The recently released World Economic Forum (WEF)’s Global Gender Gap Report 2025 delivers a sobering reality check for India: India ranks 131st out of 148 countries, with a gender parity score of 64.1%, despite global strides elsewhere. Despite slight gains in economic participation and education, India continues to struggle to unlock the potential of half its population. The ranking is not a mere statistic but represents a fundamental economic and social crisis that demands urgent, systemic intervention. Let us examine why: India’s gender gap extends beyond the women workforce participation rate, which stands at a dismal 29.9% in terms of earned income parity. It can be seen embedded deep into institutional frameworks that systematically exclude women from decision-making spheres. Women hold just 13.8% of parliamentary seats and a mere 5.6% of ministerial positions, reflecting the entrenched male dominance in India’s power structures.

The political underrepresentation unfortunately creates a continued cycle of failure to consistently address women and their lived realities. Globally, women constitute 41.2% of the workforce, however they hold merely 28.8% of leadership positions worldwide. In 2024, Indian women occupied 18.3% of senior leadership roles, a slight decrease from the 2023 peak of 18.7%. The issue is not women’s capability or ambition, but an ecosystem that persistently undervalues their contributions.

Beyond Employment: Reimagining Social Architecture

India’s gender parity efforts remain narrowly focused on employment schemes and quotas, missing the broader task of reforming foundational social structures. True transformation requires dismantling the invisible architecture of inequality shaping every aspect of Indian women’s lives right from childhood to leadership. This also requires that we begin from the education systems as well, for example, educational reform must transcend mere access to challenge curriculums that reinforce gender stereotypes. Educational institutions need to proactively counteract societal messaging that limits any girl’s aspirations in Science, Technology, Leadership and Entrepreneurship. This means training educators to recognize unconscious bias, revising textbooks to include diverse female role models, and establishing mentorship programs that steer young women toward leadership. In fact some states like Kerala have already started doing this and we need more states across the country to follow suit.

Urban planning must prioritize women’s safety and facilitate mobility through thoughtful infrastructure. Cities designed with women’s needs in mind that focus on adequate streetlights, accessible public transportation, childcare facilities near workplaces and safe public spaces, often directly impact women’s economic participation. When women feel secure moving through urban environments results in enhanced professional opportunities expand exponentially.

Workplace transformation requires more than maternity leave policies. Organizations need comprehensive support systems including flexible working arrangements, on-site childcare, equal parental leave and zero-tolerance harassment policies. These changes aren’t corporate social responsibility initiatives, rather they are strategic investments in talent retention and productivity.

The Political Will Imperative

Gender parity is not yet treated as the economic emergency it is. Yet research consistently shows that countries with higher gender equality experience faster economic growth, greater innovation, and more resilient societies. India’s demographic dividend—its large young population—remains half-spent when women are systematically excluded from productive participation. The Women’s Reservation Bill passed in 2023 after 27 years of legislative delays, promises change where it states that there will be reservation of one-third of parliamentary and legislative seats, albeit in 2029. Even before WRB’s implementation, political parties can voluntarily field more women candidates—an immediate, tangible show of commitment to equality.

Cultural Reengineering: The Ultimate Challenge

India needs deliberate cultural reengineering that challenges fundamental assumptions about gender roles. Media must evolve beyond glorifying female sacrifice and start showcasing stories of women’s leadership, ambition, and success. Entertainment, advertising and news coverage also shape societal perceptions; all such platforms need to actively counteract stereotypes that limit women’s potential. Family norms, especially those rooted in son preference, demand intentional change.Men must be encouraged to share childcare and domestic duties, support women’s careers, and celebrate daughters as enthusiastically as sons. Not all these changes need legislative influence, most of these require sustained social dialogue and role-modeling by influential figures. When respected voices within communities’ advocate for women’s education, professional participation and leadership, social change accelerates.

The Economic Imperative

India’s goal of becoming a developed economy by 2047 is incompatible with persistent gender inequality. Countries that have achieved sustained prosperity—from Nordic nations to East Asian tigers—prioritized women’s economic participation as a development cornerstone. India cannot afford to waste half its human capital while competing in a knowledge-based global economy. The demographic window is closing. India’s working-age population advantage will diminish within decades. Maximizing this advantage requires full utilization of both male and female talent. Each year of inaction bleeds trillions in lost economic potential.

India’s gender gap demands an ecosystem-wide approach—addressing legal, economic, educational, infrastructural, and cultural systems in tandem. Now we need coordinated action across government levels, private sector leadership, civil society engagement and individual behavior change. Most importantly, we need for gender equality to be viewed not as a women’s issue but as a national economic priority that determines India’s global competitiveness. The choice is clear: India must embrace radical change to unlock its full potential. The demographic dividend is fleeting.

About Author

Dr. Varsha Pillai

Dr. Varsha Pillai, a seasoned communications professional with over two decades of experience, currently leads Gender Diversity and Advocacy initiatives for Women in Manufacturing at Tata Electronics. Her journey is anchored by a PhD from Symbiosis International University (2022), where her research focused on Gender Advocacy in Digital Media. Recognized internationally through prestigious fellowships including the NFAI Research Fellowship, Netherlands Fellowship, and Think Tank Initiative Fellowship in Geneva, she was named a Changemaker by Change.Org India in 2022. Her expertise spans sustainability communications, DEI initiative, and policy advocacy across corporate and nonprofit sectors, where she combines academic insight with practical implementation.

Courtesy: The AIDEM

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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.

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Olympic rings: as a small girl from a small village I did not know what was the Olympics or what these rings meant. As a small girl, I dream of things like long hair, flaunting a mobile phone in my hand and doing all these things that any young girl would normally dream of.

My father, an ordinary bus driver, would tell me that one day he would see his daughter fly high in a plane while he would drive on the road below, that only I would turn my father’s dreams into a reality. I don’t want to say it, but I think I was his favourite child because I was the youngest of the three. When he used to tell me about this I used to laugh at the absurd thought of it, it did not mean much to me. My mother, who could have a whole story written on the hardships of her life, only dreamt that all her children would one day will live a life better than she did. Being independent and her kids being up on their own feet was enough of a dream for her. Her wishes and dreams were much more simple than my father’s.

But the day my father left us, all I was left with were his thoughts and words about flying in that plane. I was confused about it’s meaning then but held that dream close to me anyway. My mother’s dream was now further away because a couple months after my father’s death she was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. Here began the journey of three kids who would lose their childhood to support their single mother. Soon my dreams of long hair, a mobile phone faded as I faced the reality of life and got into the race of survival.

