In a significant order, the Foreigners Tribunal, Dhubri District, has declared Akurbhan Bibi, a marginalised Muslim woman from Assam, to be an Indian citizen in her own birthplace. The decision brings closure to a process that subjected her and her family to prolonged anxiety, uncertainty, and the constant fear of statelessness.

For Akurbhan Bibi, the Tribunal’s declaration is more than a legal outcome—it is the restoration of a life interrupted by suspicion.

Akurbhan Bibi stands with her husband outside their home

Roots in the Borderlands: Birth, marriage, and belonging

Akurbhan Bibi was born in 1982 at Sonakhuli Part II village, under Golokganj Police Station, in Dhubri district, Assam. She grew up on Indian soil, studied at the local school, and lived an ordinary life shaped by the rhythms of a rural border district.

She later married Nur Mohammed, a resident of Ramraikuti village, under the same police station (now under Agomani). Ramraikuti lies in a highly sensitive border area, where the Indo–Bangladesh international fencing stands just a few metres away from residents’ homes.

This region has endured the aftershocks of the 1971 war and Partition-era displacements, yet families like Akurbhan’s have remained rooted here for generations. Their presence is not accidental or recent. As many residents of the border villages assert, they are not Indian by chance, but Indian by choice.

Citizenship by Participation: A voter turned “suspect”

Akurbhan Bibi’s name was enrolled in the electoral rolls in 2005 at her matrimonial home. From that point onwards, she remained a regular voter, exercising her democratic rights year after year.

During this entire period:

• She was never summoned for verification
• No police officer visited her home
• No doubt was raised about her nationality

This long-standing civic recognition was suddenly overturned when she was served a “Suspected Foreigner” notice issued through the Border Branch of the local police station, summoning her before the Foreigners Tribunal.

The notice demanded that Akurbhan Bibi prove her Indian citizenship, placing the entire burden of proof upon her—a requirement that disproportionately devastates poor and marginalised communities in Assam.

A familiar pattern of targeting

Akurbhan Bibi’s case is not an exception; it reflects a broader pattern. Foreigners Tribunal proceedings in Assam frequently target economically vulnerable, Bengali-speaking Muslim families, many of whom lack easy access to archival records, legal assistance, or bureaucratic support.

In Akurbhan’s case, there was no new evidence, no triggering incident, and no intervening conduct that could justify the suspicion raised against her. The notice emerged solely from institutional suspicion—untethered from her lived reality as a voter, resident, and daughter of the soil.

A family history that predates suspicion

Akurbhan Bibi’s paternal lineage is firmly documented. Her father, Saher Sheikh, son of Sonauddin Sheikh, has records tracing back to 1951, with his name appearing in the 1951 National Register of Citizens (NRC)—a foundational document for determining citizenship in Assam. Despite this, Akurbhan herself was forced to defend her nationality, highlighting the intergenerational insecurity imposed on families even when documentary proof exists.

The Notice Arrives: Fear, Absence, and Urgency

When the notice was served, Nur Mohammed was not at home. Like thousands from Assam’s border districts, he survives as a migrant worker, travelling to other parts of India for employment.

Left alone, Akurbhan Bibi carefully read the notice. Understanding its gravity, she acted immediately. Without delay, she contacted CJP’s community volunteer, Hosen Ali, who belongs to her village and is known for assisting families facing such proceedings.

Fear was palpable. The threat of detention, separation, and statelessness loomed large—particularly for a woman with limited means and support.

Akurbhan Bibi and CJP Team Assam

CJP Steps In: Legal Counselling and Ground Support

CJP promptly examined Akurbhan Bibi’s documents and counselled her on the Foreigners Tribunal process. The emotional toll was severe. When Nur Mohammed returned home the very next day, he was visibly shaken.

Detailed consultations followed. CJP assured the family of consistent legal and logistical support, and began the painstaking task of document collection and verification.

The Documentary Challenge: Searching for 1966 records

One of the most critical challenges was tracing Akurbhan Bibi’s father’s name in the 1966 electoral rolls. Given that her father was 23 years old at the time of the 1951 NRC, it was reasonable to expect his inclusion in the 1966 voter list. However, repeated searches yielded no result—not even the Election Office in Dhubri could locate his name.

Importantly:

• The names of her paternal uncles (her father’s brothers) were present in the 1966 voter list
• This reinforced the family’s long-standing residence in the area

While pursuing these records, CJP gathered additional crucial documents, including land records, which later became decisive evidence before the Tribunal.

The legal battle before the Foreigners Tribunal

On behalf of CJP, legal team member Ishkander Azad represented Akurbhan Bibi before the Foreigners Tribunal, Dhubri.

The legal strategy focused on:

• Establishing pre-1971 ancestry
• Demonstrating linkage between Akurbhan and her father
• Corroborating residence through multiple independent documents

After evaluating the evidence, the Tribunal passed an order declaring Akurbhan Bibi to be an Indian citizen.

What the Tribunal Order holds

In its order, the Foreigners Tribunal, Dhubri, inter alia:

1. Accepted the 1951 NRC entry of Saher Sheikh, father of Akurbhan Bibi, as a valid and credible legacy document
2. Accepted the linkage between Akurbhan Bibi and her father, based on documentary evidence placed on record, establishing that she is the daughter of the person whose name appears in the 1951 NRC
3. Took note of supporting documents, including land records and collateral family documents, which corroborated continuous residence and ancestry in Assam
4. Did not draw any adverse inference from the absence of the father’s name in the 1966 voter list, particularly in light of:
   • the presence of close family members in the 1966 rolls, and
   • systemic gaps in archival records
5. Held that the proceedee had successfully discharged the burden of proof cast upon her under the Foreigners Act and Tribunal procedure
6. Declared Akurbhan Bibi to be an Indian citizen, and accordingly dropped the reference against her

 
Akurbhan Bibi and her husband with CJP Team Assam

Justice Delivered: A cup of tea and a quiet smile

The order copy was personally handed over to Akurbhan Bibi by CJP’s Dhubri district community volunteer, Habibul Bepari, along with Assam State In-charge Nanda Ghosh. Holding the order in her hands, Akurbhan Bibi smiled—a rare, unguarded smile of relief. She requested the team to wait for a while. She wanted to prepare tea.

It was a simple act, but one that spoke volumes.

She thanked CJP repeatedly. Her husband stood beside her, visibly lighter, as though a long-standing fear had finally loosened its grip.

CJP stood with her—when it mattered most.

Why the Tribunal’s order matters

1. Burden of proof and structural inequality: Foreigners Tribunal proceedings place the burden of proof entirely on the individual, often ignoring the realities of poverty, displacement, and archival gaps. Akurbhan Bibi’s case demonstrates how this burden disproportionately impacts marginalised women.

2. Recognition of legacy documents: The Tribunal correctly acknowledged the probative value of:

• The 1951 NRC entry of her father
• Land records and collateral family documentation
• Linkage evidence, even in the absence of a 1966 voter record for her father

This reflects judicial consistency with established FT and High Court jurisprudence.

3. Absence of adverse inference: Importantly, the Tribunal did not draw adverse inference from the non-availability of the 1966 voter list entry—recognising systemic record gaps rather than penalising the proceedee.

4. Gendered vulnerability in citizenship proceedings: The case highlights how women—especially migrant workers’ spouses—are uniquely vulnerable when notices are served in the absence of male family members.

5. Constitutional significance: The declaration reaffirms:

• Article 14 (Equality before law)
• Article 21 (Right to life and dignity)
• The principle that citizenship cannot be stripped through suspicion alone

The complete order may be read here.

Related:

Humanity over Technicalities: SC ensures return of pregnant woman and child deported in June sweep

“All I Wanted Was Peace”: How 55-year-old widow Aklima Sarkar won back her citizenship

When Erosion Stole Her Home, a Foreigners’ Notice Tried to Steal Her Citizenship: Hamela Khatun triumphs over foreigner tag

From Despair to Dignity: How CJP helped Elachan Bibi win back her identity, prove her citizenship 

The post Born in the Shadow of the Indo–Bangladesh Border, Raised as Indian, Questioned as a Foreigner: The citizenship battle of Akurbhan Bibi appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Chronicle of Communal Incidents in the Coastal Districts of Karnataka 2025 exists precisely to resist that silence. Compiled by Suresh Bhat B., member of the Karnataka Communal Harmony Forum and PUCL, Mangaluru, the report is a painstaking, month-by-month documentation of communal incidents across Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and surrounding coastal districts. Drawing exclusively from local media reports, the chronicle records 142 communal incidents in 2025 alone, while cautioning that this figure reflects only what was reported—not the full extent of what occurred.

