The data provided in the parliament reveals a consistent upward trend in students migrating abroad for educational opportunities since 2016 with the exception of Covid-19 years (2020 and 2021). While the UGC has formally allowed foreign universities to setup their campuses in India, with the Central Government even touting ease of doing business and liberalisation reforms within (higher) educational system, only 2 foreign varsities have set up their campuses in India. These are two Australian Universities, namely, Deakin University and University of Wollongong, who have already set up their campuses in GIFT City, Gujarat. 

As per the data provided by the education minister Dharmendra Pradhan about the number of students who migrated to foreign countries for educational purpose, the figure shows that in 2016 a total of 369876 (3.69 lakh) students left the country for higher studies, while in 2017 the number stood at 455072 (4.55 lakh), in 2018 at 518787 (5.18 lakh), in 2019 at 587313 (5.87 lakh), in 2020 at 260363 (2.6 lakh), in 2021 at 445582 (4.45 lakh), in 2022 at 752111 (7.52 lakh), in 2023 at 894783 (8.94 lakh) and in 2024 (till July 20) at 360588 (3.6 lakh). This data was provided on July 29 by Pradhan in response to an unstarred question posed by Lok Sabha MPs Prof. Sougata Ray and Dr. Shashi Tharoor. 

Notably, the increase in student immigration comes at the time when more universities and colleges have been established by the government, suggesting a deterioration in quality of education. As per the same parliamentary answer provided by Pradhan on the questions raised by Ray and Tharoor, the response notes that “In order to promote access to inclusive and high quality higher education…The number of Universities has increased to 1,168 in 2021-22 from 760 in 2014-15. The number of colleges has increased to 45,473 in 2021-22 from 38,498 in 2014-15. ii. The total enrolment in Higher Education has increased to nearly 4.33 crore in 2021-22 from 3.42 crore in 2014-15.The female enrolment has increased to 2.07 crore in 2021- 22 from 1.57 crore in 2014-15. iii. We now have 48 Central universities, 23 IITs, 21 IIMs and 25 IIITs as against 40 CUs, 16 IITs, 13 IIMs and 9 IIITs in 2014.” 

Furthermore, the government claimed that due to its “transformational” initiatives more Indian Universities/Institutions have been covered under international rankings, which has led to “improvement in the global ranking of our institutions”.  It provided the following parameters to suggest the improvement:

“i. The number of Indian HEIs in global top 500 has increased to 11 in 2025 as compared to 7 in 2015 QS World University Rankings. 

1. Two Indian institutions figure in top 150 of QS ranking 

iii. Total number of Indian HEIs in the QS ranking in 2024 is 46 as compared to 9 in 2014

iv. India stands as one of the world’s most rapidly expanding research centers as our research output surged by an impressive 54%, which is more than double of the global average in the QS Subject Rankings 2024. v. India has improved its ranking in the Global Innovation Index from 76th rank in 2014 to 40th rank in 2024.”

The parliamentary QnA on the issue can be found here:

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According to a report released by a Washington-based research group, India Hate Lab incidents of anti-Muslim hate speech in India have increased over the time. In 2023, they increased by 62% during the second half of 2023 compared to the first half of the year. The report also documented a total of 668 hate speech incidents targeting Muslims in 2023. Of these, 255 incidents occurred in the first half of the year, while 413 took place in the latter half. The United Nations has warned that unchecked hate speech can lead to actual violence. Yet despite that, these incidents continue across the country. 

Wanaparthy, Telangana

In a polytechnic college, a young Muslim boy was beaten by six fellow students on his way to offer his daily prayers one evening. The student, Mohammed Masum, a 19-year-old student at the college could be seen on a video posted by Hate Detectors, bleeding and heavily injured. The incident took place at the KDR Govt Polytechnic College in Wanaparthy district, Telangana on April 24.  Masum was reportedly stopped by the attackers, who included fellow students one of which was named Lokesh, who not only threw his skull cap on the ground and stomped on it and beat the young student up. 

Masum managed to attract the attention of other students by calling out for help after which his attackers ran away. He was later admitted to a hospital by the mosque’s imam for treatment. The Wanaparthy police have reportedly started an investigation into the matter and have already arrested one suspect linked to the assault. 

Vadodara, Gujarat

On April 20, late at night at around 2:15 am in Vadodara, Gujarat, Mohammed Faizan Amiruddin Shaikh, a 26-year-old street food vendor, was beaten and assaulted allegedly by police officials. As per a report, the incident unfolded after Faizan had a disagreement with the officers, leading to a violent altercation.

