-TheQuint.com Ashok Saket, who belongs to a scheduled caste, was admitted to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital, and remains critical. In a shocking incident from Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa district, a labourer’s hand was cut off by his employer when he demanded his wages, on Sunday, 21 November. The victim, Ashok Saket, who belongs to a scheduled caste, was admitted to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in a critical condition. The victim’s nephew Lavkush Saket said that the incident...

The increase in the total number of suicides committed in India during 2020 in comparison to the previous years has hit the headlines recently. While some media commentators have stated that the economic distress (caused by job loss, income loss, failure of business, and growing hunger, among other things) in 2020 could have led to more suicides being committed, others have said that home isolation and deteriorating mental health (associated...

-The Hindu Caste data will help us understand the contours of inequality and craft reasoned and inclusive policies The debate about whether the decennial Census should collect data on caste from individuals who fall into the administrative categories of ‘General’ and ‘Other Backward Classes’ (OBCs) has been argued by public intellectuals, politicians, and government administrators for decades. As the Census currently only collects data on ‘scheduled castes’ (SCs) and ‘Scheduled Tribes’ (STs),...

-The Hindu The Centre has decided to scrap the system of caste-based wage payments in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme after complaints from State Governments. In an order dated November 1, the Finance Ministry directed the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) to “revert to the previous system of generating single muster, single FTO [or Fund Transfer Order] and transferring money into a single NeFMS [or National Electronic...

-The New Indian Express More than eight decades after the Temple Entry Proclamation, the untouchables' cannot take the 18-step stairway to the temple or directly drop money in the offertory plate! SWARGA (Kasaragod): Shri Jatadhari 'Devasthanam' (abode of god) is nestled in the middle of arecanut plantations of Brahmins. There is no motorable road to reach the centuries-old place of worship and devotees have to walk around 200m along the perennial Badiyar...