The document does not sensationalise. It does something far more radical: it records.

Why this report matters

In a political climate where communal violence is routinely minimised, relativised, or dismissed as “law and order problems”, this chronicle performs an essential democratic function. It converts what is often portrayed as sporadic unrest into data, patterns, and continuity.

Each entry—date, location, allegation, police response—adds to a larger picture: communal polarisation in coastal Karnataka is neither accidental nor episodic. It is sustained, structured, and repeatedly enabled.

The report also makes its limits clear. It relies on publicly available media coverage. It acknowledges underreporting. It excludes highlighted or repeated articles to avoid duplication. In doing so, it asserts credibility rather than exaggeration.

142 incidents, one region, one year

The numerical breakdown alone is sobering:

• 142 total communal incidents
• 74 incidents related to social media hate and misinformation
• 36 incidents of hate speech or hate crime
• 10 incidents of cattle vigilantism
• 8 incidents of moral policing
• Multiple cases involving desecration, vandalism, intimidation, and provocation

This is not a random distribution. The largest category—social media hate—reveals how communalism in 2025 is no longer confined to physical spaces. Phones, platforms, and forwards now function as the first site of violence.

Equally telling is the report’s careful attribution. A significant majority of incidents are allegedly linked to Hindu fundamentalist or vigilante actors, while Muslim individuals and institutions appear more frequently as targets of violence, harassment, or provocation—a reality often obscured by “both sides” narratives.

Moral Policing: Discipline as communal control

One of the most chilling sections of the report documents moral policing—the public regulation of bodies, relationships, and mobility, particularly of women.

Across Mangaluru, Udupi, Uppinangady, and Puttur, young women were stopped, questioned, abused, filmed, and threatened for speaking to men of another faith. In some cases, interfaith identity was merely assumed. In others, it was used explicitly as justification for violence.

On January 23, 2025, in Mangaluru, activists of the right-wing group Sri Rama Sene vandalised a unisex salon near Bejai, alleging “immoral activities”. The attack caused extensive damage to the establishment, with glass panes shattered and furniture destroyed. The group further demanded the closure of all massage centres in the city. Following public outcry, the City Crime Branch arrested Prasad Attavar, the leader of Sri Rama Sene, underscoring how vigilante moral regulation continues to operate openly before law enforcement intervenes

Later in the year, on August 11, 2025, police arrested six men in Mangaluru for stopping and threatening a PU student for walking with a man from another faith near a bus stand. The girl reported being abused and intimidated, forcing her companion to flee the spot. A case was registered only after a formal complaint by the student

The report also records moral policing by Muslim vigilantes, including a November 6, 2025 incident in Uppinangady, where two men abused a mixed-religion group of college students and assaulted one of the boys. Police registered cases under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, demonstrating that vigilantism cuts across communities—but does not occur symmetrically in scale or frequency

The report quietly exposes a critical truth: moral policing is not about morality. It is about enforcing communal boundaries, asserting ownership over women’s bodies, and producing fear as a social discipline.

While police action followed some incidents, the chronicle notes repeat offenders, familiar group names, and recurring patterns—suggesting that deterrence remains weak.

Cattle vigilantism and the politics of suspicion

The documentation of cattle-related incidents reflects another long-running fault line in coastal Karnataka. Allegations of cattle transport or slaughter—often unverified—continue to function as instant triggers for mob violence.

What the report shows is not merely violence, but the presumption of guilt. Muslim men are intercepted, assaulted, and handed over to police by vigilante groups, reversing the logic of law enforcement. In several cases, investigations later revealed exaggeration or falsehood—yet the violence had already occurred.

The chronicle does not editorialise. But its accumulation of cases makes one conclusion unavoidable: vigilantism has become normalised, operating alongside formal policing rather than being dismantled by it.

Hate Speech: From margins to mainstream

Perhaps the most politically explosive aspect of the report is its documentation of hate speech. The chronicle documents 36 incidents of hate speech and hate crimes, with a striking number attributed to Hindu fundamentalist actors.

On June 4, 2025, in Kadaba, police registered a case against Naveen Neriya for delivering a provocative speech near a police station, allegedly inciting the public and targeting the police itself. The report notes that such speeches often occur in moments of heightened tension, acting as catalysts for escalation rather than isolated acts

In Belthangady, on April 14, 2025, a programme known as Purusha Kattuna allegedly included content insulting Islam, Prophet Mohammed, and the azaan. A video of the event circulated widely on social media, leading to the registration of a case against 20–30 persons for promoting enmity between communities

The report also records hate speech cases against Muslim individuals, including the July 2025 arrest of a student in Udupi for allegedly writing provocative communal content on a hostel washroom wall. The matter was serious enough to warrant forensic examination of handwriting samples, highlighting the criminalisation of symbolic acts when framed communally

From religious gatherings to political protests, from YouTube channels to Facebook pages, hate speech targeting Muslims, Christians, and other minorities appears repeatedly. Religious symbols are mocked. Demographic fears are stoked. Violence is justified implicitly, sometimes explicitly.

The report records arrests and cases under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita—but also notes how many accused individuals are repeat offenders, some with long criminal histories who continue to enjoy public platforms.

This repetition tells its own story: hate speech is not an aberration; it is a tolerated political instrument.

Social media: The infrastructure of communalism

If there is one through-line across the 142 incidents, it is the role of digital platforms.

False claims of attacks. Doctored images. Inflammatory captions. Videos stripped of context. The report shows how misinformation spreads faster than verification, creating panic, mobilisation, and retaliation. With 74 documented incidents, social media emerges as the largest category of communal incidents in 2025.

On June 7, 2025, a photograph falsely portraying two Muslim youths as “bikers carrying swords” circulated widely on Instagram and WhatsApp. Police later clarified that the object in question was an aquarium stone and an e-cigarette. By the time the clarification was issued, fear had already spread across Dakshina Kannada

Similarly, on August 20, 2025, false claims circulated online alleging that a Muslim man had inappropriately touched a woman from another religion in Panemangaluru. Police investigation revealed that the accused was a minor boy from the same religion as the woman. The report highlights how such misinformation routinely targets Muslim men, constructing them as default suspects.

The chronicle records repeated police action against Facebook pages, X accounts, YouTube channels, and Instagram handles—yet the recurrence of such cases suggests enforcement remains reactive rather than preventive. In several cases, police later clarified that viral claims were false. But by then, fear had travelled further than truth ever could. The chronicle captures a critical shift: communal violence no longer requires physical proximity. It can be triggered remotely, anonymously, and at scale.

Desecration and symbolic violence

The report documents incidents aimed not at individuals alone, but at religious spaces and symbols. On May 6, 2025, miscreants vandalised eight granite tombstones in a Muslim graveyard belonging to the Juma Masjid in Gangolli. The damage was discovered days later, underscoring how such acts often escape immediate detection and accountability. In another incident, a cross was found destroyed near Shirva in Udupi, where local residents alleged an attempt to vitiate communal harmony. A formal complaint was lodged, but the report does not record any arrest, reflecting a familiar pattern of unresolved symbolic violence.

State Response: Fire-fighting, not prevention

The report documents significant state action—externments, Goonda Act proceedings, arrests, and eventually the creation of a Special Action Force (SAF) for the region. Yet the very existence of the SAF is an admission of failure. As the Home Minister himself acknowledged, years of “mild” responses allowed violence to escalate to a point where extraordinary measures became necessary.

Even so, the chronicle suggests that enforcement remains incident-driven, not structural. Known troublemakers resurface. Networks remain intact. Political patronage is rarely interrogated. What is missing, the report implies through its silences, is accountability at the top.

The chronicle also captures moments when communal mobilisation openly defied state authority. Following the murder of Suhas Shetty, the VHP called for a bandh in Dakshina Kannada on May 2, 2025. Despite the imposition of Section 144, a procession carrying the body was taken out in Mangaluru, openly violating prohibitory orders. The report notes this as a critical example of how communal mobilisation often overrides legal restraint

What the report ultimately documents

By grounding itself entirely in reported incidents, the present report refuses exaggeration—and yet arrives at a devastating conclusion.

Communal violence in coastal Karnataka is:

• Frequent
• Predictable
• Digitally amplified
• Often normalised
• Rarely dismantled at its source

This report it stands as a record against forgetting—one that documents not just violence, but the slow erosion of trust, safety, and equal citizenship in the coastal belt. Until prevention replaces documentation, this chronicle will remain both necessary and unfinished. If 142 reported incidents can occur in one year—with many more unreported—then the question is no longer whether coastal Karnataka is polarised. It is how much further polarisation will be allowed to go.

