist.

Urmila gets a lot of affection from children, as is evident from the fact that those going to the mainstream school still insist on coming to her school too. Urmila does not believe in punishing children. When these children or their grandparents experience any serious health or other problems, Urmila tries to arrange some help from neighbours, or from VDS and its sister organization Chingari.

Several such schools have been started by VDS without having any project support for this by raising small donations. These can play a particularly important in villages where migration levels are high, or where there are very high levels of poverty and the nearest school is some distance away and the path is not safe. Such informal schools may not be adequate for meeting educational needs, but these fulfil an important need. To explore various options, in one such school nutrition is also provided, despite the difficulties faced in this due to the non-availability of any project funds.

For the school in Missouri village a beautiful small bamboo room has been created near a lotus pond for the children who assemble here for about two hours every day for education. Here some nutrition is also provided on daily basis. Jitendra, the teacher in this school, is a talented youth of this village. One of his arms was crushed in an accident, but several people say that this accident was deliberately caused by a dabang (ruthless person) of the village who was angry with Jitendra for being assertive. Jitendra remains very quiet but his mother was very agitated when I spoke to her. Jitendra is very committed to teaching children, even though only a small honorarium could be arranged for him. Coming to meetings and inter-acting with many people has given him a new confidence and he has also re-joined his own education along with teaching children.

Even at a very small scale, such efforts have given heart-warming results which testify to the eagerness of children themselves to have at least some access to education. One hopes that with more support becoming available, these efforts will be able to expand and improve in the near future.

Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Man over Machine and A Day in 2071.  

Courtesy: CounterCurrents.org

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