But survival taught me a lot. Seeing my mother’s hardships, never-give-up attitude and fighting spirit is what makes me the way I am. She taught me to fight for what is rightfully mine. When I think about courage I think about her and it is this courage that helps me fight every fight without thinking about the outcome.

Despite a difficult road ahead we as a family never lost our faith in god and always trusted that he had planned the right things for us. Mother always said God will never let bad things happen to good people. I believed this even more when I crossed paths with Somvir, my husband, soulmate, companion and best friend for life. Somvir has taken every place in my life with his companionship and supported me with each role he took. To any we were equal partners when we faced a challenge would be wrong, for he sacrificed at each step and took my hardships, shielding me always. He placed my journey above his and offered his companionship with utmost loyalty, dedication and honesty. If not for him, I cannot imagine being here, continuing my fight and taking each day head-on. This is only possible because I know he is standing with me, behind me and when needed in front of me, always protecting me.

My journey here has allowed me to meet so many people, most good and some bad. In the past 1.5-2 years, a lot has happened off and on the mat. My life took many turns, felt like life took a stop for good and there was no way out from the pit we were in. But the people around me had honesty in them, they had goodwill and massive support for me. These people and their faith in me was so strongly grounded, it is because of them that I could continue through the challenges and get through the past 2 years.

For my journey on the mat, my support team for the past two years has played a huge part.

Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala. This is not a new name in Indian Sports. For me, and I think for many other Indian athletes, he is not just a doctor but an angel in disguise sent by god. When I had stopped believing in myself after facing injuries, it was his belief, work and faith in me that got me back on my feet again. He has operated on me not once but thrice (both knees and one elbow) and has shown me how resilient the human body can be. His dedication, kindness and honesty towards his work and towards Indian Sports is something no one will doubt including God. I’m forever grateful to him and his entire team for their work and dedication. As a part of the Indian contingent having him present at the Paris Olympics was a god’s gift for all fellow athletes.

Dr. Wayne Patrick Lombard. He has helped me through the most difficult journey that an athlete faces not once but twice. Science is one side, no doubt about his expertise, but his kind, patient and creative approach toward handling complicated injuries has gotten me so far. Both the times I was injured and operated it was his work and efforts that made me bounce back from the bottom. He taught me how to take one day at a time and every session with him has felt like a natural stressbuster. I see him as an elder brother, always checking on me even when we were not working together.

Woller Akos. Anything I write about him will always be less. In the world of Women’s Wrestling, I have found him to be the best coach, best guide and best human, able to handle any situation with his calmness, patience and confidence. He does not have the word impossible in his dictionary and he is always ready with a plan whenever we face a tough situation on or off the mat. There were times when I doubted myself, and was shitting away from my internal focus and he would know exactly what to say and how to bring me back on my path. He was more than a coach, my family in Wrestling. He was never hungry to take credit for my victory and success, always humble and taking a step back as soon as his work was done on the mat. But I want to give him the recognition he much deserves, whatever I do will never be enough to thank him for his sacrifices, for the time he spent away from his family. I can never repay him for the time lost with his two small boys. I wonder if they know what their father has done for me and if they understand how important his contributions have been. All I can do today is tell the world that if it hadn’t been for you I would not have done on the mat what I have done.

Ashwini Jeevan Patil. The first day we met in 2022, immediate security I felt by the way she took care of me that day, her confidence was enough to make me feel that she could take care of wrestlers and this difficult game. Through the past 2.5 years she went through this journey with me like it was her own, every competition, win and loss, every injury and rehab journey was hers as much as it was mine. This is the first time I met a physiotherapist who has shown this much dedication and reverence towards me and my journey. Only the both of us really know what we went through before every training, after every training session and in the moments in between.

Tajinder Kaur. The journey of my weight loss post-surgery for the past year was as challenging as rehabbing the injury. Cutting over 10kgs while taking care of an injury and preparing for the Olympics is no easy task. I remember when I first told you about playing in the 50kgs category and the way you reassured me that we would achieve this while taking care of the injury simultaneously. It was your persistent encouragement and your reminders about our goal, the Olympic gold, that helped me get through the weight cut.

Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) and team. (Viren Rasquinha Sir, Yatin Bhatkar, Mugdha Barve – Psychologist, Mayank Singh Garia – SnC Coach, Arvind, Shubham, Paryas, Yugam – Sparring partners and many others working behind the curtain) I cannot imagine the upward journey Indian Sports has had without the contributions of OGQ. What this entire team has achieved in the past decades is all because of the people in this team and their honest passion towards sports. In two of the most difficult times in recent years, one – post-Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and two – post the Wrestler’s protest and ACL surgery in 2023, it was because of their backing and constant support that I could overcome. Not a day passed by without them checking in, making sure I was safe, progressing and on the right path. Me and my many fellow athletes in this generation are very very lucky to have OGQ, an organisation made up of and founded by some legendary athletes who take care of us.

CDM (Chef-de-Mission) Gagan Narang sir and the Olympic team support staff. I met Gagan sir in close acquaintance for the first time and his kindness and empathy towards an athlete was exactly what is needed in high-pressure situation like the games. I want to appreciate the genuine efforts of the entire team that worked day and night for the Indian contingent in the games Village. The recovery room team, masseuse was something I had never experienced in my entire career during the games.

During the wrestlers protest I was fighting hard to protect the sanctity of women in India, the sanctity and values of our Indian flag. But when I look at the pictures of me with the Indian flag from 28th May 2023, it haunts me. It was my wish to have the Indian flag fly high this Olympics, to have a picture of the Indian flag with me that truly represents it’s value and restores it’s sanctity. I felt that by doing this it will correctly reprimand what the flag went through and what wrestling went through. I really was hoping to show that to my fellow Indians.

There is so much more to say and so much more to tell but words will never be enough and maybe I will speak again when the time feels right. On the night of 6th August and the morning of 7th August, all I want to say is that we did not give up, our efforts did not stop, and we did not surrender but the clock stopped and the time was not fair. So was my fate. To my team, my fellow Indians and my family, it feels like the goal that we were working towards and what we had planned to achieve is unfmished, that something might always remain missing, and that things might never be the same again. Maybe under different circumstances, I could see myself playing till 2032, because the fight in me and wrestling in me will always be there. I can’t predict what the future holds for me, and what awaits me in this journey next, but I am sure that I will continue to fight always for what I believe in and for the right thing.

First Published on The Aidem.

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The objective behind organising this event, which was named as “India’s New Criminal Laws: Reform or Repression?” was to analyse the three criminal laws and the impact that they would have on the working of the justice system and the people of India. Many have, including the three speakers, been criticising the new laws for being regressive and stringent, and for introducing such laws that will increase the power of the state to take arbitrary action against those dissenting. 