The complete report may be read here.

Previous reports may be read here, here and here.

Related:

Systemic flaws or deliberate sabotage? A probe into mass voter roll manipulation stall across Maharashtra & Karnataka

Karnataka Police’s massive crackdown on habitual hate offenders in Dakshina Kannada region

Karnataka: Hindutva groups call for economic boycott of Muslim vendors at Siddheshwar Temple

2023 Karnataka assembly elections: what has BJP lost and what has it gained?

BJP govt in Karnataka drops 182 cases of hate crimes in 4 years: Report

The post Cataloguing Communalism: What does the year-long record of hate, violence, and state failure in coastal Karnataka depict appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The official who spoke to the media, The Times of India and NDTV said Asha Santosh Kiranga (24), resident of Aaldandi Tola in Etapalli taluka in Gadchiroli district, was nine months pregnant.

“Her native Aaldandi Tola village is cut off from the main road, with no delivery facilities available there. The patient, hoping for timely help, set out on January 1 with her husband, trudging 6 kilometres through jungle paths to her sister’s home in Petha. However, the ordeal in her heavy, advanced stage of pregnancy took a toll on her body,” he said.

“On the morning of January 2, she began experiencing severe labour pains. She was rushed by ambulance to Kali Ammal Hospital in Hedri. Though the doctors decided on a caesarean operation, it was too late by then. The baby had already died in the womb. Due to rising blood pressure, the woman too passed away soon after,” the official said. When the media contacted authorities for information, Gadchiroli District Health Officer Dr Pratap Shinde said the woman had been registered through the ASHA workers.

“The sudden labour pains and complications likely arose due to walking. Doctors tried to save her, but were unsuccessful. A detailed report has been called for from the taluka health officer, and the matter will be investigated,” he said.

(Except for the story were published from a syndicated feed)

Related:

Gadchiroli: Four-and-a-half-year-old tribal girl raped by peon of a primary health unit, physicians missing, left bleeding for several hours without medical attention

Labour rights, health of workers hit in the name of “reform”: PUCL Maharashtra

The MVA promise to uphold right to healthcare in Maharashtra: A visionary approach to equitable and comprehensive health access

The post Gadchiroli, Maharashtra: Pregnant Woman walks 6 km from village for childbirth, dies appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The verdict was delivered by a Bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice N.V. Anjaria, which held that although prolonged incarceration demands constitutional scrutiny, the statutory embargo under Section 43D(5) of the UAPA continued to operate against Khalid and Imam, as the prosecution material disclosed a prima facie case against them.

At the same time, the Court stressed that all accused are not on the same footing, and that a role-specific, accused-specific analysis was constitutionally necessary even in conspiracy cases — a principle that led to bail being granted to the remaining five appellants.

The judgment was reserved on December 10, 2025, and arises from appeals challenging the September 2, 2025 judgment of the Delhi High Court, which had denied bail to all seven accused.

‘Qualitatively Different Footing’: Why bail was denied to Khalid and Imam

Reading from the operative portion of the judgment, the Bench made it clear that it had “consciously avoided adopting a collective or unified approach”, instead undertaking an independent examination of the role attributed to each accused.

According to LiveLaw, the Court recorded its satisfaction that the prosecution material, if taken at face value as required at the bail stage, disclosed a “central and formative role” played by Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the alleged conspiracy behind the February 2020 violence in Northeast Delhi.

“The material suggests involvement at the level of planning, mobilisation and strategic direction, extending beyond episodic or localised acts,” the Court observed.

On this basis, the Bench concluded: “This Court is satisfied that the prosecution material discloses a prima facie allegation against the appellants Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam. The statutory threshold under Section 43D(5) stands attracted qua these appellants. This stage of the proceedings does not justify their enlargement on bail.”

As reported by Bar & Bench, the Court cautioned that to disregard the distinction between central roles and facilitatory roles would itself result in arbitrariness, even in cases alleging a common conspiracy.

However, the Court clarified that Khalid and Imam may apply for bail afresh either:

• after the examination of protected witnesses, or
• after the completion of one year from the present order.

Both accused have now been in custody for over five years, without the trial reaching the stage of recording evidence.

Arguments raised by the defence

1. Umar Khalid: ‘No violence, no presence, no terrorist act’

During the hearings, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Umar Khalid, mounted a sustained challenge to both the factual foundation and the legal characterisation of the allegations.

As reported by LiveLaw, Sibal had argued that there was no evidence linking Khalid to any act of violence, and emphasised that Khalid was not even present in Delhi when the riots broke out. According to the defence, this fact alone fatally undermined the allegation that Khalid played any operational role.

A central plank of the prosecution case rested on a speech delivered by Khalid in Amravati, Maharashtra. Sibal read out portions of the speech to demonstrate that Khalid had expressly called for non-violent, Gandhian methods of protest.

“We will not answer violence with violence… We will meet violence with non-violence,” Sibal quoted from the speech.

Sibal argued that calls for “chakka jams” or road blockades are legitimate forms of civil disobedience in a democracy, and that such methods have historically been employed across political movements, including the farmers’ protests, without being labelled as terrorism.

Specifically challenging the invocation of the UAPA, Sibal submitted that Section 15 cannot be stretched to criminalise protest activity, and that even highway or rail blockades do not amount to “terrorist acts” unless accompanied by a clear intent to threaten the country’s economic security or sovereignty. To do otherwise, he warned, would dangerously collapse the distinction between dissent and terrorism.

Despite these submissions, the Supreme Court held that at the bail stage, it could not weigh defence rebuttals, and confined its enquiry to whether the prosecution material, taken at face value, crossed the statutory threshold.

2. Sharjeel Imam: ‘In custody during riots, speech is not violence’

Appearing for Sharjeel Imam, Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave similarly argued that the prosecution’s case was built on attribution and inference rather than direct evidence.

According to Bar & Bench, Dave pointed out that Imam was already in custody in other cases at the time the riots occurred, making it impossible for him to have participated in any on-ground violence or mobilisation.

Dave acknowledged that Imam’s speeches may have been controversial or unpalatable, but argued that political speech, however provocative, does not automatically amount to incitement to violence. He cautioned against equating dissenting or radical speech with terrorist intent.

He also flagged the danger of pre-trial stigmatisation, noting that Imam had been branded an “intellectual terrorist” by the State despite there being no conviction or completed trial.

The prosecution, however, relied heavily on video clips of Imam’s speeches, particularly those in which he spoke about cutting off the “Chicken Neck” or Siliguri corridor, the narrow passage connecting the Northeast to the rest of India.

As reported by LiveLaw, the Delhi Police alleged that these speeches showed an intent to:

• paralyse the functioning of the State, and
• attract international attention during the visit of then US President Donald Trump in February 2020.

The Supreme Court accepted that these allegations, taken at face value, were sufficient at the bail stage to constitute a prima facie case, while clarifying that it was not expressing any final opinion on guilt.

Bail Granted to Five Accused: Liberty with stringent conditions

In contrast, the Supreme Court granted bail to Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd. Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmed, holding that their continued incarceration could not be justified on parity with Khalid and Imam.

For Gulfisha Fatima, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi made a pointed submission, reported by LiveLaw, that keeping students and young activists in jail for over five years without the trial even beginning makes a “caricature of our criminal justice system”.

Singhvi highlighted that co-accused Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal and Asif Iqbal Tanha were granted bail in 2021 on similar allegations, yet Fatima continued to remain incarcerated.

While granting bail, the Court clarified that the relief does not dilute the allegations. According to LiveLaw, the Bench imposed twelve stringent bail conditions, warning that any misuse of liberty would permit the trial court to cancel bail after hearing the accused.

Details of the judgment pronouncement

1. UAPA and Bail: Delay is not a ‘trump card’, says Court

One of the most closely analysed portions of the judgment concerns the relationship between prolonged incarceration and bail under UAPA. Justice Aravind Kumar observed, as reported by LiveLaw, that in prosecutions under special statutes like the UAPA:

• delay in trial cannot function as a “trump card” that automatically overrides statutory restrictions on bail.

However, the Court simultaneously acknowledged that:

• delay serves as a trigger for heightened judicial scrutiny, especially where incarceration is prolonged.

The Bench clarified that Section 43D(5) does not completely oust judicial scrutiny, and courts must conduct a structured enquiry, limited to:

1. whether the prosecution material, if accepted at face value, discloses a prima facie offence;
2. whether the role attributed to the accused has a reasonable nexus with the alleged offence; and
3. whether the statutory threshold for denial of bail is crossed.