In response to the police’s abuse, Faizan stood in front of their PCR van, blocking its path following which a crowd began to gather. The police personnel responded by driving forward and reportedly pushed Faizan back nearly 100 feet until he fell under the van. 

Faizan is currently in critical condition and is receiving medical treatment at a private hospital. Consequently, the three policemen—Mohammad Salim, Raghuvir Bharatbhai, and driver Kishan Parmar—have been suspended from duty, and a case has been filed against them. Faizan himself has been subjected to an FIR by the police at the Sayajigunj police station. The X, previously Twitter, page of Hate Detectors uploaded a video that showed a young man grievously injured and unconscious in the hospital. 

The  Assistant Commissioner of Police A Division DJ Chavda told the Indian Express, “The personnel in the PCR van used the needed physical force and he has been injured. Faizan too attacked the police personnel on duty. We have registered two FIR’s and are probing the incident.”

Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh

In another distressing incident, a police official from the UP Police was allegedly caught on video violently beating a young boy clad in kurta-pajama in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad. The video footage captured a Inspector Bhanu Prakash was seen violently dragging a 14-year-old driver by his hair and subjecting him to merciless beating. 

Following public outcry over the video, the police has told the public that appropriate action would be taken against the officer. Authorities shared on X that the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) for Wave City had been tasked with initiating an investigation into the matter.  Hate Detectors reported the young boy to be named Sohail. 

E-rickshaw driver Sohail was brutally manhandled by police inspector Bhanu Prakash in #UttarPradesh‘s #Ghaziabad. pic.twitter.com/q1PlOMHmIB

— Hate Detector (@HateDetectors) April 24, 2024

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It has been more than two months since internet service was blocked in Kashmir. The communication blackout was partially restored last week when the government passed an order to restore all postpaid services in the valley and this move came as a “surprise” for the Kashmiris.

However, Kashmiris still can’t check emails and social media handles to speak with friends. This strategy was planned by the Union and State administration to avoid backlash from the people who stood against the government order to end the Special status by Scrapping articles 370 and 35A. They said it was applied to maintain law and order in the region.

At a time of Digital India, people in Kashmir can’t even withdraw their money manually by a promissory note in Kashmir. “I had received many promissory notes from my clients, but due to complete shutdown and closure of banks, I couldn’t withdraw that money and no one accepts smart cards without internet,” Ahtisham, while narrating his story, told TwoCircles.net.

“Digital India is confined to election rallies and ‘jumlas’,” he added.

The education sector has suffered a lot in Kashmir due to the shutdown. Most students failed to fill their application forms to appear in different examinations. Students who couldn’t bear education expenses and rely on scholarships were unable to apply this year. Some of them called it a deliberate move by the authorities to keep Kashmiri students away from a good education and a secure future.

Imtiyaz, who wants to pursue a PhD in Journalism narrated how the internet affected his plans. “I missed the NET (National Eligibility Test) since I couldn’t fill because of internet lockdown in the valley. I don’t even have an idea about the last date for submitting the form,” he said. In the past, some students were unable to appear in the NET exams because they were allotted centres outside Kashmir.

“Last year the University Grants Commission (UGC) allotted centres to Kashmiri students outside Kashmir which made it a very costly proposition for us,” Imtiyaz said.

A return to books and conversations

A rather surprising result of the internet lockdown is that it has brought Kashmiris out of the virtual world. People have once again started spending time with their families and friends. Physical interaction has revived and people fought the trauma by meeting relatives and reading books. The tradition of family discussions which stretches for hours has returned to homes. People have resorted to discussions in groups that were gone by the advent of the internet.

“In the absence of the internet, I started reading more and more, and In the last two months I completed more than five books, which are related to Kashmir history, some books were crafted well and based on real facts while most of the books don’t talk of reality” Imtiyaz, who now wants to write a book on Kashmir, said.

“If you don’t know the history of any place, you should avoid writing about it, some writers have badly tarnished the image of Kashmir and Kashmiris,” he added, pointing towards the non-locals writers he added.

Online news platforms which work independently faced a drastic downfall after August 5. Internet is a lifeline for online media organizations, but by snatching the internet, they have been destroyed. “We started with an aim to give voice to voiceless but after snatching internet here, we have become voiceless,” Muheet-ul-Islam, editor of PostCard Kashmir digital platform said.