At the event, many such provision were referred to and discussed in detail by the three speakers. Teesta Setalvad highlighted several provisions that provide draconian powers to the police, endanger the statutory right to bail, criminalise free speech (in a newly introduced provision that she described as “sedition plus” and also penalise, if not criminalise legitimate democratic protest. She further lamented the consciously absent safeguards against police abuse that are missing from the criminal laws. In addition to this, Setalvad spoke on the repacked, yet more stringent, version of sedition that has been introduced in the BNS, which will penalise as well as criminalise legitimate democratic protest.

Senior advocate Vrinda Grover came down heavily upon the claim of the union government’s that these laws will be the process of decolonisation needed by India. Calling the introduction of these law as regressive, she highlighted how the citizens of India have been turned from victims to suspects and mute spectators. She specifically spoke about the provision on expansion of the period of police custody through the BNSS, which could lead to increase in cases of intimidation, torture and coercion of the ones arrested. 

Vijay Hiremath focussed on how under the guise of doing a copy-paste job, the union government has introduced many illogical and draconian legislations, which have granted unprecedented powers to the executive and the police officers. Hiremath further highlighted the issue of impossibility of filing complaints against any defaulting police officer, due to the rather sinister and confusing sections the BNSS has. Hiremath concluded ends by saying that these laws are extremely dangerous, and will make the whole of the country and its citizens a target. 

Based on the concerns raised as well as the discussions that took place, those present at the gathering then passed a resolution to reinforce the persistent demands countrywide to defer the enforcement of these laws, citing sparked serious concerns about their constitutionality and their potential to erode the very foundation of India’s democracy. A Letter Petition campaign addressed to Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi and Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), Kapil Sibal was initiated. It is to be highlighted here that at the time of the event, the three laws has not come into force.

The letter petition can be viewed here:

A detailed press release of the event can be viewed here:

A pamphlet explaining the impact that these newly implemented three criminal laws will have on the fundamental rights guaranteed to individuals of India by the Constitutional were also made available at this event. The pamphlet explored the ways in these criminal laws go against Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution, commonly known as the golden triangle, and curtail rights and freedoms righted to dissent, peaceful protest, life, liberty and equality.

As highlighted in the pamphlet, here are some of the chilling features of the new Criminal Code that require special attention:

1. the criminalisation of legitimate, lawful, non-violent democratic speech or action as ‘terrorism’;
2. the broadening of the offence of sedition in a new and more vicious avatar (what could be called “sedition-plus”);
3. the expansion of the potential for “selective prosecution” — targeted, politically- biased prosecution of ideological and political opponents;
4. the criminalisation of a common mode of political protest against government  through fasting;
5. encouraging the use of force against any assembly of persons;
6. exponentially enhancing ‘police raj’ by criminalising “resisting, refusing, ignoring or disregarding to conform to any direction given by [a police officer]”;
7. enhancing handcuffing;
8. maximising police custody during investigation;
9. making the recording of a FIR discretionary for the police;
10. dialling up the pain of imprisonment;
11. compelling all persons (even those not accused of any crime) to provide their biometrics to the government; and
12. Shielding of some of the Sangh Parivar’s activities.
    

The pamphlet can be viewed here:

New Criminal Laws

Related:

From colony to police state? India’s new criminal laws receive dissent

The UN High Commissioner condemns the prosecution of Arundhati Roy and Sheikh Showkat Hussain, urges the government to reconsider move

India’s flawed rape laws: a betrayal of equality

The post New Criminal Laws: Future risks for democracy and rights in India appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Details of the incidents

Gujarat 

On April 15, Bhagirathsinh Rathod, founder of Ekta Aj Laksh Sangathan, delivered a communally charged speech in Kathlal, Kheda, indirectly accusing the Muslim community of engaging in stone pelting, and asking the young women audience to be wary of Muslim youngsters pursuing love jihad. The event was organised under the banner of “Samagra Hindu Sanatan Samaj”, purportedly celebrating “Ram Navami Mahotsav 2024”.

The excerpt from his speech reads, “If someone tries to meddle with our gods, faith, sisters, and cows,  we will respond back a brick with a stone. I warn (you), if this time some Jihadi minded people throw stones at our Shobha Yatra, then we will go the place from where he is throwing the stone, and we will throw him from that place.…though we do not disrespect any religion, we Sanatanis will not tolerate disrespect to our religion.…I repeat again, when you go to Navratri, see how do you look? You look like goddess Amba…(now) if some Mahishasur (demon) in the form of love jihadi comes to you, do not get trapped there, but tear his chest apart. We (all) are envisioning the Hindu Rashtra, therefore, we Hindus should not be fighting among ourselves over petty issues…we should aim to hold our unity together…”

Unnao

BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj gave the speech on April 17 at Bhagwantpur, Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, during which he propagated false conspiracy theory of population jihad by hinting that Muslim men have 4 wives and 40 children, thus requiring population control law to prevent overpopulation in the country.

An excerpt from his speech reads, “When next time the Prime Minister Modi returns to the power he will do two things, first is the law to regulate population. ‘We two, and our two’ (hum do, hamare do), or whatever else it may be, but in any case, it will not allow 4 wives and 40 children. The availability of land is reducing and population is increasing, where will (you) stay? what will (you) eat? where will (you) reproduce? That is the reason why we need the law on population control.  We cannot have two constitutions in the same country, we have shown that in Kashmir. We also need to have Uniform Civil Code, and we will do it. Once we get 400+ seats, then there will be no symbol of slavery in this country, and then you will feel that the country has got freedom.”

Shambhaji Nagar

On April 17, in an event organised at Shambhaji Nagar in Maharashtra, children and minors were found performing the song whose lyrics advocated expulsion of people who did not sing Vande Mataram. The involvement or deployment of minors in the propagation of hate has seen some rise in the recent years. Most recently in Uttar Pradesh, school teacher had used communal slurs and directed classmates to slap a fellow minor Muslim classmate for not performing well in the academics. 

The children in this incident can be found performing the song with the following lyrics, “…(You) will have to sing Vande Mataram (audience repeats) or else you will have to leave from here (audience repeats again). If (you) refuse to leave, we will forcibly remove you, we will show (you) your place (aukaat). Jai Siya Ram, Jai Siya Ram, Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram, Jai Siya Ram, Jai Siya Ram.”

Amravati

On April 19, BJP Lok Sabha Candidate for Amravati Constituency, Navneet Rana, incited the crowd by saying that those who want to stay in India must chant Jai Shree Ram. 