Crucially, the Court reiterated that defence arguments and rebuttals cannot be examined at the bail stage, reinforcing the asymmetrical nature of bail adjudication under the UAPA.

2. Article 21, speedy trial and the limits of judicial intervention

The judgment repeatedly returns to Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty.

Justice Kumar noted that:

• pre-trial incarceration cannot be equated with punishment, and
• the right to a speedy trial is an integral facet of Article 21.

At the same time, the Bench held that in UAPA cases, Article 21 must operate within the statutory framework, and that the Court cannot substitute legislative judgment merely because detention is prolonged.

As reported by Bar & Bench, the Court stated that: “The UAPA as a special statute represents a legislative judgment as to the conditions on which bail may be granted at the pre-trial stage.”

This formulation, while doctrinally consistent with prior UAPA rulings, has been read by legal observers as reinforcing the exceptional nature of liberty under anti-terror laws, even where trials remain stalled for years.

3. Broad reading of ‘terrorist act’ under Section 15

The Supreme Court also rejected a narrow interpretation of Section 15 of the UAPA, holding that “terrorist acts” are not confined to physical violence or loss of life.

According to LiveLaw, the Court held that the provision also covers acts that:

• disrupt essential services, or
• threaten economic stability.

The statutory scheme, the Court noted, extends culpability even to preparatory and organisational acts, significantly broadening the scope of UAPA prosecutions.

Directions to expedite trial

Recognising the constitutional implications of prolonged incarceration, the Supreme Court directed the trial court to ensure that the examination of protected witnesses proceeds without delay, and that the trial is not unnecessarily prolonged. However, the Court did not fix any outer time limit for completion of the trial.

Context: Five years of incarceration

The case arises from the February 2020 communal violence in Northeast Delhi, which left 53 people dead, hundreds injured, and large-scale destruction of property.

Over the last five years, the Delhi Police has pursued a “larger conspiracy” theory, focusing largely on student activists and organisers of anti-CAA protests — an approach that has drawn sustained criticism from civil liberties groups.

Notably, as reported in Indian and international media, a group of US lawmakers recently wrote to Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra, expressing concern over Umar Khalid’s prolonged pre-trial detention, highlighting the growing global scrutiny of the case.

Today’s ruling reinforces a consistent judicial position that while individual differentiation among accused is constitutionally necessary, the UAPA’s elevated bail threshold continues to operate as a near-insurmountable barrier for those alleged to occupy “central” roles — even after half a decade of incarceration without trial.

It leaves unresolved the deeper constitutional question that continues to haunt UAPA prosecutions: at what point does prolonged pre-trial detention itself become punishment?

Related:

The Word is the World: How the Delhi riots conspiracy case ritualises silence

How the Delhi riots case remains stagnant with close to a dozen student leaders incarcerated

5 Years of Delhi Riots: Some Punished, Some Rewarded!

Delhi Police on Trial: Three court orders reveal collusion, cover-ups, and custodial torture by police officers during 2020 Delhi riots

Delhi Riots 2020: Umar Khalid withdraws plea from Supreme Court citing “change in circumstances”

Hate speeches amplified by television, incited targeted violence against Muslims: CCR Report, Feb ‘20 Delhi riots

The post After Five Years in Jail, Bail Still Barred for Two: Supreme Court denies bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in Delhi riots case appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Recent judicial interventions—particularly the Supreme Court’s directions to High Courts to furnish data on pending acid attack trials and the Allahabad High Court’s decision to convert a long-pending PIL on acid sale regulation into a suo moto proceeding—underscore that the crisis is no longer doctrinal but institutional as per reports in LiveLaw. Despite pathbreaking jurisprudence laid down after a decade long legal battle in the Laxmi case, the Supreme Court was compelled, in 2025, while hearing a petition highlighting a 16-year delay in an acid attack trial, to describe the situation as a “shame on the system” and a “mockery of justice”. The SC then directed all High Courts to furnish data on pending acid attack cases.

This Legal Resource examines acid attack jurisprudence not as a static body of law but as a pattern of repeated judicial correction, necessitated by persistent failures of implementation. Drawing from case law, legislative history, policy frameworks, and scholarly critiques, it argues that acid attack jurisprudence today reveals the limits of law when administrative and procedural systems fail to internalise constitutional mandates.

Laxmi v. Union of India: Constitutionalising Survivor-Centric Justice

The jurisprudential foundation of acid attack regulation in India was laid by Laxmi v. Union of India, a public interest litigation (PIL) filed in 2006 by survivor Laxmi Aggarwal. Laxmi was 15 yrs old in 2005 when a 32-old man, Naeem Khan, approached her with a marriage proposal. After she rejected him, nearly ten months later, Naeem again proposed to her; upon her second refusal, he attacked her by throwing acid on her face, with his brother Kamran aiding him in the act.

Argued consistently by Senior Advocate Aparna Bhat, the petition reframed acid violence as a failure of State regulation rather than an isolated criminal act. The Supreme Court accepted this framing, holding that the unrestricted availability of acid, absence of medical support, and lack of compensation mechanisms violated Article 21 of the Constitution (see Laxmi v. Union of India, (2014) 4 SCC 427).

Across multiple orders, the Court issued structural directions mandating the regulation of acid sales, free medical treatment for survivors in both public and private hospitals, and minimum compensation of ₹3 lakh. These directions were significant not merely for their content but for their constitutional logic: dignity, bodily integrity, and rehabilitation were recognised as enforceable rights, not discretionary welfare measures.

This shift has been closely analysed in legal scholarship. The NLS Law Journal notes that Laxmi represents a rare moment where Indian courts explicitly connected criminal law reform with long-term socio-economic rehabilitation, recognising acid attacks as producing lifelong disabilities requiring sustained State intervention rather than one-time relief (see Ajita Tandon, Acid Attacks in India: A Judicial and Legislative Response, NLS Law Journal, Vol. 13, available here).

From Judicial Directions to Statutory Reform: Codification Without Capacity

Following Laxmi, the Law Commission of India was impleaded and submitted Report No. 226 (2008), recommending a distinct offence for acid attacks and stronger regulation of corrosive substances (report available here). These recommendations later informed the Justice Verma Committee Report (2013), which acknowledged acid violence as a gendered crime requiring specific legislative recognition.

This culminated in the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, which inserted Sections 326A and 326B of the IPC, along with Section 357B of the CrPC, mandating compensation in addition to fines. On paper, these provisions created a comprehensive framework combining punishment, deterrence, and victim relief. The specific recognition of acid attacks introduced via Sections 326A and 326B of the IPC has been largely preserved in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) to maintain the gravity of the offense. These translated into Sections 124(1) and 124(2) under the BNS, 2023, which read as –

124.  (1) Whoever causes permanent or partial damage or deformity to, or burns or maims or disfigures or disables, any part or parts of the body of a person or causes grievous hurt by throwing acid on or by administering acid to that person, or by using any other means with the intention of causing or with the knowledge that he is likely to cause such injury or hurt or causes a person to be in a permanent vegetative state shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and with fine:

(2) Whoever throws or attempts to throw acid on any person or attempts to administer acid to any person, or attempts to use any other means, with the intention of causing permanent or partial damage or deformity or burns or maiming or disfigurement or disability or grievous hurt to that person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than five years but which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.

However, scholarship consistently highlights that legislative codification did not translate into institutional readiness. As Ajita Tandon’s analysis points out, while the law “responded swiftly in text,” the administrative machinery required for compensation disbursal, rehabilitation, and prioritised trials remained fragmented and uneven across States.

Trial Delays and the Right to Speedy Justice: A Systemic Breakdown

The most severe manifestation of this institutional failure has been the extraordinary delay in criminal trials involving acid attacks. In 2025, the Supreme Court, while hearing a petition highlighting a 16-year delay in an acid attack trial, described the situation as a “shame on the system” and a “mockery of justice”, and directed all High Courts to furnish data on pending acid attack cases, reported by LiveLaw.

This intervention is constitutionally significant. Acid attack cases engage the right to speedy trial under Article 21 in its most aggravated form: survivors suffer irreversible physical harm, prolonged psychological trauma, and social stigma, all of which are compounded by procedural delay. The Court’s insistence on national data collection implicitly acknowledges that delay itself functions as a form of secondary victimisation.

The consequences of such delay are visible in outcomes. In a 2009 acid attack case, a Delhi court acquitted the accused after nearly 16 years, citing evidentiary weaknesses that had emerged over time—an outcome widely reported as emblematic of systemic delay undermining prosecution itself, as per a report in The Times of India.