People from different states of India who have their relatives and friends in Kashmir are worried about the Kashmir. Video call which most of the people in Kashmir prefer over the normal call to talk and check the well being of their loved ones seems an impossible thing to get back.

“My daughter is in the USA. Before the internet blockade, we used to see her daily but after the internet shutdown, I have not seen her though we did speak after landlines were restored,” said Showkat, a resident.

There are many parents like Showkat in Kashmir who haven’t seen the face of their children after 5 August and possibly the story is the same for everyone.

“In modern times, you can easily shut voices that are against you. Just suspend the internet and you can’t hear anything against the system. Internet and technology have connected us globally, and isolation from it is an easy mechanism employed by the establishment to suppress the voice of dissent,” said Salman, a Kashmiri student.

“For us, general knowledge comes from books which you find in bookstalls which are out-of-date. We don’t have any idea of what is happening in the outside world. Now we want to live with our friends and families because we never know “what next” they will do to feed their selective conscience,” said one of the youth from Kashmir looking for better tomorrow when asked about life without the internet in Kashmir.

Kashmiris living outside Kashmir have started many online campaigns asking authorities to end restrictions on communication in Kashmir.

Everyone is watching curiously how much time it will take for the government with a vision of “Digital India” to end its crackdown on the internet in Kashmir.

Courtesy: Two Circle

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According to the latest reports, one student–Shah Alam–was admitted to the emergency ward of Holy Family Hospital while five students were taken to the local medical centre for treatment.

Shah Alam admitted at Holy Family Hosptial. Photo courtesy: Jamia World

According to students, the goons who attacked them were hired by the college authorities and the local security staff acted as mere spectators. “When we asked the security people as to why they were not helping us, they said they cannot do anything,” said a student. “The goons were carrying wooden sticks and branches broken from nearby trees and beating everyone in sight including women,” said another student.

The Jamia administration, meanwhile, denied any wrongdoing and instead blamed the protesting students for the unrest. Ahmad Azeem, PRO-cum-Media Coordinator, Jamia Millia Islamia said allegations that the students were attacked by hired goons were a “totally false allegation.” He blamed student groups for fermenting trouble on the campus and said that the security guards were trying to stop the students.

“Today a group of students backed by some student organisations gheraoed the Vice-Chancellor office, laid siege to the office complex and physically blocked all the gates of exit. A group of senior teachers and officials of the university met the agitating students and listened (to) their concerns patiently and requested them to lift their siege on the administrative complex. Teachers also assured them that their demands given in the memorandum will be discussed at the highest level but they refused. Teachers also requested the students to send some of their representatives for (a) talk but they refused,” said Azeem in a WhatsApp response to this correspondent.

Students protesting against Jamia administration

Protests in Jamia began when five students were issued a show-cause notice for protesting against the visit of delegates from Isreal during an event. Jamia students organised a symbolic protest against the same and showed their solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinians.

After the protests, two students were beaten up by the guards, who when confronted, manhandled the students. confronted the staff. Five students were issued a show-cause notice by the administration, following which protests have been brewing in the campus for over a week.

Courtesy: Two Circle

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Automation has considerably affected various aspects of our lives, directly and indirectly, driving the work of modern devices we are so accustomed to, such as washing machines, ovens, cars, mobiles. Automation has penetrated sectors such as banking, agriculture, education, medical sciences, manufacturing, etc., and is seen in most economic, social, and personal aspects of our lives. Automated devices have become a necessity that enables us to have a better standard of living by providing access to a multitude of services and information. However, what is considered automation changes with time. When a machine entirely and permanently takes over a function from humans, it comes to be known as “machine operation.” An example of this is switchboard operators.

On the pinnacle of automation are computing devices connected to the internet such as mobiles, laptops, tablets, and desktops. These devices help us solve complex problems, organize information easily, and provide us with unprecedented instant access to tons of information. Such advancements have rendered several jobs obsolete and, in the process, have created new kinds of jobs that require different skill sets. Computers have become indispensable tools in the workplace.

In every industry, computers provide the means to streamline several essential functions such as bookkeeping, data entry, manufacturing, data accessibility, and much more. Software is customized according to the needs of the job, and adaptable digital skills are required to use those customized hardware and software. According to a report by the world economic forum, an estimated 75 million jobs may be displaced by 2022 while 133 million additional roles may emerge concurrently (Leopol et al., 2018).