Rana asks the crowd, “If you want to stay in India then…”, the audience responds back, (If you want to live in India then…) “you will have to say Jai Shree Ram”. Rana continues, “and you definitely have to say it (Jai Shree Ram)”. “Every kid has got aware about it, now Pakistan’s flag will not be tolerated in India, it will not be tolerated in Amravati.” “Those who love Pakistan…in my country only our flag will be hoisted, no other country’s flag will be tolerated by today’s youth”. 

As Rana retreats, another woman takes over the stage, telling the audience that cow slaughterers will go to hell, before the music starts playing in the background. The woman also incites the audience by referring to Kashi and Mathura (temple-mosque controversy), suggesting that they will meet similar fate as Ayodhya. The video shows that the crowd continues to cheer and dance to the beats of the music system while the woman adds to their frenzy with her own singing, suggesting religious and communal connotations as she begins singing to the beats of the loud speakers.

Chhattisgarh

On April 21, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was caught delivering a communally charged speech during his event in Rajnandgaon, Uttar Pradesh, where he used the familiar trope of Jihad, accusing the Congress of appeasement politics.

The excerpt from his speech reads, “Sisters and brothers, I ponder sometimes that even (our) mother cows were handed over to cattle smugglers and butchers, when jihadi activities were given free hand. What kind of incident had taken place with Bhuneshwar Sahu? I congratulate the public of Chhattisgarh for electing his father Ishwar Sahu as an MLA, paying a real tribute to Bhuneshwar Sahu. Bhuneshwar Sahu made only one mistake, that he opposed love jihad and Congress’s appeasement politics.”

Nashik

In a speech given by Harsha Thakur during an event organised by Sakal Hindu Samaj on 22 April at Budhwar Peth, Nashik, Maharastra, the speaker gave an open call to Hindu women to take up arms in order to protect themselves, with an ambiguous reference made against the Muslim community. 

The excerpt from the speech reads, “Learn to hold weapons in your hand, anybody can hide under Burqa. If you leave your religion, you will be found in 35 pieces, and then only fridge and suitcase will be discovered. Read Shaashtra (ancient literature) and take up the arms. Become staunch and loyal towards your religion.” 

Rajasthan

BJP leader Mahant Balaknath Yogi gave a speech in Sirohi, Rajasthan, on April 23, accusing the government of favouring a “particular” religious community while unfairly discriminating against Hindus. Mahant accused previous Congress government in Rajasthan of appeasement politics, noting that Hindus did not get a single rupee in compensation even while a cow smuggler’s family from a “particular” community received 25 lakhs in compensation by the former Rajasthan CM.

The transcript of the speech reads, “…The kind of activities that have taken place in Rajasthan in recent times, how the politics of appeasement was given a push. You must not have forgotten the Jaipur and Udaipur incidents, how somebody slit the throat of a Ram Bhakt. In Jaipur, a member from a particular community was killed in an accident, what right did they have to give Rajasthan’s 50 lakh rupees as a compensation? So many sisters and daughters have been disrobed of their respect, and many were brutally killed, but nobody got any money; on the other hand, particular community is getting paid 50 lakhs. Somebody killed a smuggler in Alwar, he was (actually) killed in other state, that is what people are saying. Chief minister had gone to his house, 10 cases of cow smuggling is registered against this person, and the chief minister gave his household 25 Lakhs…your former chief minister (gave it).” 

In a separate incident in Gurugram (Haryana), Bajrang Dal members were captured on record forcibly closing Muslim shops selling non-vegetarian food on Hanuman Janmotsav festival. The video of the incident was uploaded by Hindutva Watch on April 26 on its Telegram channel.

Related:

Elections 2024: The past fortnight of April 2024 saw the first phases of the Lok Sabha polls marred by repeat doses of hate speech

Ram Navami Celebrations 2024: Calls for mosque desecration, sword displays, and provocative slogans ignite tensions

Several instances of hate speech in March and April mar the election cycle, demonise religious minorities before the polls 

The post April: CJP’s hate watch campaign analyses several hate incidents reported across the country in the last week appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Responding to the plea for increasing voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) cross verification from present 5 EVMs machines (randomly chosen) in each Assembly Constituency (for both state assembly election and General Election) to 100% cross verification, Justice Khanna wrote that, “First, it will increase the time for counting and delay declaration of results. The manpower required would have to be doubled. Manual counting is prone to human errors and may lead to deliberate mischief. Manual intervention in counting can also create multiple charges of manipulation of results. Further, the data and the results do not indicate any need to increase the number of VVPAT units subjected to manual counting.”

However, significantly, the court did introduce measures to improve transparency and accountability of the present system by allowing runner up candidates positioned second and third after the highest polled candidate to seek verification and checking of burnt memory/microcontroller in 5% of EVMs per (respective) Assembly Constituency or Assembly  Segment in case of Parliamentary Election. 

The court recorded that such request for verification must be made within seven days of declaration of results and “The District Election Officer, in consultation with the team of engineers, shall certify the authenticity/intactness of the burnt memory/microcontroller after the verification process is conducted. The actual cost…for the said verification will be notified by the ECI, and the candidate making the said request will pay for such expenses. 

The expenses will be refunded, in case the EVM is found to be tampered.” Significantly, the court refused to accede to the petitioners’ request to direct the Election Commission of India (ECI) to disclose source code of the EVM, arguing that revealing the source code can lead to its misuse.

The judgment also directed Election Commission (ECI) to ensure that Symbol Loading Units (matchbox sized apparatus used to put candidate and party information into VVPAT through laptop/PC) are sealed immediately upon use and stored in strong room(s) for 45 days after the declaration of results. Pertinently, the court remarked that feeding serial numbers and names of candidates and their party symbols in bitmap files (images) in VVPAT cannot be equated with uploading a (malicious) software, The Hindu reported. 

The verdict also rejected the plea to return to ballot paper system, describing the attempt as “foible and unsound”. In addressing another technical issue regarding the design of VVPAT, Justice Khanna in his judgement noted that “ECI has been categoric that the glass window on the VVPAT has not undergone any change” and “The tinted glass used on the VVPAT printer is to maintain secrecy and prevent anyone else from viewing the VVPAT slips”, though still allowing a voter to view her printed VVPAT slip for seven seconds, confirming her candidate and party choice. The petitioners in the case were arguing that not having a full transparent view of VVPAT’s workings raises suspicion as a voter might not be sure whether a fresh slip is produced every time, or the same slip is displayed (in the case where the previous voter had cast the vote for the same), thus illicitly cutting down votes of a party and benefitting a rival party.

The order may be read here:

How do EVM, VVPAT and Symbol Loading Unit function?