While the recent SC directives may we welcome, the issues and failures are systemic. One after another of human rights issues, whether it be the transparency within police conducts in police stations (SC directive on installation of CCTVs in all Police Stations)[1] or right of the accused to fair trial (directives laid down in DK Basu)[2], the police and administration have consistently ignored the breakthroughs made by the court. This amounts to institutional amnesia or downright defiance.

Regulation of Acid Sales: Judicial Supervision in the Face of Executive Inertia

Despite unequivocal directions in Laxmi, regulation of acid sales remains inconsistent. This failure came sharply into focus when the Allahabad High Court converted a decade-old PIL on acid sale regulation into a suo motu proceeding, holding that issues of acid regulation and survivor compensation implicate continuing public interest and cannot be abandoned due to petitioner withdrawal, reported LiveLaw.

The Court also reiterated that compensation cannot be made contingent on the identification or conviction of the offender, reinforcing the constitutional principle that survivor relief flows from State obligation, not prosecutorial success. This episode exemplifies a recurring pattern in acid attack jurisprudence: courts are repeatedly forced to re-enter regulatory terrain they have already mapped, due to executive inaction.

Compensation and Rehabilitation: Between Entitlement and Administrative Apathy

Compensation has remained central to acid attack jurisprudence since Laxmi, yet its implementation has been deeply uneven. The Ministry of Home Affairs’ 2024 guidelines reiterate that acid attack survivors are entitled to a minimum compensation of ₹3 lakh and free medical treatment (guidelines available here). However, High Court interventions reveal persistent delays and bureaucratic indifference.

For instance, the Allahabad High Court has censured the Uttar Pradesh government for delays extending over a decade in disbursing compensation to acid attack survivors, describing such conduct as insensitive and violative of constitutional obligations, reported by The Times of India.

Socio-legal scholarship criticises this model for reducing rehabilitation to symbolic monetary relief, often divorced from the realities of lifelong medical care, psychological counselling, loss of livelihood, and social reintegration (see IJLMH, A Socio-Legal Analysis on Acid Attacks in India, available here).

NCRB data provides only a partial picture of acid attack violence. While annual figures record reported cases, they offer little insight into trial duration, pendency, or access to compensation. Recent analyses indicate that a substantial majority of acid attack cases remain pending for years, while conviction rates remain low.

Scholars caution that these figures significantly understate the scale of the problem due to under-reporting driven by stigma, fear, and lack of institutional support—concerns repeatedly flagged in academic literature.

The Cultural Lens: Chhapaak

The 2020 film Chhapaak, while a significant cultural milestone in sensitising the public to the horrors of acid violence, also became a focal point for a profound legal debate regarding the “moral rights” and visibility of legal professionals. Advocate Aparna Bhat, who represented Laxmi Agarwal for over a decade—from the initial trial at Patiala House Courts to the landmark Supreme Court PIL—approached the Delhi High Court when the filmmakers failed to acknowledge her contribution in the credits. This omission raised a critical ethical and legal question: can the labour of a lawyer, which provides the very documentary and procedural backbone of a “true story,” be erased in its cinematic retelling? The Delhi High Court, invoking the doctrine of promissory estoppel, ruled in Bhat’s favour, noting that her assistance was provided on the assurance of recognition. Bar and Bench reported that the court directed that the line, “Inputs by Ms. Aparna Bhat, the lawyer who represented Laxmi Agarwal, are acknowledged,” be added to the film. This intervention was not merely about a “thank you”; it was a judicial validation of the role of legal activists in translating personal trauma into transformative constitutional reform.

Conclusion

The trajectory of acid attack jurisprudence in India reveals a striking pattern. Courts have articulated robust constitutional principles, legislatures have codified them into law, and yet survivors continue to face delay, neglect, and regulatory failure. The problem today is not doctrinal uncertainty but institutional inertia.

Without administrative accountability, procedural reform, and sustained investment in survivor rehabilitation, even the most progressive jurisprudence risks becoming symbolic. Acid attack law in India now stands at an inflection point: its future efficacy will depend not on further judicial creativity, but on whether the State finally honours the constitutional commitments already laid down by the courts.

(The legal research team of CJP consists of lawyers and interns; this resource has been worked on by Shyamli Pengoriya)

[1] This earlier resource explores the suo motu by SC in September 2025 action highlights how weak compliance with its own (SC) 2020 CCTV directions has left detainees vulnerable and accountability elusive.

[2] Another judicial directive that spanned decades, DK Basu,but which directives stand un-implemented.

Related:

When ‘Marginal’ Means Massive: The invisible weight of gendered violence in NCRB crime statistics 2023

Disfigured but not defeated: Hajida, an acid attack survivor, ensured the culprit does not get away. Now she needs your help

Jharkhand HC expresses dismay over Govt.’s lack of response to compliance orders for Acid Attack survivors

The post Acid Attacks: The judicial struggle to regulate acid violence in India appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On January 3, 1831, 176 years ago Savitribai Phule, arguably India’s first woman teacher and forgotten liberator was born. With the first school for girls from different castes that she set up in Bhidewada, Pune (the seat of Brahmanism) Krantijyoti Savitribai as she is reverentially known, by the Indian Bahujan movement, blazed a revolutionary trial. There have been consistent demands to observe January 3 as Teachers Day. Without her, Indian women would not have had the benefits of education.

To mark the memory of this remarkable woman we bring to you her letters to life partner Jyotiba. Jyotiba and Savitribai were Comrades in Arms in their struggle against the emancipation of India’s disenfranchised people.

Translated from the Original Marathi with an introduction Sunil Sardar Reproduced here are the English translation of three important Letters – (originally in Marathi and published in MG Mali’s edition of her collected works, Savitribai Phule Samagra Wangmaya) – that Savitribai wrote to her husband Jyotiba in a span of 20 years.

The letters are significant as they write of the wider concerns that drove this couple, the emancipation of the most deprived segments of society and the struggle to attain for them, full human dignity and freedom.

This vision for a new and liberated society – free from ignorance, bigotry, deprivation, and hunger – was the thread that bonded the couple, arching from the private to the personal.

Theirs was a relationship of deep and shared concerns, each providing strength to the other. When large sections of 19^th century Maharashtrian society was ranged against Phule’s reconstructive radicalism, it was the unfailing and shared vision and dedication of his life partner that needs have been emotionally sustaining.  In our tribute to this couple and the tradition of radical questioning that they harboured, we bring to our readers these letters.

1856. The first letter, written in 1856, speaks about the core issue: education and its transformative possibilities in a society where learning, had for centuries been the monopoly of the Brahmins; who, in turn, used this exclusive privilege to enclave, demoralize and oppress. Away at her parental home to recuperate from an illness, Savitri describes in the letter a conversation with her brother, who is uncomfortable with the couple’s radicalism.

October 1856
The Embodiment of Truth, My Lord Jyotiba,
Savitri salutes you!

After so many vicissitudes, now it seems my health has been fully restored. My brother worked so hard and nursed me so well through my sickness. His service and devotion shows how loving he really is! I will come to Pune as soon as I get perfectly well. Please do not worry about me. I know my absence causes Fatima so much trouble but I am sure she will understand and won’t grumble.

As we were talking one day, my brother said, “You and your husband have rightly been excommunicated because both of you serve the untouchables (Mahars and Mangs). The untouchables are fallen people and by helping them you are bringing a bad name to our family. That is why, I tell you to behave according to the customs of our caste and obey the dictates of the Brahmans.” Mother was so disturbed by this brash talk of my brother.

Though my brother is a good soul he is extremely narrow-minded and so he did not hesitate to bitterly criticize and reproach us. My mother did not reprimand him but tried instead to bring him to his senses, “God has given you a beautiful tongue but it is no good to misuse it so!” I defended our social work and tried to dispel his misgivings. I told him, “Brother, your mind is narrow, and the Brahmans’ teaching has made it worse. Animals like goats and cows are not untouchable for you, you lovingly touch them. You catch poisonous snakes on the day of the snake-festival and feed them milk. But you consider Mahars and Mangs, who are as human as you and I, untouchables. Can you give me any reason for this? When the Brahmans perform their religious duties in their holy clothes, they consider you also impure and untouchable, they are afraid that your touch will pollute them. They don’t treat you differently than the Mahars.” When my brother heard this, he turned red in the face, but then he asked me, “Why do you teach those Mahars and Mangs? People abuse you because you teach the untouchables. I cannot bear it when people abuse and create trouble for you for doing that. I cannot tolerate such insults.” I told him what the (teaching of) English had been doing for the people. I said, “The lack of learning is nothing but gross bestiality. It is through the acquisition of knowledge that (he) loses his lower status and achieves the higher one. My husband is a god-like man. He is beyond comparison in this world, nobody can equal him. He thinks the Untouchables must learn and attain freedom. He confronts the Brahmans and fights with them to ensure Teaching and Learning for the Untouchables because he believes that they are human beings like other and they should live as dignified humans. For this they must be educated. I also teach them for the same reason. What is wrong with that? Yes, we both teach girls, women, Mangs and Mahars. The Brahmans are upset because they believe this will create problems for them. That is why they oppose us and chant the mantra that it is against our religion. They revile and castigate us and poison the minds of even good people like you.