Automation and advanced algorithms are transforming the nature of jobs performed by humans. Jobs are evolving and, unlike traditional jobs, adaptable digital skills are needed that can be adjusted to the changing requirements of the job. The term “digital divide” has come into prominence in the past decade to represent the population who are not able to access or navigate the digital world. This disparity of resources affects developing countries the most, which is a result of the availability of limited resources and the “backwardness” of certain communities.

To develop a framework to understand the challenges faced in bridging the digital divide, the term has broadened to include all aspects of digital inequality including technical means (hardware, software, and connectivity), autonomy (location of access, freedom of use), use patterns (purposes of internet uses), skills (ability to use the internet effectively), and social support networks (access to advice from more experienced users) (Chiemeke 2010).

Inadequate technical means are the first and a major block in overcoming the digital divide in India. This is seen by India’s low internet penetration with only 22% of the owners using mobiles to access social media in comparison to the world average of 75%. The numbers become even more problematic when comparing urban to rural penetration of the internet. The consumption of the internet, though on the rise, is still primarily an urban phenomenon. In December 2017, internet penetration in urban India was at 64.84% vs. 20.26% in rural India (Gordon, 2018).

Difficulties in accessing technology resulting from inadequate technical means are faced much more by the rural communities as digital resources are unevenly distributed. Presence of high-speed internet is limited to towns and cities, while many villages struggle to get a stable signal on their mobile phones. In addition, the availability of broadband is almost negligible in rural areas. To improve the situation, the government has implemented flagship schemes like Bharat Net Project, but according to the latest internal government data, fewer than 2.5% of India’s 2.5 lakh village panchayats have commercial broadband connections (Gairola, 2018).

Availability of digital resources does not ensure access to the internet in India; economic disparity also constraints access to digital resources. Due to widespread poverty, many communities find the cost of digital technology unmanageable. For such communities to afford a computer or pay the monthly tariff for internet connection is more of a luxury than a necessity. Having access to computers in government schools will give schoolchildren a chance to adapt better and face the digital world, but most government schools are not equipped with such facilities. According to an ASER study conducted in 2018 in 596 government schools of 619 districts overall, only 21.3% of the students have access to computers in their schools (ASER, 2018).

Rural communities also lack the means to gain knowledge to utilize these resources due to the absence of a social support network, especially for women and older men. Those in rural areas who are able to climb the ladder and gain digital knowledge and guide others usually move out to cities as a result of lack of employment in villages. This results in a lack of social support for those left behind. In addition, other social barriers such as caste and class contribute toward the lack of support for “backward” communities.

Socioeconomic status within rural society also plays an essential role in the ability to access ICT resources. These socioeconomic statuses in rural India are interlinked with traditional structures of caste and accompanied by caste-based discrimination. Such communities are trapped in traditional roles and have fewer education and employment opportunities. The youth of these communities are not part of the social support network of the village and look for support within a community already suffering from socioeconomic discrimination.

Technology and social structures of a society have a complex relationship. On one hand, technology can bring fundamental changes to existing social structures; and on the other hand, technology has to function within the confines of these structures. Social media was first seen as a space where an individual could be free from confining local social structures, but a lack of presence of women on social media and a replication of traditional values and norms on it show that new technology cannot exist beyond the current structures of society.

Basic understandings of how to navigate the social structures are learned by the children primarily from their parents, who inherit it from ancestors and so on. However, these constructs are not constant; each generation needs to agree and create new ways to understand the changing world around them. Rural youth are affected by technology through economic and social structures such as changing the nature of jobs and access to mobile internet, yet they do not have the skills to use the technology effectively and be part of the digital world as a result of their lack of access to digital devices, social support, and learning centers.

Rural communities are affected by the changing nature of jobs as a result of increasing automation. They are not equipped to handle the technical aspects of the jobs requiring technology skills and lose out to the urban elite who are constantly engaged with new technologies and are able to quickly adapt to the new changes posed by the changing technology. Even after the development of IT hubs in India, like in Bangalore and Hyderabad, we see negligible trickle-down effects of technological development across India.