The Electronic Voting Machine or EVM unit consists of Control Unit (CU) and Ballot Unit, which jointly functions to successfully register a vote. The Control Unit is placed with the Presiding Officer or a Polling Officer and the Balloting Unit is placed inside the voting compartment, both are joined through a cable. The two units in the third generation EVMs are connected via VVPAT. The FAQ on EVM and VVPAT issued by the Election Commission notes that Polling Officer in-charge of the Control Unit will release a ballot by pressing the Ballot Button on the Control Unit and this in turn will enable the voter to cast his vote by pressing the blue button on the Balloting Unit against the candidate and symbol of his choice. 

Similarly, it explains that VVPAT is an “independent system attached with the Electronic Voting Machines that allows the voters to verify that their votes are cast as intended. When a vote is cast, a slip is printed containing the serial number, name and symbol of the candidate and remains exposed through a transparent window for 7 seconds. Thereafter, this printed slip automatically gets cut and falls in the sealed drop box of the VVPAT.”

EVMs were first used in 70-Parur Assembly Constituency of Kerala in the year 1982, and since then its use was gradually increased to cover all state and national elections. VVPAT was first introduced in a bye-election from 51-Noksen (ST) Assembly Constituency of Nagaland in 2013, though its field trial had already taken place in 2011. Currently, EVMs and VVPATs are manufactured by two public sector companies, namely, Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL) and Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL).  These companies had recently refused the names and contact details of the manufacturers and suppliers of various components of EVMs and VVPATs under the RTI Act citing “commercial confidence”, Business Standard reported.

Symbol Loading Unit (SLU) is an apparatus used to transfer the details of parties and candidates for the given polling booth to VVPAT, in order to allow the latter to print the paper slip containing those details of chosen candidate and party symbol. SLUs were generally reused to feed the requisite information to numerous VVPATs across polling booths or constituencies, but with the latest court order on April 26, this will not be possible as SLUs need to be immediately sealed once they have transferred relevant data in a given constituency, and secured in a strong room, just like EVMs and VVPATs.

Challenges to the credibility of EVMs and VVPATs

While general allegations about hacking or manipulation of EVMs have been consistently raised by those who oppose EVMs on technological grounds, there has been no conclusive demonstration to prove the alleged charges, except with the possibility of physical tampering. Given that handling of EVMs is undertaken in a secured environment, with 24×7 CCTV surveillance of strong rooms, and double lock system, whose keys are held separately by two different officials appointed by the electoral officer, the possibility of large-scale rigging is difficult in the absence of physical access to the device or complicity of officials. Furthermore, EVMs cannot be connected to any wireless or Bluetooth connection given its manufacturing built.

Likewise, ECI has argued that the VVPAT has (burnt) one-time programmable memory and flash memory of 4 megabytes, which is designed to solely store and recognise a bitmap format file. It can store a maximum of 1024 bitmap files containing the symbol, the serial number and name of the candidate, and does not store or read any other software or firmware. This explanation came in response to the questions raised regarding the possibility of tempering with VVPAT machines or EVMs as connected to VVPATs through software manipulation or insertion of a malicious code.

Furthermore, first level checking (FLC) for EMVs and VVPATs are conducted in the presence of representatives of political parties to ensure that the devices are free of any flaw(s) or manipulation. This exercise is conducted well in advance of the polls (at least 120 and 180 days before the state assembly and the general election respectively), and the checked EVMs and VVPATs are then sealed with signatures of the representatives of political parties present on the said seal. For the remaining period before the election(s), the devices will continue to be placed in the strong rooms under CCTV surveillance, and only these checked devices can be used in the polls. There is also a separate checking process in before the beginning of the polls to ensure additionally level of trust and safety.  

More substantial charges against EVMs are regarding the handling of EVMs rather than against EVM per se, as several instances have some to light where poll body has castigated its officials for mishandling EVMs or not following proper guidelines and SOPs. The Election Commission has also rejected the news reports which claimed that around 20 lakh EVMs were missing from ECI records, saying that reports are misleading and fake. 

Incidentally, when EMVs were first piloted in 1982 in 50 out of 84 polling stations in the Parur constituency, the apex court had set aside the election result in the constituency, asking ECI to reconduct the polls using ballot papers as the law then did not permit the use of EVMs in the elections, as per the Indian Express report. As per the same report, later, in 1988, “the election law was amended to insert Section 61A, which allowed the ECI to specify the constituencies where votes would be cast and recorded by voting machines.” 

Past petitions nudging for improved electronic voting system

One of the earliest petitions requesting changes in the way EMVs were used in the elections was filed by Rajendra Satyanarayan Gilda (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 406 of 2012) and Subramanian Swamy (Civil Appeal No.9093 of 2013), in which they urged the court to strengthen the electoral process by introducing paper slip trail so that the voter can verify that her vote was corrected recorded by the EVM machine. Swamy had argued that the EVMs were open to hacking, just like any other electronic device, irrespective of the claim made by the ECI to the contrary. Clubbing both the petitions, the Supreme Court bench of Justice P. Sathasivam and Ranjan Gogoi delivered its judgement on October 8, 2013, directing the Election Commission, which in 2013 had already used VVPAT in all the 21 polling stations of Noksen Assembly Constituency of Nagaland, to expand its use in phased manner throughout the country. The bench noted in its judgement that “we are satisfied that the “paper trail” is an indispensable requirement of free and fair elections. The confidence of the voters in the EVMs can be achieved only with the introduction of the ‘paper trail’”. Thus, with this order, VVPAT came to be gradually used for all state and national level elections as an essential component of the election process to assuage the doubts regarding the credibility of EVMs, and strengthen the integrity of the elections.

The order may be read here:

In 2018, a year before the General Election of 2019, petition was filed in the Bombay High Court by Manoranjan Santosh Roy, alleging serious fraud and discrepancy in the purchases and handling of EVMs. The PIL in the case claimed that the information obtained through Right to Information (RTI) from manufacturers, Law Ministry, and ECI had conflicting answers to his queries on the purchase and the handling of EVMs. Some of the news media had reported that the petition in the court had revealed that 20 lakh EVMs were missing from the custody of ECI, suggesting mishandling of the EVMs, but the said reports were rejected by the ECI as misleading. 

In the same year, the petition filed by Delhi based Nyaya Bhoomi seeking replacement of EVMs with ballot papers in 2019 General Election was rejected by the bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi, K M Joseph, and M R Shah.