“You surely remember that the British Government had organised a function to honour my husband for his great work. His felicitation caused these vile people much heartburn. Let me tell you that my husband does not merely invoke God’s name and participate in pilgrimages like you. He is actually doing God’s own work. And I assist him in that. I enjoy doing this work. I get immeasurable joy by doing such service. Moreover, it also shows the heights and horizons to which a human being can reach out.”

Mother and brother were listening to me intently. My brother finally came around, repented for what he had said and asked for forgiveness. Mother said, “Savitri, your tongue must be speaking God’s own words. We are blessed by your words of wisdom.” Such appreciation from my mother and brother gladdened my heart. From this you can imagine that there are many idiots here, as in Pune, who poison people’s minds and spread canards against us. But why should we fear them and leave this noble cause that we have undertaken? It would be better to engage with the work instead. We shall overcome and success will be ours in the future. The future belongs to us.

What more could I write?

With humble regards,

Yours,

Savitri

The Poetess in Savitribai

The year 1854 was important as Savitribai published her collection of poems, called Kabya Phule (Poetry’s Blossoms).
Bavan Kashi Subodh Ratnakar (The Ocean of Pure Gems), another collection of what has come to be highly regarded in the world of Marathi poetry was published in 1891. (The Phules had developed a devastating critique of the Brahman interpretation of Marathi history in the ancient and medieval periods. He portrayed the Peshwa rulers, later overthrown by the British, as decadent and oppressive, and Savitribai reiterates those themes in her biography.)
Apart from these two collections, four of Jyotiba’s speeches on Indian History were edited for publication by Savitribai. A few of her own speeches were also published in 1892. Savitribai’s correspondence is also remarkable because they give us an insight into her own life and into the life and lived experiences of women of the time.

1868. The Second letter is about a great social taboo – a love affair between a Brahman boy and an Untouchable girl; the cruel behavior of the ‘enraged’ villagers and how Savitribai stepped in. This intervention saves the lives of the lovers and she sends them away to the safety and caring support of her husband, Jyotiba. With the malevolent reality of honour killings in the India of 2016 and the hate-driven propaganda around ‘love jehad’ this letter is ever so relevant today.

29 August 1868
Naigaon, Peta Khandala
Satara
The Embodiment of Truth, My Lord Jotiba,
Savitri salutes you!
I received your letter. We are fine here. I will come by the fifth of next month. Do not worry on this count. Meanwhile, a strange thing happened here. The story goes like this. One Ganesh, a Brahman, would go around villages, performing religious rites and telling people their fortunes. This was his bread and butter. Ganesh and a teenage girl named Sharja who is from the Mahar (untouchable) community fell in love. She was six months pregnant when people came to know about this affair. The enraged people caught them, and paraded them through the village, threatening to bump them off.

I came to know about their murderous plan. I rushed to the spot and scared them away, pointing out the grave consequences of killing the lovers under the British law. They changed their mind after listening to me.

Sadubhau angrily said that the wily Brahman boy and the untouchable girl should leave the village. Both the victims agreed to this. My intervention saved the couple who gratefully fell at my feet and started crying. Somehow I consoled and pacified them. Now I am sending both of them to you. What else to write?
Yours
Savitri

1877. The last letter, written in 1877, is a heart-rending account of a famine that devastated western Maharashtra. People and animals were dying. Savitri and other Satyashodhak volunteers were doing their best to help. The letter brings out an intrepid Savitri leading a team of dedicated Satyashodhaks striving to overcome a further exacerbation of the tragedy by moneylenders’ trying to benefit.  She meets the local District administration. The letter ends on a poignant note where Savitribai reiterates her total commitment to her the humanitarian work pioneered by the Phules.

20 April, 1877
Otur, Junner
The Embodiment of Truth, My Lord Jyotiba,
Savitri salutes you!
The year 1876 has gone, but the famine has not – it stays in most horrendous forms here. The people are dying. The animals are dying, falling on the ground. There is severe scarcity of food. No fodder for animals. The people are forced to leave their villages. Some are selling their children, their young girls, and leaving the villages. Rivers, brooks and tanks have completely dried up – no water to drink. Trees are dying – no leaves on trees. Barren land is cracked everywhere. The sun is scorching – blistering. The people crying for food and water are falling on the ground to die. Some are eating poisonous fruits, and drinking their own urine to quench their thirst. They cry for food and drink, and then they die.

Our Satyashodhak volunteers have formed committees to provide food and other life-saving material to the people in need. They have formed relief squads.
Brother Kondaj and his wife Umabai are taking good care of me. Otur’s Shastri, Ganapati Sakharan, Dumbare Patil, and others are planning to visit you. It would be better if you come from Satara to Otur and then go to Ahmednagar.

You may remember R.B. Krishnaji Pant and Laxman Shastri. They travelled with me to the affected area and gave some monetary help to the victims.

The moneylenders are viciously exploiting the situation. Bad things are taking place as a result of this famine. Riots are breaking out. The Collector heard of this and came to ease the situation. He deployed the white police officers, and tried to bring the situation under control. Fifty Satyasholdhaks were rounded up. The Collector invited me for a talk. I asked the Collector why the good volunteers had been framed with false charges and arrested without any rhyme or reason. I asked him to release them immediately. The Collector was quite decent and unbiased. He shouted at the white soldiers, “Do the Patil farmers rob? Set them free.” The Collector was moved by the people’s plights. He immediately sent four bullock cartloads of (jowar) food.

You have started the benevolent and welfare work for the poor and the needy. I also want to carry my share of the responsibility. I assure you I will always help you. I wish the godly work will be helped by more people.

I do not want to write more.
Yours,
Savitri

(These letters have been excerpted with grateful thanks from A Forgotten Liberator, The Life and Struggle of Savitrabai Phule, Edited by Braj Ranjan Mani, Pamela Sardar)

Bibliography:

Krantijyoti : Revolutionary flame
Brahmans: Priestly “upper” caste with a powerful hold on all fairs of society and state including access to education, resources and mobility (spelt interchangeably as Brahmins)
Mahars:The Mahar is an Indian Caste, found largely in the state of Maharashtra, where they compromise 10% of the population, and neighboring areas. Most of the Mahar community followed social reformer B. R. Ambedkar in converting to Buddhism in the middle of the 20th century.
Mangs: The Mang (or Matang -Minimadig in Gujarat and Rajasthan) community is an Indian caste historically associated with low-status or ritually impure professions such as village musicians, cattle castraters, leather curers, midwives, hangmen, undertakers. Today they are listed as a Scheduled Castes a term which has replaced the former the derogatory ‘Untouchable’
Satyashodhak Samaj:  A society established by Jyotirao Phule on September 24, 1873. This was started as a group whose main aim was to liberate the shudra and untouchable castes from exploitation and oppression
Shudra: The fourth caste under the rigid caste Hindu system; these were further made more rigid in the Manu Smruti
Ati Shudra: Most of the groups listed under this category come under the untouchables who were used for the most venal tasks in caste ridden Hindu society but not treated as part of the caste system.
Jowar: The Indian name for sorghum

How the Education for girls was pioneered

The Phule couple decided to start schools for girls, especially from the shudra and atishudra castes but also including others so that social cohesion of sorts could be attempted in the classroom. Bhidewada in Pune was the chosen site, a bank stands there today. There is a movement among Bahujans to reclaim this historic building. When the Phules faced stiff resistance and a boycott, a Pune-based businessman Usman Shaikh gave them shelter. Fatima Shaikh Usman’s sister was the first teacher colleague of Savitribai and the two trained teachers who ran the school. The school started with nine girl students in 1848.