Literacy is a significant barrier to accessing technology. Continuous increases in the advancement of technology have brought a need for changing the definition of literacy. The functional literacy model taken up in the schools requires skills of reading and writing to cope up with adult life. However, this model of literacy has been critiqued by many. According to Lankshear, “in developing countries’ contexts, the espoused goal of functional literacy has been overly utilitarian. The aim is to incorporate (marginal) adults into established economic and social values and practices. Functional literacy has been concerned as a means to an end” (Lankshear, 1993, p.91). However, with the emergence of technology, the established model of functional literacy still followed in the majority of the schools in India needs revision.

Definition of digital literacy according to Digital literacy global framework developed by NESCO states that “Digital literacy is the ability to access, manage, understand, integrate, communicate, evaluate and create information safely and appropriately through digital technologies for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship. It includes competences that are variously referred to as computer literacy, ICT literacy, information literacy and media literacy. ”( Law, N. W. Y., et al, 2018) Literacy goes beyond the ability to comprehend text.

The challenges in attaining digital literacy were discerned during the baseline study of youth for digital literacy classes in two villages, Rangala and Khori, in district Nuh, Haryana. The village is an hour drive from the cyber city of Gurugram, known as a financial and technological hub in North India. The figures showed that 44% of students enrolled in the classes had computers in the school while a mere 10% of the students were taught the use of computers. The reason for such a low percentage of digital literacy despite the presence of computers in school was a lack of availability of computer teachers. Only 10% of the students had computer teachers in the school.

The use of digital devices was mostly limited to mobiles, which 78% of the students had access to, while only 17% of the students had access to laptops/desktops. The data indicated that 15% of the students did not have access to any of the devices. The data reflected that overall, only 10% of the students had ever used a computer. When asked about the motivation to join the course, most students echoed that knowledge of using the computer was a necessity for a secure future as it would help them get a job. In addition, students were of the opinion that a computer would help them get information from the internet, do online banking and shopping, and have access to government schemes.

Development in digital technology has brought rapid changes in different aspects of our life, be it our work, social, or personal space. As this new development flows through the old channels of societal structures, urban elites get access to the majority of resources, consequently coping with the changes quickly. Rural communities are left with minimal resources at hand. As illustrated by a hole-in-the-wall experiment, digital skills are picked up by children on their own when they are given a suitable computing facility, with entertaining and motivating content (Hole-in-the-Wall, nd). Urban youth are introduced to modern technology from a young age and hence pick up adaptable digital skills naturally, while their counterparts in rural India find it difficult to acquire those skills as a result of unequal distribution of resources, increasing the digital divide.

India has a long way to go to solve the problem of inequality of resources resulting in poverty and vice versa. In the meantime, we need to find other avenues to introduce rural youth to the digital world. Early school education provides the best introduction for children to learn about digital devices and their use. This is especially important in rural India, as many of the girl students stop their education as a result of the unavailability of avenues of education beyond primary. Education is a dynamic sector, and having knowledge of the latest trends is vital for the future of students.

ICT services in schools will help students gain digital skills and improve the overall education standard of schools across India. Having ICT devices in schools is not enough; students must have access to those devices, which is often not the case because teachers share the belief that children will mishandle the device. This is also a result of a lack of digital literacy among the teachers who also need to be introduced to the best practices in order to impart digital education among children. Overall changes in the education system are required to promote the ICT skills among the youth of India.

References

1. ASER (2018):  “Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2018, provisional,” ASER Centre, New Delhi.
2. Chiemeke C. C. (2010) Bridging the Digital Divide in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Bangladesh and Kuwait. In: P. Kalantzis-Cope P., and K. Gherab-Martín K. (eds) Emerging Digital Spaces in Contemporary Society. Palgrave Macmillan, London.
3. Gairola, M. (2018, November 19). In ‘Digital India’, Not Even 2.5% Panchayats Have Commercial Broadband. The Wire.
4. Gordon, K. (2018, September 11). Topic: Internet usage in India. Retrieved July 15, 2019, from https://www.statista.com/topics/2157/internet-usage-in-india/.
5. Hole Hole-In-the-Wall – . Beginnings. Retrieved July 15, 2019, from http://www.hole-in-the-wall.com/Beginnings.html.
6. Lankshear, C. (1993) Functional literacy from a Freirean point of view. In McLane, P. and Leonard, P. (Eds) (1993), Paulo Freire Critical literacy Functional literacy, New York, Routledge
7. Law, N. W. Y., Woo, D. J., de la Torre, J., & Wong, K. W. G. (2018). A Global Framework of Reference on Digital Literacy Skills for Indicator 4.4. 2.
8. Leopol, T. A.; ., V. Ratcheva, V.; Z. Saadia, Z. (2018):  The Future of Jobs. Edited by World Economic Forum. Genf
9. Parasuraman, R., & V. Riley, V. (1997). Humans and Automation: Use, Misuse, Disuse, Abuse. Human Factors, 39(2), 230-253.  https://doi.org/10.1518/001872097778543886.