In 2018 another petition was filed by M.G. Devasahayam (Writ Petition (Civil) No.1514/2018) asking the Supreme Court to increase the VVPAT paper slips verification to 50% in every Assembly Constituency.  To undertake this, the petitioner asked the SC to quash the Guideline No. 16.6 of the Manual on Electronic Voting Machine and VVPAT which mandated verification of VVPAT paper slips in 1 polling booth per Assembly Constituency. ECI in its affidavit had maintained that the present ratio of verification was well above the statistically reasonable sample size of 479 EVM-VVPAT verification as suggested by the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI). It argued that the existing rule would result in verification of 4125 EVMs, way above 479 needed to achieve 99% accuracy in the election results. The petitioners in turn rejected the criteria suggested by ISI, and citing the authority of Dr. S.K. Nath (former Director General of the Central Statistics Organisation) argued that “Without counting of VVPAT paper slips in a significant percentage of polling stations in each constituency, the objectives of verifiability and transparency in the democratic process would remain unrealized”.  Incidentally, Dr. S.K. Nath had suggested that at least 30% cross verification must take place in a given assembly segment of 200 booths to achieve sufficient accuracy. This petition was eventually tagged with a batch of other petitions requesting the Supreme Court to issue similar directions with regard to the issues concerning EVM-VVPAT cross verification.

The order may be read here:

In the case of N Chandrababu Naidu vs. Union of India (Writ Petition (C) No. 273 of 2019) the petitioners were making the same demand for increasing the verification to 50% cross verification of VVPAT paper slips with EVM vote count. Delivering the judgement in this case on April 8, 2019, the Supreme Court bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Deepak Gupta, and Sanjiv Khanna increased the cross verification from 1 EVM-VVPAT cross verification to 5 per Assembly Constituency. In observed in its verdict that “If the number of machines which are subjected to verification of paper trail can be increased to a reasonable number, it would lead to greater satisfaction amongst not only the political parties but the entire electorate of the Country”. The bench did not agree to the threshold of 50% cross verification after taking into account the additional requirement of manpower and possibility of delay in the declaration of the results by 5-6 days.

The order may be read here:

Related:

Making Every Vote Matter 

EVM Malfunction: Does Criminalisation Deter Genuine Complaints? 

Is the Indian EVM & VVPAT System free, fair, fit for elections or can it be manipulated? 

VVPAT-EVM Verification: SC issues directions for fool-proofing EVM, sealing of EVMs & SLUs enabling runner-up candidate verification

The post How safe is my vote? A detailed look back at the EVM-VVPAT controversy in India appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Supply Sodium Cynanide and a Rope to every Dalit student-Rohit to the VC a month before he took his life

This letter, dated December 18, 2015 has not been so widely quoted nor has it gone viral. It is a comment on all of us, especially those of us in the media, that we failed to read the warnings or feel the anguish.  After all it is since August 2015 that the social boycott and ostracizing of Dalit students, including Rohith was systematically afoot. That is close to five months ago.

Nearly a month to the day that he tragically gave up the struggle to live and took his own life, on December 18, 2015, a hand-written letter from Rohith Vemula to Vice Chancellor Appa Rao says it all. Taunting and tragic, the note will now be read as a precursor of what was to come. In a hand-written scrawl that hints at acute desperation, he says, “Your Excellency (addressed to the Vice Chancellor Appa Rao) “make preparations for the EUTHANASIA for students like me from the Ambedkarite movement…and may your campus rest in peace forever.”

The letter traces the officially sanctioned “social boycott” of Dalit students after they took on a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) for his derogatory remarks to the Dalit students. “Donald Trump will be a Lilliput in front of you,” Rohith tells Appa Rao then offering a piece of chilling advice. “Please serve 10 miligram of Sodium Azide to all the Dalit students at the time of admission…Supply a nice rope to the rooms of all Dalits students..”The text of the letter can be read here and a scanned hand written copy seen here.

Now we know, and fret over the fact that his Rs 25,000 per month stipend (as of all his other suspended colleagues) was stopped after suspension and he had to borrow money, even from home, to survive the struggle. Now that he is dead we listen to the plight and anguish of his family. Why did we not listen before? As the isolation and anguish built up to make Rohith take a step so final that it signalled no return? Yes, we are all to blame.

“After the stipend was stopped, his family was struggling to support him. He borrowed Rs 40,000 from a friend and was living frugally. Almost every day, he used to say that his money was stuck,’’ said Velmula Sankanna, a fellow PhD scholar and one of the other five students who were suspended. “In December, Rohith wrote an angry letter to the V-C, sarcastically asking him to provide euthanasia facilities for Dalit students. Since then, he was scared to go to the administration building and ask about his stipend. He became silent and withdrawn. He said that he was falling into depression because he was being defeated by the system at every turn. He blamed himself, his caste, and the circumstances around him. He did not take much interest in anything except studies,’’ added Sankanna, a close friend.

We did not rise to feel, see or appreciate the seriousness implicit in the warnings. In August 2015, a questionable mode of ‘suspension’ of five singled out students of the Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) followed by the arbitrary stopping of their scholarship stipend, further followed by their being locked out of their rooms from January 4, 2016. Yet they fought on, sleeping out near the shopping complex in the cold. Awaiting fair hearing, democratic space for protest(s) and justice.

From the night of January 4, 2016 until today the sleep out protests continue.

After the tragic and unnecessary loss of the life of a budding science scholar, a proud Ambedkarite, will justice and fair hearing happen? Yesterday in a fully articulated representation to PL Punia, Chairperson of the National Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Commission, the Joint Action Committee for Social Justice, University of Hyderabad (UoH) has demanded:

• Punish the Culprits under the SC/ST Atrocities Act:
• Banadaru Dattareya, Union Cabinet Minister of State for Labour and Employment
• P Appa Rao, Vice Chancellor
• Professor Alok Pandey, Chief Proctor
• Susheel Kumar, ABVP President
• Ramchandra Rao, MLC
• Remove P Appa Rao from the post of Vice Chancellor
• Employ a family member of Rohith Vemula at the University of Hyderabad and give his family Rs 50 lahs in compensation
• Drop the fabricated cases against five Dalit Research Scholars immediately and unconditionally
• Revoke the suspension of Students immediately and unconditionally

The Anger Spreads; Demands for resignation of Vice Chancellor Appa Rao

Anger and grief are potent combinations and both were visible in plenty at the mortuary of the Osmania Hospital on Monday, January 18 where Rohith Velumal lay, a day after he tragically ended his own life. His mother’s anguished cry says it all, ““I used to proudly tell everyone in my village that my son was doing PhD at Hyderabad University. Today, I have come to collect his dead body.’’ The family is from Gurazala near Guntur, his mother a tailor and father, Manikumar a security guard at the Hyderabad University. Rohith has two siblings, an elder sister and a younger brother.