Sadashiv Govande contributed books from Ahmednagar. It functioned for about six months and then had to be closed down. Another building was found and the school reopened a few months later. The young couple faced severe opposition from almost all sections. Savitribai was subject to intense harassment everyday as she walked to school. Stones, mud and dirt were flung at her as she passed. She was often abused by groups of men with orthodox beliefs who opposed the education for women. Filth including cow dung was flung on her. Phule gave her hope, love and encouragement. She went to school wearing an old sari, and carried an extra sari with her to change into after she reached the school. The sheer daring and doggedness of the couple and their comrades in arms broke the resistance. Finally, the pressure on her eased when she was compelled to slap one of her tormentors on the street!

Once the caste Hindu Brahmanical hierarchy who were the main opponents of female education realized that the Phule couple would not easily give in, they arm-twisted Jyotiba’s father. Intense pressure was brought by the Brahmins on Phule’s father, Govindrao, to convince him that his son was on the wrong track, that what he was doing was against the Dharma. Finally, things came to a head when Phule’s father told him to leave home in 1849. Savitri preferred to stay by her husband’s side, braving the opposition and difficulties, and encouraging Phule to continue their educational work.

However, their pioneering move had won some support. Necessities like books were supplied through well wishers; a bigger house, owned by a Muslim, was found for a second school which was started in 1851. Moro Vithal Walvekar and Deorao Thosar assisted the school. Major Candy, an educationalist of Pune, sent books. Jyotirao worked here without any salary and later Savitribai was put in charge. The school committee, in a report, noted, “The state of the school funds has compelled the committee to appoint teachers on small salaries, who soon give up when they find better appointment…Savitribai, the school headmistress, has nobly volunteered to devote herself to the improvement of female education without remuneration. We hope that as knowledge advances, the people of this country will be awakened to the advantages of female education and will cordially assist in all such plans calculated to improve the conditions of those girls.”

On November 16, 1852, the education department of the government organised a public felicitation of the Phule couple, where they were honoured with shawls.
On February 12, 1853, the school was publicly examined. The report of the event state: “The prejudice against teaching girls to read and write began to give way…the good conduct and honesty of the peons in conveying the girls to and from school and parental treatment and indulgent attention of the teachers made the girls love the schools and literally run to them with alacrity and joy.”

A Dalit student of Savitribai, Muktabai, wrote a remarkable essay which was published in the paper Dyanodaya, in the year 1855. In her essay, Muktabai poignantly describes the wretchedness of the so-called untouchables and severely criticizes the Brahmanical religion for degrading and dehumanizing her people.

The post Love-Letters like no other appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The post Love Letters like no other. Letters from Savitribai to Jyotiba appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Satheesan has registered his strong protest at the arrests in Nagpur on allegations of forced religious conversion. The letter states that twelve individuals, including Father Sudhir, a priest of the CSI South Kerala Diocese, Nagpur Mission, and his wife Mrs. Jasmine, were reportedly arrested by the Maharashtra Police following a complaint filed by Bajrang Dal activists. The arrests were made while a Christmas prayer meeting was being conducted in Nagpur at around 8.00 p.m. last night. Subsequently, those who came to the police station to enquire about the incident were also taken into custody, and cases were registered against them.

Father Sudhir, the open letter states is a native of Amaravila in Thiruvananthapuram district, has been serving in Maharashtra for the past five years. The remaining ten individuals arrested are natives of Maharashtra. The letter also states that it is learned that all the arrested persons are currently being detained at the Benoda Police Station and are likely to be produced before the court shortly. Although representatives of the CSI attempted to secure bail at the police station, they were directed to approach the court.

Satheesan states that “this incident is deeply disturbing and raises serious concerns about the violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India, particularly the freedom to profess, practice, and propagate religion. Arresting individuals for conducting a peaceful prayer meeting is unconstitutional and contrary to the spirit of our democratic and secular values.”

“On behalf of the people of Kerala, I express my strong protest against this unjust action. I earnestly request your immediate intervention to ensure the release of all those arrested and to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future.”

Arresting 12 people, including Malayalipriest Fr. Sudhir, during Christmas prayer meeting in #Nagpur based on a BajrangDal complaint is deeply disturbing. I have written to the @PMOIndia & @CMOMaharashtra, protesting this injustice& urging immediate intervention for their release pic.twitter.com/7MPRRgnXTN

— V D Satheesan (@vdsatheesan) December 31, 2025

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The post Congress leader of the opposition Kerala Assembly writes to Modi, Fadnavis over arrest of a Malayali priest in Nagpur appeared first on SabrangIndia.

About the poet

Most poets write what they see, think, and sometimes also what they feel.

On the very first page of Ipsa Shatakshi’s poetry collection are these words:

“Dedicated to companions who walk the path of struggle and become each other’s courage.”

Ipsa writes what she herself is living through, what she is grappling with—there is no distance here between the poet and her persona. Her struggle is the struggle of her life.

When she says,

“ऐसी रोशनी का हम क्या करें

जो रोशन करे सिर्फ़ एक घर को।

हमें तो चाहिए वे दीये,

जो रोशन करें मानवता को।”

“What use is that one light

That illuminates only one house?

We need lamps

That light up (all of) humanity.”

In Ipsa’s poetry, the language is simple, but runs deep. The concerns of the poet are not limited—she writes for all. The style is not framed in sharp or aggressive tones, yet there is an inner intensity that strikes deeply.

She does not merely pray for the well-being of love and then fall silent; she actively strives for its safe keeping. She does not wish to lose herself in the dreams of her beloved; rather, she wants to live those dreams. When she resists, she does so standing upright—fearless, yet with graceful and dignified words.

The truth is that Ipsa’s poetry is not purely personal, nor does it arise only from her own pain. Instead, it speaks for all those oppressed and crushed sections of society whose very act of standing up counts as standing on the side of humanity. This is Ipsa’s love; this is her freedom—one that reveals the beauty of love through the path of poetry.

She sees and understands too:

कि कैसे उनके हिस्से का

चाँद, सूरज, तारे, फूल, ख़ुशबू—

सब कुछ मुट्ठियों में मसला जा रहा है।

और उन्हें भी अब

बंद करनी है अपनी मुट्ठियाँ,

हवा में तान कर

लेना है प्रण

कि अपने संघर्ष से छीन लेना है

अपनी धरती, अपना सूरज,

फूलों का खिलना,

पंछियों की चहचहाहट…

और आज़ाद कर लेना है—

“इश्क़ की सुंदरता”

How what was meant for her—

The moon, the sun, the stars, the flowers, the fragrance—

Are being crushed in closed fists,

And (how) now she too

Must clench her fists

And raise them up in the air,

And take a vow

To reclaim through struggle

Her earth, her sun,

The blooming of flowers,

The chirping of birds…

And free her love.

“The Beauty of Love”

Another reason to embrace this collection is that it is often assumed that women’s poetry lacks struggle, consciousness, or social rebellion—that their world revolves only around themselves.

Ipsa does write of the lived truth, but her truth walks the path of radical change, of revolution.

In October 2025, Sabrangindia published a letter written by Ipsa to her jailed husband, Rupesh Kumar Singh. This may be read here.

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Today, New Year’s Eve, December 31, a delegation of Parliamentarians belonging to the TMC met with Gyanesh Kumar (Chief Election Commissioner-CEC) and submitted a detailed memorandum.

pic.twitter.com/vzmVFG0uo8

— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) December 31, 2025

Yesterday, December 30, 5-member delegation of state political representatives and MLAs met the State Election Commission demanding “immediate release of the “Logical Discrepancy” list, an extension of doorstep hearing timelines for senior citizens, and the inclusion of BLA-2 representatives in SIR hearings, and submitted a memorandum. The memorandum states that “these demands are vital to ensure transparency in voter lists. Ending needless harassment and protecting senior citizens’ rights will strengthen the very foundation of democracy”

Calling for the immediate release of the “Logical Discrepancy” list, an extension of doorstep hearing timelines for senior citizens, and the inclusion of BLA-2 representatives in SIR hearings, a five-member delegation of the All India Trinamool Congress submitted a memorandum to… pic.twitter.com/0FnaEN5BA8

— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) December 30, 2025

Controversy was first generated with the December 27 announcement by the ECI that it was “halting” the previously announced and notified Bengal hearings over 2002 electoral roll glitch! Rediff.com reported that the EC has issued instructions afresh to district election officials in West Bengal, directing that voters marked as “unmapped” in the BLO app due to technical issues linked to the digitisation of the 2002 electoral rolls during the ongoing SIR exercise should not be called for hearings, even if such notices have been auto-generated by the system. This promises to create hardship and confusion on the ground especially to the elderly and differently abled leading to sharp criticisms from the state government and ruling party.