—
*Research Associate at S M Sehgal Foundation, master’s degree in sociology from Ambedkar University, Delhi. Contact: Email: p.aggarwal@smsfoundation.org

Courtesy: Counter View

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Psychiatrist Anirudh Kala, academic Brinelle D’Souza, journalist Revati Laul and human rights activist Shabnam Hashmi, who were in Jammu on October 6-7, who were as part of a fact-finding team in J&K, have said in the report that more than half the people they contacted in Jammu “froze” when they heard they wanted to meet them.

“They refused outright to meet us or even engage with us on the phone, even when we made it clear we were not going to mention any names”, says the “citizens’ report”, titled “Kashmir Civil Disobedience: Trauma, Resistance, Resilience Two Months On”.

Pointing out that “the centre of this terror is located in Jammu’s commerce, its business community”, the report says, “In the grip of this coma (was) the head of the chamber of commerce, who called for a blockade to be held on the September 16” but withdrew the announcement on September 14 within a few hours, stating “the government had given him an assurance that business would not be hit.”

The authors quote an insider as stating “that the story doing the rounds was that he was scared of being sent to prison”, even as quoting another businessman, on various committees, as telling them, “It’s widened the rift between people. Trade is hampered, work is not happening. Banks are not functioning. 60% of Jammu’s trade is with Kashmir, so that is affected.”

Asserting that this is the “untold story of Jammu and its trauma”, the report quotes a transporter as saying, “Post the abrogation of 370, Kashmir has had one eye taken out, Jammu has had both eyes removed.”

No doubt, according to the authors, unlike the Kashmir valley, Jammu was not in a lockdown, there was no civil disobedience, landlines, mobile networks, shops, restaurants and malls were open and WIFI connections worked.

However, they say, the internet was an “abominably slow” with files that took three minutes to transfer in Delhi, were buffering all night in Jammu.” Tourists were absent. “We were the only occupants at our hotel, the Ashok, which has 45 rooms, most are booked out at this time of the year.”

Outside, the authors say, “The security forces that were omnipresent in Kashmir, were much fewer and far between by the day. After dark, the picture changed and cars were stopped and checked regularly.”

Not without reason, they say, distress was writ large on a contingent of transporters and traders whom they met. Pointing towards how the Rs 35,000 crore business in Jammu was on a standstill, a businessman said, if earlier 500 trucks at the railway station “would have a trip a day” now those trips are “down to one trip in four days. That’s business cut down to a quarter already.”

Yet another businessman said, “We are in the Dussehra season. The wholesale market, the mandi is normally so crowded there’s no place to stand. Now it’s desolate. This is the apple season in Srinagar. Last year, in this season, Rs 7,000 crore of business was done.”

He added, “This time the government is saying they will buy fruit worth Rs 8,600 crore from Srinagar. How will this fruit get to the mandi? When individuals aren’t being able to go and pluck fruit from their orchards because of the overall climate of fear?”
 

 

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Image Courtesy: NDTV.com

The law student who accused BJP’s Chinmayanand of rape and sexual exploitation, in a curiously strange turn of events, is facing an investigation for alleged extortion. And today, news surfaced that the student has been arrested. However, in what may come as a breather for her, the court agreed to hear her request for protection from arrest. A court in Uttar Pradesh will hear her petition on September 26, Thursday.

The news came for the woman amid reports that she may have been taken by the police for questioning after she was charged with extortion. Her lawyer, Anoop Trivedi said, “The media was broadcasting wrong news that the girl was arrested. We have not been given any notice,” said the woman’s lawyer Anoop Trivedi.

The 23-year-old woman was on her way to the court in UP’s Shahjahanpur for protection from arrest when reportedly, the police intercepted her, took her outside and made her sit in a vehicle, sources said.

The law student is seen walking out of the court in some visuals, flanked by a large number of policemen and a woman officer of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that had been constituted to investigate the allegations against Chinmayanand, a former union minister. She had accused that he blackmailed her, forced her to give him massages and raped her for a year.

