I came across certain incidents in media where members of Dalits or minority community have been insulted, humiliated, raped or killed simply because of their caste or religious identity.
(1) A Dalit man was forced to lick urine at a temple near Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. (2) A Dalit teenager was beaten to death on his birthday celebration in Noida, Uttar Pradesh (3) A Dalit aged around 35 was beaten to death following a dispute in Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh. (4) Dalit CJI Hon’ble Justice B.R. Govai was insulted by throwing a shoe at him by a member of the upper caste who is a senior advocate of SCI. (5) In Gujarat and other states Dalits cannot draw water from village wells. They cannot grow moustaches like upper castes. They cannot purchase a house in certain areas reserved for upper castes. Bridegrooms from Dalit community cannot ride on horses during marriage processions. (6) There are innumerable instances of harassment to members of Christian community and Muslim community in various parts of the country.
It is this attitude (discrimination) of upper castes which compels Dalits to embrace Christianity or Islam. When Dalits are embracing another faith of their choice, entire blame is put on Christians and Muslims. Upper castes do not see where they are at fault.
Where are hallowed principles of justice, equality and liberty? Are we, really, living in a secular and democratic country?
Farooq AbdulgafarBawani
Rajkot, Gujarat, India
Row over Namaz at Bengaluru airport
Karnataka BJP has objected to a group of Muslims offering Namaz at Bengaluru airport. It has accused the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government of hypocrisy for turning “a blind eye” to such incidents. It raised objections over a group of people offering namaz inside Terminal 2 of Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport, calling it a “serious security concern”.
Offering namaz is a peaceful act. The question is how a few people offering namaz anywhere causes a threat to peace? Why has the BJP called it a “serious security concern”? Do their people not offer religious acts at public spaces – even, in some cases, for days together?
Hamidullah Khan
Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
Empty Classrooms, Full Payrolls
The recent revelation that nearly 8,000 schools in India operate with zero student enrolments yet employ over 20,000 teachers is alarming. Such inefficiency reflects poor planning and misuse of public funds meant for education. States like West Bengal and Telangana must reassess school management and resource allocation. Instead of paying salaries in vacant classrooms, the government should redirect funds towards improving quality education, infrastructure and enrolment drives.
Education cannot progress when resources are wasted on ghost schools. It’s time for accountability and reform in our schooling system. The government must take this issue seriously and ensure every teacher has students to teach.
Abdul Sharief
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Historic Victory of Zohran Mamdani
A Muslim of Indian descent, has for the first time been elected as the Mayor of New York, creating a sensation around the world.
In addition, U.S. President Donald Trump had tried hard to spread false accusations against Zohran Mamdani, but the American public rejected them.
Mamdani began his inaugural speech with words of praise for Jawahar Lal Nehru Ji’s thoughts.
Congratulations to Mamdani for his victory.
Chowdhry Nisar Ahmed
Ambur, Tamil Nadu