The directive published on the portal and issued by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, on Saturday, December 27, stated that the issue has arisen due to incomplete conversion of the PDF version of the 2002 electoral rolls, the last Special Intensive Revision (SIR) conducted in the state, into CSV format, leading to linkage failures in the booth-level officer (BLO) app for a number of electors.  The announcement stated that despite being marked as “unmapped” in the system, many such electors have valid self or progeny linkage with the hard copy of the 2002 electoral rolls, duly authenticated by district election officers (DEOs) and published on the CEO’s website. Going further, the CEO’s office said that hearing notices generated automatically in such cases need not be served and should be retained at the level of the electoral registration officer (ERO) or assistant electoral registration officer (AERO).

Sabar Institute: Analysis shows many permanently shifted, untraceable voters in Matua-dominated seats

The refugee (immigrant) community of Hindu refugees largely residing in North 24 Parganas and Nadia district have been apprehensive of exclusion in the SIR since they lack the appropriate “legacy data”. The analysis was conducted in about 15 Matua-dominated Assembly constituencies by the Kolkata-based Sabar Institute. It revealed from analysis that, an average 33.95% deleted voters have been described as permanently shifted. The average number of untraceable/ absent voters across these 15 constituencies stands at 21.56%. These 15 constituencies are located in North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts. The highest per cent of deletions on account of untraceable/absent voters is from the Krishnaganj Assembly seat in Nadia with 42.11% deletions. This was followed by Ranaghat Uttar Purba with 34.56% deletions on account of untraceable/ absent voters in the same district. This study has been reported in detail in The Hindu on December 29.

The highest per cent of deletions on account of permanently shifted voters was recorded in Bangaon Dakshin constituency with 41.76% deletions. This was followed by 38.46% deletions in Swarupnagar on account of permanently shifted voters. Both these constituencies are located in North 24 Parganas. ((Providing details to local and national media, institute stated that the collaborative evidence-based analysis of the SIR exercise in West Bengal was done by Ashin Chakraborty and Souptik Halder. “In constituencies such as Krishnaganj, ‘untraceable/absent’ has become the main reason for voter deletion, which is uncommon in most parts of the State. This is a serious issue and needs urgent attention, especially because the Matua community is already socially and economically marginalised,” Mr. Chakraborty said.

The researchers have also held a surname analysis in the Matua belt across these 15 constituencies which point out that people with the surname “Biswas “have accounted for the highest 20.79% deletions. This is followed by persons with Mondal surname with 17.83% deletions and Das surname with 10.78% deletions. All the three surnames are generally used by the Matua population.

Matuas are a social group largely comprising Namashudras who have migrated from Bangladesh over the past several decades. The community of Hindu refugees largely residing in North 24 Parganas and Nadia district have been apprehensive of the SIR since they lack legacy data. The SIR fears have over the past few weeks have prompted the Matuas to apply for citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019.

Local Officials flag systemic errors and consequent large-scale voter deletions

Meanwhile, a West Bengal based Officers association, reported the Hindu, has expressed concern that names may be deleted from voters’ list without the knowledge of the Electoral Registration Officer. In a letter to West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal, with a copy to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s office, the West Bengal Civil Service (Executive) Officers’ Association on Wednesday flagged the “suo moto system-driven deletion of electors from the draft electoral rolls in West Bengal in the ongoing SIR process bypassing the statutory role of EROs”. This anomaly could put the EROs (Electoral Registration Officers) in West Bengal in a piquant situation– an association of state service officers has flagged a serious concern over the potential of widespread, system-driven exclusions/deletions of voters that they (EROs) would be blamed for though they had no part in the generating of notices.

West Bengal based Booth Level Officers have also protested outside the state office of the Election Commission (December 1).

#WATCH | Kolkata, West Bengal: Booth Level Officers (BLOs) engaged in SIR exercise hold a protest outside the office of the Election Commission. pic.twitter.com/47xOqI35FU

— ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2025

Under the law and existing rules, the EROs are the sole and competent authority to issue notices if they have any doubts on a voter’s eligibility, be it citizenship or anything else, under the Representation of People Act, 1950. However, in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the ECI’s centralised portal has been used to generate notices. Meanwhile The Indian Express had also reported on December 16 that EROs across Bihar had found “pre-filled notices” appearing on their individual log-ins on the ECI’s centralised portal. Significantly, while the notices bore the names of the EROs, they had not been generated by them.

An Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) in West Bengal, who did not wish to be named, said notices are generated by the ECI software, and not by the officer concerned. “We have an option/button for notice generation. When we use it, notice is automatically generated. At present, the software generates notices for voters who are not mapped with the 2002 SIR data. Thereafter notices to these voters are sent. However, in the case of voters with ‘logical discrepancies’ in data, we have no power to decide which elector will be called for a hearing. That will be decided only by the ECI,” the ERO in Nadia district said.

In this letter to the CEC, Saikat Asraf Ali, General Secretary of the state civil service officers association said, “It is observed that names of electors might be deleted from the electoral roll without the knowledge of the ERO who is the competent authority as per the statute. The common people who will be affected by such action will only blame the ERO without knowing that the ERO has been kept out of the entire deletion process by the Commission.”

When contacted, Ali told this newspaper that the association wants ECI to follow the law and be transparent. “If they make deletions, and what they have done so far, they should clarify to people that the ERO is not responsible for the deletions. Otherwise, people will blame us. We also don’t want any genuine elector’s name to be deleted,” he said.

An official in the West Bengal CEO office, however, said detailed instructions were given to all DEOs (District Election Officers), EROs and AEROs in October itself before SIR work commenced in West Bengal. “Why are the officers raising such questions now? Only those electors who have no mapping with 2002 SIR are being served notices to come for hearing. That number is around 31 lakhs in West Bengal. After this, ECI will start scrutinising the voters with ‘logical discrepancies.’ Then it will be decided by the ECI how those notices will be generated,” the official told The Indian Express.

“It has been found on the date of the draft publication that a considerable number of electors, whose Enumeration Forms have not been returned on alleged grounds such as death, migration, absence, or duplication, have been deleted from the draft electoral rolls,” the association had said in its communication. “Seen against the existing legal provisions as enumerated in the Representation of the People Act, 1950 read with the Electoral Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, it is observed that the law clearly mandates that an elector’s name can be deleted with care on special grounds such as, when ‘the person concerned has ceased to be ordinarily resident in the constituency or that he is otherwise not entitled to be registered in the electoral roll of that constituency’ and also, in all such cases, ‘the electoral registration officer shall give the person concerned a reasonable opportunity of being heard in respect of the action proposed to be taken in relation to him’ (Section 22 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950). EROs have been assigned an integral role in the entire registration process in this regard,” it said.

ERO: Sole authority for voter deletion

AT the heart of the issues raised by the West Bengal officers’ association is the claim that names of persons may be deleted from voters’ list without the knowledge of the Electoral Registration Officer, who is the competent authority as per law to send notices and decide if a person is a legitimate voter.

West Bengal CEO Agarwal had earlier said in a press conference that the hearings for those who could not be mapped with the electoral roll of the last intensive revision in 2002 would begin first and those with “logical discrepancies” would be studied.

“Some electors fall in multiple categories of discrepancies. So, the unique number of logical discrepancies is 1.36 crore and no mapping numbers stand at 31 lakhs, totalling at 1.67 crore. But after analysis, the numbers could change,” he had said.

The WBCS officer’s letter came on the same day that the Election Commission wrote to the CEOs of the 12 states and UTs where the SIR is ongoing, giving fresh instructions to verify all documents submitted by electors with the respective District Election Officers to establish their eligibility within five days – something which was not done in the SIR in Bihar. The Indian Express sent a detailed query to the ECI, which did not respond till the time of writing.

The WBCS officers’ letter concluded, “In view of the above, we request your good office to issue necessary instructions so that the EROs may function with greater clarity in their works and authority commensurate with their statutory responsibilities, considering the fact that the final electoral rolls will be published under his signature and seal alone and under the aegis of Election Commission of India.”

(Report based on inputs from The Hindu, The Indian Express and Rediff.com)

Related:

SIR: Over 3.5 Crore electors flagged for removal across 12 states in SIR, Uttar Pradesh will publish its draft rolls on December 31

SIR 2025 in Bengal: 5 Key Takeaways That Strike at BJP’s ‘Infiltration’ Bogey

West Bengal Draft Electoral List: Over 58 lakh names deleted under SIR exercise, urban seats & Hindi speakers see higher voter deletions

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