The minister’s lawyer Om Singh, however, repeated his claims of a conspiracy and extortion, “I have been saying from day 1, that the video uploaded by the woman on Facebook, it has connections to extortion against Chinmayanand… I just cannot understand why she has not been arrested yet. She will go to jail, of that I am sure,” he said.

The BJP minister was arrested on last Friday, days after the law student testified in court and close to a month after the allegations first surfaced. The court has denied him bail and told him to approach the Sessions court.

Chinmayanand has been charged with “misusing authority for sexual intercourse” or “sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape”, according to his lawyer.

The law student had been trying to file a rape complaint for almost a month but the UP police refused to do so. Once arrested, apparently, he has been not charged with rape still. The only charges the police did file was that of kidnapping and intimidation, which the woman’s family had alleged after she went missing.

He was finally arrested a day after UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, at a press conference on his government’s half-way mark, claimed that women’s safety was a priority for him and crime had dropped since he came to power at the head of a BJP government.

The 23-year-old woman, a student at a law college that Chinmayanand runs, on Monday went to a court protected by over 50 police personnel and recorded her statement in the court of the chief judicial magistrate.

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https://sabrangindia.in/article/who-chinmayananda
https://sabrangindia.in/article/fb-video-missing-student-what-has-transpired-chinmayanand-case

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The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Chinmayanand, accused of rape by a law student, was finally arrested on Friday, September 20, five days after the survivor elaborated the incident of sexual assist that she faced for over a year. In the period she also faced blackmail. She submitted the incident before a court. It’s been close to a month after the allegations first surfaced.
 

Media reports coming in late on Friday evening state that even now, the former union minister, Chinmayanand, has been charged not with rape but the watered down “misusing authority for sexual intercourse” or “sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape”, which carries a punishment of up to five years in jail and a fine. But what is shocking is that the woman student who has accused the union minister has also been booked in a criminal case: of extortion!

Just two day before, the survivor accused the Uttar Pradesh government for their lax attitude towards the accused and had asked, “Will they believe me if I kill myself?” Here is a day by day account of what transpired in the case.

August 23, 2019:Law student uploads a video on her Facebook profile in which she accused Former Union Minister Chinmayanand of rape and asks PM Narendra Modi and UP CM Yogi Adityanath to help

August 24, 2019:Law student goes missing

August 26, 2019: The search for the missing student starts on the basis of the complaint filed by father

August 27, 2019:As news of the student going missing gains traction, theSupreme Court takes the matter in its own hands, Chinmayanand is accused of kidnapping and intimidation

August 28, 2019:National Commission of Womentakes note of the matter and expresses concern,Opposition leader Priyanka Gandhi criticises BJP

August 29, 2019:Supreme Court issues orders for the student to be presented. Police releases poster of missing woman with her details

August 30, 2019: Police finds out the student from Rajasthan. She is presented in front of the Supreme Court

September 1, 2019: Police reaches Shahjahanpur for Chinmayanand’s statement, he is not found there

September 2, 2019: The survivor gives her statement in front of the Supreme Court (SC), SC directs U.P. to set up SIT to look into woman’s allegations and admission to a different school

September 4, 2019: Chinmanayanand dubs accusations against him as conspiracy

September 5, 2019: The survivor reports the incident at 0 number in Delhi, the case is transferred

September 6, 2019:SIT led by I.G. Naveen Arorareaches Shahjahanpur, talks to media, gathers papers

September 7, 2019: SIT visits the Law College and investigates

September 8, 2019: SIT calls the student, her father, friend to Police Line’s temporary office and does questioning

September 9, 2019: Studentfaces media and accuses Chinmayanand of sexual exploitation alleging that the DM had threatened her father

September 10, 2019:A video featuring a woman and an elderly has started doing rounds on social media.

September 11, 2019: Medical done for the survivor at Shahjahanpur Hospital

September 14, 2019: SIT questions the survivor’s mother, college staff and Chinmayanand’s personal staff. The student gives a pen drive containing 43 videos to support her allegations after she was asked by the SIT Saturday to submit whatever evidence she had

September 17, 2019: Law student askswhether only when she commits suicide the will accused be arrested

September 20, 2019: Chinmayanand is arrested

September 20,2019:The woman student who has accused the union minister has also been booked in a criminal case: of extortion!

The post From FB video to a missing Student, what has transpired in the Chinmayanand case? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: @Farhan_Ahmad586 (twitter)
 

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Image: Lisa Larson-Walker
 

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