Over 1200 students of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) participated in a rally on Monday evening and have resolved to protest on Tuesday, January 19 and not allow the university to function until the current Vice Chancellor, Appa Rao steps down. Before the rally, his close friends and colleagues, along with his family were present at the cremation of Rohith in Hyderabad. (see Image story)

Simultaneous and spontaneous protests continued through the day yesterday at Hyderabad, Vishakhapatnam, Mumbai and Delhi. The road outside Shastri Bhavan, the office of Smriti Irani, the Ministry for Human Resources Development (MHRD) was cordoned off akin to a war zone (see pictures). In Hyderabad, a visit from the chairperson of the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes Commission allayed feelings somewhat.

Though it is Rohith is the one who has made the most recent and most tragic sacrifice, the question is whether it will still open India’s eyes and hearts?

We read every other day not just of the social boycott of Dalit children in the mid day meal schemes. In ‘Dravidian’ politics ruled Tamil Nadu colour bands on Dalit students brand them with their caste. There is little political, social or cultural outrage. The television channels, packed as they are with ‘journalists’ most of whom sport a myopic caste consciousness of the elite Indian that simply excludes any mention of discrimination or exclusion while badgering home ‘the banner of tolerance’, rarely flag anti-Dalit atrocities as an institutional ill to be faced squarely then remedied.
In ‘progressive’ west India the discrimination takes similar forms, and examples abound. In Phugana, three young Dalit children, one a baby was burnt alive in a burst of Rajput rage.

Just like the Blacks fought (and have barely won) the Civil Rights battle in the West – last year’s incidents at Fergusson are evidence of how thinly layered this success is –it is privileged India, caste Hindus who need to hang their heads in acknowledgement, first, and the, shame.

We need to internalize what Dalit students experience when they enter schools, colleges and universities and break the glass ceiling and enter India’s famed institutions of higher learning, the IITs, the IIMs and Universities.

Not only is the percentage of Dalit students who enter higher educational institutions small. They are subject to insidious caste practices and exclusion that batters the hard earned self-esteem. A dangerous argument of ‘meritocracy’ cloaks well organized money and caste induced privilege.

This everyday institutional and societal exclusion and othering needs to be acknowledged squarely by each and one of us.

It is time we ask difficult ourselves some hard and uncomfortable questions.

What kind of history do we teach? Who are our heroines and heroes?
How many Dalits are there in the media, print and television?
How many Dalits in Institutions of power and governance?

The Dalit experience says that entering the corridors of elite educational institutions like Indian Institute of Technologies (IIT) and Indian Institute of Managements and Central Universities for scores of Dalit students is like walking into a living hell, where the fear of being shamed and humiliated hangs heavy on the heart and soul of every student.

Before Rohit, we lost Senthil Kumar and Nagaralu Koppalas, also in the Central University of Hyderabad. Have these earlier losses, deaths of young men in their prime been internalized and taught the UoH any lessons worth learning? The recent and continuing unfair suspension of Dalit scholars would appear to suggest that no lessons have yet been learned.

Is India willing ready and able to accept her Not So Hidden Apartheid?

The post Rohith’s death: We are all to blame appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Open letter made public on December 25, 2023 may be read here:

To
Shri Rajiv Gauba
Cabinet Secretary
Govt of India

Dear Shri Gauba,

I refer to the news report which revealed that the Aadhar data relating to 815 million citizens had been leaked, with the data put on sale in the dark web. This implies that the Aadhar data of 57% of the population of India is on sale. One is not sure whether the data relating to the rest of the population are also leaked! 

This is far too serious a matter for it to be treated lightly and it calls for nothing less than an independent judicial enquiry, for the following reasons:

1. It is the government that has been obstinately insisting on Aadhar card linkage for every conceivable part of the citizen’s life, including bank accounts, medical insurance, Covid testing/ vaccination, voter’s identity, passports and whatnot, without putting in place a commensurate fool-proof security system to pre-empt hacking and leakage of the personal information of the citizens.
2. I had earlier written to the Election Commission of India (ECI) that in many States, the number of Aadhar cards exceeded the population and a sharp spike in the number of Aadhar cards had been observed in some sensitive States, giving room for the proliferation of fake Aadhar cards. My letter dated 29-4-2023 (https://countercurrents.org/2023/04/proliferation-of-fake-aadhaar-cards-a-threat-to-integrity-of-2024-elections/) refers. Already, in several States, there have been instances of single households having hundreds of voter identity cards, about which the Commission is fully aware. Are some political parties involved in manipulating the electoral rolls to their advantage by misusing the above-cited Aadhar data? This can play havoc with the integrity of elections during general elections of 2024.
3. Had the government conducted the 2021 Census on time, there would have been a basis for cross-checking the State-wise Aadhar card numbers as a macro verification instrument. It is the Centre, citing the COVID epidemic, that insisted on deferring the 2021 Census, conveniently forgetting that even when the Spanish Flu paralysed India around 1918-19, the then government with little resources, preferred to conduct the 1921 Census, given its importance as an important statistical necessity. Should not the government own responsibility for deferring the Census count and depriving the country of an authentic population count?
4. By resorting to unduly excessive use of Article 282 of the Constitution to escalate the multiplicity of Centrally Sponsored schemes (CSSs) to a mind-boggling number of 314 involving Rs 4.76 lakh crores of public money, largely transferred directly to the beneficiaries’ bank accounts linked to their Aadhar Cards, the large-scale existence of fake Aadhar cards would have led to large numbers of fake Jandhan bank accounts, resulting in public funds going to wrong beneficiaries. I have brought this to the notice of the Finance Ministry without eliciting any response (https://countercurrents.org/2023/07/length-of-the-last-mile-how-well-the-welfare-schemes-fare-in-the-last-mile/). Who are the beneficiaries of the mis-directed public funds?
5. The sale of Aadhar data through the dark web, as reported, has enabled hackers to obtain mobile numbers linked to those Aadhar cards and misuse them in myriad ways, including hacking bank accounts, harassing people through such fake mobile numbers and so on. For no fault of theirs, the citizens find themselves subject to investigation by the police and other agencies. I have brought instances of this kind to the attention of TRAI, RBI, and UAIDA without much response. 

Since individual regulatory authorities seem to be treating this matter somewhat casually, leaving unwary citizens in the lurch and since the consequences of the Aadhar breach can create all-round chaos and lawlessness, the Centre is under an obligation to institute an independent enquiry by members of the higher judiciary so that the citizens may repose trust in its credibility.

Kindly treat this as urgent as the 2024 elections are not far away and large-scale hacking of bank accounts etc. is already taking place, which the government cannot afford to ignore.

Regards,

Yours sincerely,

E A S Sarma
Former Secretary to the Government of India
Visakhapatnam

Related:

MHA authorises Registrar General to authenticate Aadhar for birth and death registration

Centralising record of deaths and births: Centre’s play at a future NRC?

Census is not a priority for the Union government

Identifying fake Aadhaar, a plot to bring in CAA-NRC?

The post Widespread leak of citizens’ Aadhar data- urgent call for an independent judicial enquiry to protect citizens from harassment appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In their petition, the petitioners have essentially questioned the constitutionality of the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act of 2023, arguing that the act represents a ‘dereliction of duty’ on behalf of the State who is required to protect and conserve the environment. Furthermore, according to The Wire, the petition argues that the new amended Act “introduces a regulatory regime that facilitates a regression in the nature and extent of protection that forests were afforded earlier.”, thus meaning that the government seems to have reduced its duties towards protection of forests as opposed to what it had signed up for earlier. Further arguing and identifying the potential ills that act would do for the environment, the petitioners have asked for the act to be rendered invalid. 

Under the Directive Principles of State Policy it is s the government’s mandated duty to safeguard the environment and forests. The Constitution has perennially entrusted the government with the role of a guardian for these vital natural resources. However, the proposed bill has raised concerns of potential misuse of this guardianship and attempts to escape from the responsibility that accompanies it.

According to Livelaw, the petitioners have also put this in view with the existence of legal principles in India such as the precautionary principle, intergenerational equity, principle of non-regression and public trust doctrine – each of these they argue have been ignored in the act.  

The petitioners consist of retired civil servants, including former members of ministries, as well as former members of the Standing Committee of the National Board of Wildlife, and other esteemed retired officials. The group of petitioners also has the former IAS officer MK Ranjitsinh, who led an advisory team which was created to assist the court on bringing back and reintroducing cheetahs in India.

Following the hearing, a notice from the Supreme Court has been served to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change as well as the Ministry of Law and Justice. The government of India’s is expected to furnish an official response to the writ petition.

Senior Advocate Prasanto Chandra Sen, Advocates Kaushik Chaudhury and Shibani Ghosh are representing the petitions, whereas the Supreme Court bench comprises of Justice B.R. Gavai, Justice Aravind Kumar, and Prashant Kumar Mishra. The bench has called upon the Union Ministries of Environment & Forests and Law & Justice to furnish their response within a period of six weeks. History tells us this crucial petition could hold the potential to shape the future of environmental and forest conservation in our country.

What does the petition say?

Senior advocate Prasanto Chandra Sen for the petitioners has stated to the court that the amendment seeks to ‘restrict’ definition of ‘forests’ which was earlier defined by the Supreme Court in the 1996 TN Godavarman case, according to IANS. 

The 1995 case was a crucial chapter in the history of forest rights and environmental conservation in India when T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad filed a landmark writ petition in the Supreme Court. The reason behind this legal action was the need to safeguard the Nilgiris forest land from the devastating consequences of illegal timber operations.

This petition has had far-reaching consequences for India’s forests and environmental sustainability. For in its response to the petition the Supreme Court issued a series of comprehensive directives designed to ensure the sustainable and secure use of the nation’s forests. Moreover, the court established an efficient framework that was tasked with keeping a check on monitoring and implementation where regional and state-level communities play pivotal roles in regulating the movement and felling of timber across the country. This was a landmark judgement which sought to secure India’s forests and their biodiversity – but especially so for the livelihoods and future generations of countless Indians dependent on them. 

However, the petitioners today argued that aspects in the amended law of 2023 are hazy and subject to interpretation, which the petitioners attest, may post a threat to the idea of public interest as well as have the possibility to work in favour commercial entities. The petitioners also argued that this could really ensure a setback for forest conservation efforts borne painstakingly in India, especially the north eastern states.

 The plea further asserts that, “Each diversion of land, without any cumulative ceiling being prescribed across the country, will pockmark our forests with cancerously growing deforested ‘islands’ and fragment them, causing enormous ecological loss.”

What is the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act 2023?

The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill of 2023 passed in the Lok Sabha this year in July as concerns and fears run amok for forest rights activists and tribal groups. What essentially does the amendment seek to do?

According to Sabrang India, the act seeks to introduce broad changes to the 1980 forest law, which was initially formulated to stop the rampant transformation of forest land into land non-forestry purposes. The amended act wishes to exempt certain lands that come under this act thus seeks to make it easier for these lands to be stripped of trees and be used for commercial purposes. It must be of note that about 28% of India’s forests remain outside the purview of the Recorded Forest Area, and thus will lose whatever protection they had been afforded earlier. However, this is not the first time the law has been amended, it has been amended over the years, yet the dilution of the original provisions that were provided in this Act is what has been a source of immense alarm to activists and observers alike. 

The Act had originally granted the central government a pivotal role, entrusting upon it the authority and responsibility to ensure appropriate compensation when and wherever forest land was redirected for non-forestry uses, and what is more, this provision was extended even to lands not officially designated as ‘forest’ in government records.

However, the current set of proposed amendments have taken a steep shift from its previous trajectory. The government, in its response, has argued that these changes are motivated by the need for eliminating ambiguities and bringing clarity to the Act’s applicability across a diverse arena of land categories. However, critics argue that the act gives the government too many exemptions.

Among the proposed modifications, some are specific exemptions from the Act’s purview, while others actively advocate for plantation cultivation on non-forest land. Furthermore, these amendments aim to dismantle restrictions on infrastructure development, particularly in regions which are considered vital for national security such as those areas near the nation’s borders.

However, these proposed amendments have triggered concerns on multiple fronts. Foremost among these concerns is the fear that these changes may dilute the impact of the seminal 1996 Godavarman case judgement delivered by the Supreme Court. This landmark judgement was extremely progressive and ahead of its time in that it also extended protection to extensive, forest-like areas, even when official recognition as ‘forests’ was lacking.

Another contentious point in the amended act revolves around the exemption from the forest clearance requirement for construction projects that will be located within a 100-kilometre radius of international borders or along the Line of Control in geographically sensitive regions if they are being given for security-related to tourism related projects. Furthermore, the new Act will be applicable only to lands that have been designated and notified as forest under the law on or after October 25, 1980. 

Activists have contended that the proposed amendments might potentially weaken forest protection measures. In response, the Environment Ministry has countered these claims, asserting that the provisions embedded in the Bill have been carefully designed to guard against such scenarios. 

According to Hindustan Times, the petition today has asserted that “these kinds of exemptions will be the death knell of forests in India.” The future for forest rights stands at a crucial juncture. 

 Related

Parliamentary Committee Gives Nod to Proposed Dilution of Forest Rights

How a battle is being waged within India’s forests, for rights over land and resources

Alarming Odisha arrests, ‘illegal’ detentions ahead of Vedanta bauxite public hearing

The environmental impact of the Sardar Sarovar Dam

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